Roaring Excitement in St. Petersburg
Story and Photography by Terry Check
With Covid restrictions in the rear-view mirror, more than 140,000 fans gathered in St. Petersburg, Florida for a three-day weekend of qualifying races, INDYCAR Party in the Park, Meet the Drivers followed by fireworks, and on Sunday, the 100 Lap Firestone Grand Prix.
For the first race of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series, the city developed the racecoursealong the waterfront, downtown streets, and a runway of the Albert Whitted Airport. The 1.8-mile circuit of 14 turns and 4 straightaways tested the drivers to their limits. “They’re going at speeds up to 170 MPH in this circuit, so they want to make sure their tires are inflated, they want to make sure their engine is tuned– there’s a lot of work that goes in,” Cara Adams, the Firestone Chief Engineer, said during Tampa Bay 10 broadcast. “Not to mention the safety restraining devices built into the racecar.”
Twenty-two cars of the 26-car-field finished the race with New Zealander Scott McLaughlin winning the race with a0.503 of a second lead over the reigning IndyCar Series champion Alex Palou. Driving the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet, the 28-year-old won the pole position of Saturday and managed to lead the race-49 of 100 laps finally winning the race for the first time.
“A fascinating duel between drivers on two-pit stop and three-stop strategies unfolded into a straight fight between McLaughlin and Palou – and their two-stop plans – after six-time series champion Scott Dixon made his third and final pit stop in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda on Lap 80, surrendering the lead to McLaughlin.
McLaughlin led Palou by 2.150 seconds when Dixon pitted. It appeared only a caution period would bunch the field, as McLaughlin controlled the pace from the front. That caution never came, as this race featured an all-time event low of just one yellow-flag period, but slower traffic turned the closing laps into a scintillating dance between McLaughlin and Palou.
With 13 laps remaining, McLaughlin approached the No. 48 Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of Jimmie Johnson, who was racing to stay on the lead lap. McLaughlin had to find a spot on the concrete barrier-lined circuit to thread the needle and pass seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Johnson, and that slight delay helped Palou – Johnson’s teammate – close to within .625 of a second.
From there, the gap between the two lead cars ranged from three-tenths to eight-tenths of a second. It appeared on Lap 96 that Palou might get a chance to try to pass McLaughlin as both cars approached the No. 11 ROKiT AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of rookie Tatiana Calderon. But Calderon pulled off the racing line on the front straight to let both McLaughlin and Palou scream past.
“Oh, man, it was crazy,” McLaughlin said of Palou’s pressure. “Really struggled those last couple laps just to keep my head and then save the fuel and all that sort of stuff.
“But we did it. Chevy gave us the fuel mileage. Drivability this weekend has been a change, and to win at DEX Imaging’s home race is unreal. Oh, my God, I’m just – love you Australia, New Zealand, miss you guys. Thinking of everyone in the Queensland floods at the moment.”
Palou continued to close on Laps 98 and 99 but couldn’t get close enough to pass. Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport rookie Devlin DeFrancesco was right in front of the lead pair on the final lap, trying to stay on the lead lap. McLaughlin, who along with Palou was saving Push to Pass power until the final lap to conserve fuel, never let Palou challenge over the final trip around the circuit.
“It was close,” Palou said. “It was really, really close, but I don’t think we had the pace he had today. Like he was on rails, and he knew where to go fast and where to obviously save some fuel at the end. I was just there trying to make some pressure so hopefully he made a mistake or anything, but no, he was all good,” as reported by Grand Prix St. Petersburg.
NASCAR racing legend, Jimmie Johnson recently started racing the IndyCar Series, and failed to finish the race. In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, Johnson said after finishing a lap short in the 100-lap race, “By far the most confident and comfortable I’ve felt in the car and closest on pace. (I am) Super excited about this race and looking forward to my next street course.”
