Josef Newgarden kicked off the 2024 IndyCar season with a strong statement, winning the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg from pole position.
Newgarden’s qualifying result ended a pole drought that dated back to the 2022 Detroit Grand Prix.
Felix Rosenqvist set a new track record during the Group of 12 qualifying round with a 59.2706 lap, which Newgarden followed up with a race lap record of 1:00.6795 around the 1.8-mile street circuit in his Team Penske Chevrolet.
The 2024 cars are lighter than they have been in recent years, as their weight was reduced to accommodate a hybrid powertrain.
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Development of the hybrid has been delayed, however, and it won’t be implemented until after the Indy 500, so the cars are likely to be setting new records at all of the tracks they visit until then.
Team Penske’s Newgarden led 92 of the 100 laps, an would probably have led more if not for a poor first pit stop.
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Newgarden pulled away from the field to finish ahead of Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward by better than eight seconds, while his Team Penske teammates Scott Mclaughlin and Will Power took the checkered flag close behind O’Ward in third and fourth. The win was Newgarden’s third at St. Petersburg and second major victory of the year, having won the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the Team Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 sports car.
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The IndyCar series heads next to The Thermal Club private race track for a unique, non-points exhibition event on March 24 that will pay $1 million to the winner.