27 February 2026 19:00 (UTC)
“It’s nice to be back in race mode"
The 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES campaign has officially kicked off with Friday's opening practice session on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Saturday brings another practice session and Qualifying ahead of the highly-anticipated 100-lap season opener on Sunday.
Location | St. Petersburg, Fla. |
Race Date | March 1 |
Round | 1 out of 18 |
Total Laps | 100 |
Total Race Distance | 180 miles / 289.68 km |
Track Length | 1.8 miles / 2.9 km |
Number of Turns | 14 |
Practice 1 | P10, 1:01.5235 |
Total Laps | 21 |
“First session was good. Obviously from a performance perspective we would have liked to have had a little more, but ultimately it's nice to be back on track. Just getting out there and being back in a competitive environment versus a test where you never really know where everyone is. We've still got some work to do. I think we're in the mix, but we have work to do to be fighting for pole which is where we want to be. The weather will play a part this weekend; an element that I really love. I love those weekends where things get shaken up. I'm all for it. I'm excited where we are and we'll continue to work from here."
Practice 1 | P12, 1:01.5754 |
Total Laps | 24 |
“It’s nice to be back in race mode. It was a bit of a messy session for us. We didn’t get the cleanest of reads on the soft tire, which isn’t ideal before Qualifying. We’re going to see what we need to do for Practice 2 and Qualifying tomorrow to make it go a little bit faster and a bit more comfortable.” |
Practice 1 | P20, 1:02.1028 |
Total Laps | 22 |
"Overall, it wasn't exactly how we wanted the weekend to start. We had a bit of a braking issue that we were fighting throughout the session, but I'm confident we know what it is and we can fix it for tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm very happy with the balance of the car, and we'll keep pushing for Practice 2." |
Practice 2 | Saturday, 9:30 a.m. ET | FS1 |
Qualifying | Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET | FS2 |
Warmup | Sunday, 9:00 a.m. ET | FS1 |
Race Tune In | Sunday, 12:00 p.m. ET | FOX |
Green Flag | Sunday, 12:29 p.m. ET | FOX |
