FOX Sports has released viewership numbers for the opening round of the 2025 IndyCar season, showing a sizeable increase over last year’s event.

According to the network, Sunday’s race from St. Petersburg averaged 1.417 million viewers and peaked at more than 1.8 million.

The race reached approximately 45% more people than last year’s season-opening round, which reached 975,000 through broadcast partner NBC.

The 1.417 million figure ranks it very highly among the series’ historic television viewership numbers, and makes it the most watched IndyCar event outside of the Indianapolis 500 since 2011.

For comparison, the 2024 Indy 500 averaged over five million viewers. The marquee event is an outlier, however, and the other races from 2024 averaged just 637,000 viewers per event.

There was a lot of interest in the television ratings for the first race of the series’ new partnership with FOX Sports.

FOX has invested considerable resources in IndyCar over the past few months, including producing multiple high-quality commercials that have been run during the Superbowl and played often on all of FOX sports’ other broadcasts over the past few months.

The network also brought in well-known commentator Will Buxton to be the lead presenter, hoping to bring in new viewership from multiple different areas.

At least for the first event, it appears that the extra investment has worked. Many fans tuned in to watch Alex Palou secure the early advantage as he tries to win his third consecutive championship.

The network will continue to monitor viewership closely to see if interest in the series continues throughout the year.

Every race of the 2025 IndyCar season will be broadcast on the network’s main FOX channel, which helps make it accessible to anyone who wants to tune in.

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Scott Dixon finished in second place for the opening round of IndyCar’s 2025 season, but he was still unhappy after the race was over.

The veteran revealed after his podium celebrations were complete that he had run nearly the entire race with no radio communication.

Instead of managing the 100-lap event through constant communication with his engineer, Dixon was forced to use his vast experience to manage his own race while sitting behind the wheel.

With only one early caution period to dictate strategy, he simply waited until his car was nearly out of fuel to complete each pit stop. He discovered that pitting one or two laps early would have gained him precious seconds and potentially fight for the win.

“Yeah, no radio for the entire race,” said Dixon. “It was kind of tough just to see what we were doing, mileage-wise. Once the first caution happened, it was going to be a strict kind of two-stopper.

“Kind of worked on the warm-up laps and kind of for the first 10 and that was about it, but ultimately cost us the race, with not coming in when I should have.

“You have a fuel light so you can run — you know when the car is going to run out. I didn’t know if they could hear me, so I was just telling them I’m just go to run to the light and see what happens. Ultimately I think for me, it was just one lap too long.

“We caught that traffic with about five or six cars and lost about two or three seconds on that in lap, so that was a bit of a nightmare.

“Yeah, I don’t know. Car was good. I think pit stops were really good. I think all around, we had good speed. Anytime that we had clean air, we could definitely stretch out, but spent most of the race in dirty air.

“It’s kind of the first time I’ve ever done a whole race without a radio, so that was interesting. Glad we got some good points and a nice one, too, for the team.”

If Dixon had any fewer than 25 years of experience, his dilemma could well have cost him more. Securing a podium despite the situation would make nearly any other driver happy.

But all Dixon could think about was the win that got away.

“I’m pretty pissed off. We had a good race going and we didn’t get it done. So it doesn’t feel good, that’s for sure.”

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The first race of the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series season took place on Sunday with the traditional streets of St. Petersburg hosting the exciting series for the 21st time.

In what has become a recurring theme, Alex Palou ran an error-free race that allowed him to claim victory from an eighth place starting position.

Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden rounded out the podium, with each driver battling through issues that prevented them from taking the top spot for themselves.

READ MORE: IndyCar St. Pete – Full Race Report

The wildest moment of the race took place on the very first lap, with Will Power, Nolan Siegel, and rookie Louis Foster all tangling as they attempted to get through Turn 3. The trio of drivers were all forced to retire on the spot.

Teams did all they could to utilize the softer tire compound Firestone brought this weekend, but it ended up degrading too quickly and few were able to stay on them for longer than 10 laps.

The next race on the IndyCar calendar takes place in three weeks’ time, with a tilt around The Thermal Club on the docket.

The post IndyCar St. Petersburg – Race Results appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The first race of the 2025 IndyCar season took place on Sunday afternoon under picture perfect skies on the shores of St. Petersburg, Florida.

27 drivers took the green flag, including two racing for the series’ newest team PREMA. But only one driver was able to take victory at the end of the 100-lap event.

In what is a recurring theme in IndyCar, Alex Palou was able to put on a clinic and took victory to open the season.

READ MORE: IndyCar St. Pete – Full Race Results

His methodical driving skills allowed him to take care of his tires better than his competitors, and he used the strength that was left in his car to fend off a charging Josef Newgarden in the closing laps despite lapped traffic causing issues.

