Kyle Kirkwood – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg – Photo by Joe Skibinski

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Florida native and resident Kyle Kirkwood paced Practice 1 Friday for INDYCAR’s 2025 season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.

A resident of Jupiter, Fla., Kirkwood topped an 80-minute session split into three groups with a best lap of 1-minute, 4409-seconds/107.212 mph in the No. 27 Andretti INDYCAR Honda _ the leader of two Andretti Global drivers in the fast five.

“In the past three years, this is one of the races that I enjoy coming to the most because it’s a home state for me,” said Kirkwood, whose best NTT IndyCar Series finish on the Streets of St. Pete is 10th last year. “But it’s interesting because I haven’t had good races here. It’s not lack of pace. It’s a multitude of things that cause the bad races here. So, it will be important to get out of this weekend with some points on the board and a good finish.”

Live coverage of the 100-lap/180-mile race on the 1.8-mile/14-turn temporary street circuit running through downtown, including a runway of Albert Whitted Airport, will start at noon (EST) Sunday on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Three-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou launched defense of his two consecutive titles by placing second at 1:00.6004-seconds/106.930 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. The native of Spain was just 0.1595-seconds behind Kirkwood, as Honda power ruled the day.

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin, the 2022 St. Pete winner, emerged as quickest Chevrolet-powered driver. The native New Zealander was third at 1:01.0002-seconds/106.229 mph in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet. That lap was part of a good news/bad news session for “Scotty Mac,” who crashed after turning his quickest lap.

Colton Herta, last year’s championship runnerup who won this race in 2021, was fourth at 1:01.0603-seconds/106.125 mph in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global. Defending event champion Pato O’Ward completed the top-five at 1:01.1161-seconds/106.028 mph after 20 laps in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

“First session of 2025, and I would say that we’ve got some work to do,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “But I’m confident in the men and women that we can make those changes and see how we stack up in Practice 2 and then get ready for qualifying.”

O’Ward originally finished second to Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in this event last year. But Pato was declared the winner weeks later following an inquiry by INDYCAR’s stewards that proved Newgarden had illegally engaged push-to-pass during the race.

Six-time series champion Scott Dixon of New Zealand placed eighth at 1:01.1906-seconds/105.899 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Friday’s top-10 was stacked and tight. Nine of the top-10 are series race-winners and four are series champions. Just 0.8516-seconds separated that elite group.

This season’s three-member rookie class was led by Louis Foster, who was 12^th at 1:01.6124-seconds/105.174 mph in the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Foster, a 21-year-old native of Great Britain, won eight races en route to the 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone championship and his seat with the team founded-and-fronted by 1986 Indy 500 champ Bobby Rahal.

“It was a good first session,” said Foster, who completed 31 laps. “I need to look at the data and look at the video and see where we can improve; I think there are definitely places we can improve. It was good to run the alternate (Firestone Firehawk) tires for the first time _ that was quite insightful for me as a driver. So far, so good. We just need to keep building and working on things and I’m sure we’ll be competitive come Sunday.”

Santino Ferrucci led A.J. Foyt Racing’s revised two-car effort _ “Santucci” was 17^th among 27 drivers logging laps _ at 1:01.7499-seconds/104.939 mph in the No. 14 Sexton Homes Chevrolet. “Solid first day back in St. Petersburg,” Ferrucci said. “Everything went really well with the team. Got a couple of overnight changes we’re excited about. Our Chevrolets feel awesome. Lot of power. Very happy with the offseason changes. I feel we’re going to have some good gains race day.”

Making his debut with the team owned by INDYCAR icon A.J. Foyt Jr. of Houston, David Malukas was 21^st at 1:02.0312-seconds/104.464 mph after 17 laps in the No. 4 Chevrolet.

“Overall, seemed like a pretty good session other than the chaos that is INDYCAR,” said Malukas, who made 10 series starts last season with Meyer Shank Racing and Honda power. “We had very few laps today that we could do. We had a few issues with the brakes here or there, but we managed to fix it all up. So, at the end, I think we got around 10 laps in total between alternates and primaries, maybe one or two here or there.

“Track time was rough. I think from a first session being back, we kind of went through our checklist of things I wanted to go through. So now we get to hone-in, look at lap times, try to find the time from my side heading into Practice 2. I think from the car, Chevy, the Foyt guys, really good job.”

Two red flags marred the session. Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand triggered the first when his No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing spun in Turn 3 without contact.

McLaughlin, however, wasn’t as fortunate six minutes later. McLaughlin _ who announced earlier Friday that he had signed a contract extension with Roger Penske’s juggernaut _ clipped the outside wall in Turn 3, spinning and stopping on-course with moderate damage to the front of his car. McLaughlin was uninjured.