Despite looking like he was going to challenge for the win in the final 10 laps, Josef Newgarden dropped off the pace dramatically in the final lap.

He revealed after the race that he had fuel miscues, which caused his pit box to call him over the radio with instructions to back way off the pace so he could make it to the finish line.

Newgarden’s sudden ‘emergency mode’ call allowed Scott Dixon to overtake him and claim the second spot on the podium.

Dixon ran the entire race with no radio communication, and he felt that he could have secured the victory himself if he were able to pit at the optimal times.

The fuel miscalculation and radio troubles were the small details that ultimately determined the order of the podium in a close battle.

Early trouble

The race was barely underway before a large incident brought out the full course yellow.

As the field of 27 drivers roared through the first couple turns, track space became a premium and cars began bumping off one another.

By Turn 3, it all came to a head. Nolan Siegel had to check up for traffic ahead and was run into by Will Power.

Both drivers spun into the wall hard, with rookie Louis Foster also spinning amid the chaos as the rest of the field attempted to avoid the chaos.

All three drivers were forced to retire on the spot, having completed zero laps in the 2025 season.

The early caution meant that drivers who started on the soft compound were able to pit on the third lap to get rid of the inferior tires. All but nine drivers took the opportunity, leading to split strategies for the remainder of the race.

Once the green flags flew for a second time, the race continued without interruption for the rest of the event.

A few drivers attempted to make the soft Guayule Firestone tires last 30 laps, splitting the 100-lap race into roughly three equal parts.

That strategy did not work well, however, and they all had to come in again to change tires less than 10 laps later.

Pato O’Ward stayed on the soft tires longer than any other driver, 20 laps on a single stint. It is even more surprising that he was able to climb through the field as quickly as he did.

The young star began the race in 23rd, but worked his way up to 11th by the checkered flag. O’Ward was the most improved driver on the day.

Drivers return to the track in three weeks when the series visits The Thermal Club for a points-paying round at the luxurious club track.

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Firestone has brought a different compound tire to IndyCar’s season-opening round in St. Petersburg, which could lead to a bevy of pit stops during the event.

The main difference this year is that the softer alternate compound tire is considerably softer than in seasons past.

Teams were aware of the update coming into the weekend, but once on track they realized the wear rates were even higher than predicted.

“Yeah, I think it was more extreme than I thought it was going to be,” said Colton Herta after qualifying, describing how quickly his tires were being used up.

“Usually when we have deg races, we deg on the red tires or soft compound, it’s more so like you can maybe get a second lap in in qualifying. It was interesting to feel that.

“I think [the race] is going to be interesting because of that. For sure no doubt in my mind a three-stopper. There’s no way anybody takes these tires to 30 laps or whatever it is to do the two-stopper.

“How long can you make them last? What is that going to look like? Is it going to be five laps? 15 laps? It’s all going to be dependent, at least for us, on what guys do behind us. We’ll kind of pit from there.”

Tires, tires, tires

Sunday’s race is 100 laps in length, leaving plenty of chances for drivers to come down pit lane and take on a fresh set of tires. Especially if the extreme predictions of the softer tires only being usable for less than five laps comes true.

An added consideration is that the allocation of tires has shifted this year, with each driver being given one less set of the harder primary tires per weekend.

Teams may well choose to fit a scrubbed set of primary tires during the race if they have to cycle through three or four sets before the checkered flags wave.

Firestone has to walk a fine line, of course, producing tires that are safe, reliable, and also degrade at a rate that makes the racing interesting and keeps the drivers happy.

This year they appear to have chosen a compound that is a bit less durable than their usual selection.

Whether or not the tires actually wear as quickly in race conditions as predicted is yet to be seen, but at the very least there will be a mix of pit strategies as teams evaluate the situation on the fly.

The season opening race from the streets of St. Petersburg gets underway in just a couple hours, with green flags waving at 12:30 PM eastern time.

The post Frequent pit stops predicted for IndyCar opener due to high tire wear appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The NTT IndyCar Series took to the streets of St. Petersburg on Saturday afternoon, setting the fastest laps possible in their bid to qualify at the head of the field.

When the dust settled from three rounds of action it was Scott McLaughlin that surfed his way to pole with a quick lap of 59.4624 seconds.

McLaughlin has always enjoyed the 1.8-mile street course in Florida, with the Kiwi earning his first pole and first win on the track in 2022.

He will look to repeat that success on Sunday as he leads the field to green from the point position.

Starting alongside will be Colton Herta, who has looked really fast all weekend. A relatively-large 0.177 seconds separated him from the top spot, a gap that he could not overcome.

As was the case last year, Meyer Shank Racing was particularly speedy on the bumpy street course, with both drivers advancing through to the third and final Fast Six qualifying round.

Felix Rosenqvist earned the third grid position, with his team-mate Marcus Armstrong set to start alongside on the second row.

Armstrong had a close call on his fast lap when he bounced off the wall in Turn 10, which visualized just how far all the drivers were pushing the limits.

Christian Lundgaard impressed in his Arrow McLaren debut by earning the fifth starting spot, with veteran Scott Dixon qualifying in sixth.

Expected championship contenders Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden both failed to advance to the final round, earning the eighth and 10th starting positions respectively.

The highest qualifying rookie was Louis Foster, who continued his strong weekend form to slot into the 16th starting position for his first IndyCar race.

Overall, it was the narrowest of margins that separated those at the front from those that will have to start from the rear of the field.

St. Petersburg is a technical street course at the best of times, but new tire compounds that only lasted for a single lap and the added challenge of a hybrid boost system led to small mistakes that ultimately determined the outcome.

Details lead to disappointment

Will Power was the fastest driver that failed to advance out of the first round, with his 59.8752-second lap not quite good enough to continue to the round of 12.

He related that it was a single mistake that washed him out towards the wall that ended up costing him a chance to fight in the second round.

The most shocking result of the afternoon was Pato O’Ward, who put in an abysmal qualifying effort by his standards.

The fan-favorite driver will start from 23rd position, despite setting a lap that was less than half of a second too slow to advance into the next round.

Newcomer team PREMA had a disappointing outing overall. Rookie Robert Shwartzman put his car into the 18th starting position, but the veteran Callum Ilott qualified in the 27th and final position.

Juncos Hollinger Racing was similarly mired in the rear, with Conor Daly and Sting Ray Robb earning the 22nd and 26th positions respectively.

The 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg takes place Sunday at 12:30 PM eastern time, live on FOX for viewers in the US.

The post Scott McLaughlin storms to pole for IndyCar opener in St. Pete appeared first on Motorsport Week.

The second practice session for IndyCar’s season-opening round at St. Petersburg was completed on Saturday morning, with Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson leading the way.

The Swede put his #28 entry into the top spot with a lap of 1:00.5151, just a hair slower than his team-mate Kyle Kirkwood’s best time from the day before.

Behind Ericsson were a few surprises hanging out in the top positions.

Rinus VeeKay, now driving for Dale Coyne Racing, completed the second fastest lap in the #18 entry, just ahead of Alex Palou on the timesheets.

Fourth fastest was Nolan Siegel in the #6 Arrow McLaren entry, followed by a strong showing from Conor Daly in the #76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Entry.

Daly piloting the #76 was a bit of a surprise to the entire paddock, as he had been planning to run the #78.

But it appears a late sponsorship deal has led to JHR changing Daly’s number, even though a formal announcement is still forthcoming.

After laying down respectable times in the first practice session, PREMA slipped down the order a bit on Saturday morning. Its two drivers were only able to manage the 23rd and 27th best times.

Interruptions

There were a couple brief interruptions to the running, with the first being caused by Will Power stopping on course in Turn 1.

The two-time champion suffered some sort of electrical issue that shut off the car, preventing him from returning to the pits on his own.

Team Penske was able to get the #12 entry fixed in short order, however, and Power was able to return to the track without missing too much time.

The second red flag was brought out by a piece of the track coming loose and sitting in the racing line in Turn 11.

Cars were brought in so safety crews could remove the dangerous bit of asphalt, but no other repairs were needed.

After having troubles keeping their cars underneath them on Friday while navigating the bumpy Turn 3, most teams appeared to have made appropriate adjustments to their setups overnight.

The fast corner is still tricky, but did not pose as much of a problem during Saturday morning’s running.

Graham Rahal locked up his front tires while braking hard for Turn 4, causing him to drive into the runoff area in order to spin his car around.

He was not alone in finding the limits of the tires under braking, and multiple others had to complete the same maneuver before the session was done.

Next up for the 27 drivers is qualifying, which almost always ends in tears for at least one driver as they push the limits even further on the city streets of St. Petersburg.

The post Marcus Ericsson tops second IndyCar practice from St. Pete appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Scott McLaughlin has announced that he and Team Penske will be competing together in IndyCar well into the future.

McLaughlin has been racing with Team Penske since he joined IndyCar full time in the 2021 season, and his time with the organization stretches back even further during his very successful run in Australian Supercars.

Starting his fifth year stateside, the New Zealand native took to social media to announce that he will be staying with the powerhouse team for multiple years to come.

“We’re LIVE and ready for a big 2025!” read the post. “Signed a long term extension in the off-season with Team Penske and have been absolutely 100% focused on prep for this year.  Let’s kick this season off right!  STRAIGHT. TO. THE. MOON.”

McLaughlin has been on an upward trend ever since his joining the series. Across that time he has earned seven race victories and finished third in the championship twice.