“It was a little bit of a mistake on my part, unfortunately,” McLaughlin said. “I was a little wide through (Turn) 3, and there’s a little bit of a bump there. The bump just sort of put me a little bit wider than I wanted, and there’s no grip out there. It’s a bit of a bummer, the mistake, but you’d rather have it happen now and just get on with the weekend.”

A second practice Saturday morning will be followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 2:30 p.m. (EST, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Newgarden qualified on-pole last year at 59.5714-seconds/108.777 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet. Native Australian Will Power, also of Team Penske, set the INDYCAR qualifying record at 59.3466-seconds/109.189 mph on Feb. 26, 2022 in Round 2 of time trials.

Native Norwegian Dennis Hauger introduced himself Friday afternoon as one of the more heralded rookies in recent INDY NXT by Firestone history.

A 21-year-old native of Oslo, Norway, Hauger led Practice 1 for the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, turning a top lap of 1-minute, 5.2225-seconds/99.352 mph in the No. 28 Rental Group car fielded by Andretti Global. Hauger’s best lap was more than a half-second quicker than his closest pursuer, veteran Caio Collet of Brazil at 1:05.7885-seconds/98.497 mph in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car.

“I got a good lap in the last run, but overall, there’s still some things to work on,” Hauger said. “It’s my first time out here in St. Pete, so I’m still getting up to speed and figuring everything out on this track. I think Andretti did a good job as a team and started the season in the right way. I just need to keep working with what I know now and focus on having a good day (Saturday).”

Live coverage of the 45-lap/81-mile/55-minute event on the 1.8-mile/14-turn temporary street circuit will start at 10 a.m. (EST) Sunday on FS1, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio Network.

Hauger has joined INDYCAR’s developmental series after winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2021 and earning five wins and 13 podiums in FIA Formula 2 _ final official ladder step before Formula One _ in the last three seasons. He also served as a Red Bull Junior Driver for six years and was named a Red Bull Reserve Driver for the 2022 and 2023 FIA Formula One seasons. Hauger is one of eight rookies competing in the series this season.

Myles Rowe, a 24-year-old native of Georgia, was third at 1:05.9760-seconds/98.218 mph in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy car. Teammate and fellow-series veteran Jordan Missig, a 26-year-old native of Illinois, was fourth at 1:05.9886-seconds/98.199 mph in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports entry. Missig’s best finish in five starts last season was ninth on the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway oval in Madison, Ill., outside St. Louis.

Series veteran Salvador de Alba, a 25-year-old native of Mexico, completed the top-five at 1:05.9962-seconds/98.187 mph in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car fielded by Andretti Global, which matched Abel Motorsports with two drivers in the top-five.

While Hauger built a gap out front, the remainder of the 21-driver field was tight. Less than a second separated second-place Collet _ the series’ top returning driver _ and 13th-place Liam Sceats in the No. 30 HMD Motorsports car. Sceats is a 19-year-old native of New Zealand.

The red flag flew three times during the session, all for contact in separate incidents triggered by rookies. Native German Sophia Floersch, 24, did a quarter-spin in Turn 4 and backed into the tire barrier in her No. 24 HMD Motorsports car 29 minutes into the session. Floersch was uninjured, but the rear of the car suffered moderate damage.

Hailie Deegan brushed the tire barrier in Turn 4 with the No. 38 HMD Motorsports car 35 minutes into the session. A 23-year-old Californian transitioning to open-wheel from the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Deegan was injured and drove to the pits after the incident. She placed 21^st/last overall at 1:09.9742-seconds/92.606 mph after 20 laps.

Tommy Smith, a 22-year-old native of Australia, clipped the barrier in Turn 10 in his No. 16 HMD Motorsports car with two minutes remaining in the practice, effectively ending the session. Smith was uninjured, but the front of his machine suffered moderate damage.

Qualifying is set for 1:30 p.m. (EST) Saturday afternoon. FS2 and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage of both sessions. Native Californian Nolan Siegel qualified on-pole last year with a series-record lap in 1-minute, 4.5759-seconds/100.347 mph in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports car. Siegel since has graduated fulltime to the NTT IndyCar Series with Arrow McLaren.

FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE

Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (FOX, noon)*

Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif.  (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)

Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (FOX, 1:30 p.m.)

Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (FOX, 4:30 p.m.)

Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (FOX, 10 a.m.)

Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (FOX, 12:30 p.m.)

Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX, 3:30 p.m.)

Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (FOX, 5 p.m.)

Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)

Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)

*NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.