He related in pre-season interviews that he feels on the cusp of a championship here, and sees the same progression he felt in Supercars that led to him winning three consecutive titles.

Now with an extended contract, McLaughlin will more easily be able to build on what he has already accomplished by working with the same team and team-mates that have brought him to this point.

“I always feel competition from those guys [team-mates at Team Penske],” expanded McLaughlin to Motorsportweek.com.

“They’re unreal racing drivers. I’m certainly noticing Andretti’s getting better, Ganassi is always there, Ed Carpenter has got new funding now, and you’re got Arrow McLaren.

“That’s why we gotta work together well. I feel like the three of us have a really good relationship.”

McLaughlin is racing at the site of his first IndyCar win this weekend, and will look to repeat that success on the streets of St. Petersburg on March 2.

The post Scott McLaughlin signs long-term extension with Team Penske appeared first on Motorsport Week.

IndyCar has announced multiple updates to rules regarding use of the official Firestone tires for the upcoming 2025 season.

Each entry will still be provided a total of 10 sets of tires for use throughout each street and road course event, but the number of primary and alternate tires has been adjusted for most events.

The allocation of softer, alternate tire compound tires has been increased from four to five sets per entry, while the allocation of the harder compound tires has been decreased from six to five.

The changes will give each driver a better opportunity to utilize the softer compound tires in the early part of the weekend, instead of saving them for qualifying and the race.

Events at The Thermal Club and the Indianapolis road course do not have the adjusted allocations applied, but all other street and road course events will see the additional alternate tires handed out to teams.

Both compounds of tire will still be required to be used during each race, leading to varying strategy decisions.

The series also confirmed that the season finale from Nashville Superspeedway will again see both compounds of tire used, although other oval events will still only have a single tire compound available.

Breathing room

In a related update to the rulebook, the successful experiment with splitting up the first practice session of the weekend into two groups will be expanded this season.

Street courses, on account of their short and tight layouts, have a tendency to produce traffic jams as 27 drivers attempt to make space to the car in front in order to find clean air.

Recently, IndyCar introduced short 10-minute sessions at the end of Practice 1 that only permitted half of the field to be on track at the same time. This allowed drivers to more easily practice a qualifying simulation without other cars being in the way.

That format is now going to be expanded to all road courses on the calendar except for Road America, which is long enough to not have as many problems with traffic.

The split sessions are meant to encourage more running in the early portion of the weekend, especially when combined with the extra set of alternate tires provided by Firestone.

The first test of the new tire rules comes just over a week from now, when the series tackles the streets of St. Petersburg to open the 2025 season.

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Scott McLaughlin was one of the two Team Penske IndyCar drivers that were retroactively disqualified from the season-opening race around the streets of St. Petersburg that took place on March 10.

He was deemed to have used his Push to Pass system at a forbidden point in the race, on the first lap after a restart, and had his podium stripped along with all points and prize money earned from the result.

McLaughlin took to social media to present his side of the story hours after the penalty was formally announced.

In his response, he accepted the penalty and admitted to the infraction, but made a point to claim that no advantage was gained from his use of the boost system.

“First and foremost, I am proud to be a member of Team Penske,” the post read. “I fully stand with every one of my teammates.

“Simply put, a mistake was made. I have the highest level of integrity and it is important to protect both my own reputation and that of the team.

“I was not aware of the situation with the software. In this instance, I used a single, very brief (1.9 second) deployment of push to pass in a section of the track exit of Turn 9 where it is typically utilized throughout the race.

“I hit the button out of habit, but I did not pass any cars nor did I gain any time advantage. The data, which IndyCar has, confirms all of this information.

“While I accept the penalty, I want to clear that I did not gain an advantage over my competitors.

“IndyCar’s competition is the best in the world and I would take no pleasure in achieving success in any way other than honestly.

“We will all press forward from here and focus on the task at hand this weekend in Barber.”

Turn 9, the turn in question, sets up an 1,800-foot run down Bayshore drive, which ends in a tight 90-degree left hand turn. Using Push to Pass at the start of that straight is a common occurrence during an event.

The alternate start-finish line, which denotes when the Push to Pass system should have been activated the first lap of a restart, was located after Turn 12, just before the final hairpin turn.

McLaughlin, along with team-mate and original race winner Josef Newgarden, were disqualified specifically because they both used the Push to Pass system during a disallowed period and gained a competitive advantage.

Will Power was given a softer penalty because he did not actively use the system at an inappropriate time, even though his car was also configured to allow him to use his boost button when it should have been electronically disabled.

The infractions were not discovered until nearly seven weeks after the race took place, but IndyCar still chose to levy harsh penalties on the entire team.

New checks will be carried out by race officials beginning this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, which will specifically check for the proper functioning of all cars’ Push to Pass system.

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