Scott McLaughlin, driving the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet, was the fastest during the first practice Friday for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. His quickest lap was clocked at 1 minute, 1.1020 seconds on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit that hosts the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season opener this weekend.

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

Scott McLaughlin set the pace for Team Penske’s revised 2026 INDYCAR lineup Friday during Practice 1 for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The NTT P1 Award winner at the Florida venue in 2022 and last season, McLaughlin was quickest around the 1.8-mile/14-turn temporary street circuit at 1-minute, 1.1020-seconds/106.052 mph in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet. McLaughlin led both the earlier portion of the 85-minute practice for all 25 cars and improved upon that time during the smaller session after the field was divided into two groups.

“Decent first day,” said McLaughlin, a 32-year-old native of New Zealand. “Obviously, being P1 is a great start. The DEX Imaging Chevy was straight-away fast and felt good and comfortable. It’s good for us. It’s the start of a long season and it was nice to have a smooth session to start.

“We’ll keep pressing on and see how we go.”

Team Penske’s David Malukas placed ninth on the chart after a best lap of 1:01.4870-seconds/105.388 mph in his debut in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet formerly wheeled by Will Power, now of Andretti Global.

Meanwhile, Penske ace Josef Newgarden’s day ended in a dust storm after contact with a barrier sent him sliding off-track. A two-time champion on the Streets of St. Pete and the NTT P1 award-winner in 2024, Newgarden’s best lap of 1:01.7816-seconds/104.886 mph placed the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet 14^th overall.

“I would say mixed for us,” said Newgarden, a two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion. “It seems like some parts were good, some parts were not. Obviously we have the spin, but I think our cars looked relatively quick.

“Scottie was quick up-front and David looked good. I think there’s enough to draw from for us at Team Penske that would be positive. So, yeah, we’re off and going now, which is great.”

McLaughlin, who finished 10^th in the final driver standings during a winless 2025 campaign, has welcomed former Team Penske President Tim Cindric to his timing stand as race-day strategist.

Recall that Cindric had served as longtime Penske Team President, as well as race strategist Newgarden, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. Cindric had stepped back from many of his larger roles following the 2024 season. But when Newgarden and Power’s cars failed inspection moments before they were due to run for pole at the 109^th Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last May, team-founder Roger S. Penske canned three top executives.

Newgarden insisted Cindric’s return has been seamless. “We’re all on the team together,” said Newgarden, 35. “We’re all in the trucks together. So a lot of it feels the same to me. You know, I’m used to having different voices recently. I must have had four or five different voices over the last two years. To me it doesn’t feel that different.”

SEE: Practice Results

Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden was second overall at 1:01.1660-seconds/105.941 mph in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian. Rosenqvist’s car features a livery saluting Florida native and rock icon Tom Petty during the 50th anniversary of his legendary band “Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.”

Florida native Kyle Kirkwood was third at 1:01.1777-seconds/105.921 mph in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda of Andretti Global.

Kyffin Simpson of the Cayman Islands started the 2026 season with the speed he often flashed in 2025, ending up fourth at 1:01.1782-seconds/105.920 mph in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Denmark’s Marcus Ericsson, the 2023 St. Pete winner, completed the top-five at 1:01.1967-seconds/105.888 mph in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda as Andretti Global landed two drivers in the top-five.

Four-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Spain _ winner of this event in 2025 _ was sixth at 1:01.2614-seconds/105.776 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

Newgarden said his messy off-track excursion was setup-related. “We tried something different on our car, and I just got loose to the corner,” Newgarden said. “It’s pretty simple as that. Nothing on the track. It wasn’t anything track-related.”

Pato O’Ward, last season’s championship runnerup to Palou, was 12^th a 1:01.5754-seconds/105.237 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. “It’s nice to be back in race-mode,” said O’Ward, a 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “It was a bit of a messy session for us. We didn’t get the cleanest of reads on the soft (Firestone Firehawk) tire, which isn’t ideal before qualifying.

“We’re going to see what we need to do for Practice 2 and qualifying (Saturday) to make it go a little bit faster and a bit more comfortable.”

Up next is Practice 2 at 9:30 a.m. (EST), followed by NTT P1 Award qualifying at 4:30 p.m. Practice will be televised on FS1, with qualifying on FS2. FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls, also will air both sessions live.

Competition in both sessions and the race at noon (EST) Sunday (FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports App, INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls) should be tight. A miniscule 0.0947-seconds _ less than a tenth-of-a-second _ covered the top-five drivers. Less than a second separated the top 21 in the 25-driver field.

Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci was 16^th overall after a best lap of 1:01.8409-seconds/104.785 mph in the No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet fielded by Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing.

Native Norwegian Dennis Hauger, 22 and the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone champion, was the quickest of three rookies in 17th at 1:01.8680-seconds/104.739 mph in the No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda of Dale Coyne Racing.

Formula One and sports car veteran Mick Schumacher, the 26-year-old son of seven-time F1 World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher of Germany, was the second-quickest rookie and 23rd overall with a best lap of 1:02.1707-seconds/104.229 mph in the No. 47 ENVE Honda fielded by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

“It’s weird to only have one session, on this day at least,” Schumacher said. “I think we’ve learned a lot throughout the sessions. It was good to be able to drive continuously throughout. I think taking advantage of that (extra rookie practice) for sure was a bit of an advantage for us and the team as a whole.

“We’re going to keep working on it and try to improve the little bits and pieces here and there that we need to. But I think for a start, it was pretty OK. It’s (the track) a little less bumpy than what I expected. Everybody was hyping it to us pretty drastically and I thought it wasn’t actually that bad.”

Newgarden wasn’t the only driver experiencing wall-contact. Six-time series champion Scott Dixon and 2025 series Rookie of the Year Louis Foster of Great Britain both made contact with the barriers to trigger red flags and halt practice in separate incidents.

Dixon’s incident was the most severe. About 57 minutes into the session, Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda slid across Turn 9 and made head-first contact with the concrete barrier, inflicting heavy damage to the front clip and suspension. Malukas barely avoided Dixon’s wreckage, sneaking past between the left-side barrier and Dixon’s left sidepod. Dixon, CGR’s longest-tenured driver, was uninjured.

“Kind of a frustrating one,” said Dixon, a 45-year-old native of New Zealand and five-time runnerup in St. Pete. “I got loose on entry and tried to save it and then kind of got into an overcorrection. Luckily it slid off a lot of the speed before it hit the wall. Sometimes you can ‘tub’ a car and destroy them. Hopefully, this isn’t too bad.” The Dallara chassis reportedly will be repaired by Dixon’s CGR crew.

INDYCAR’s 18-race 2026 schedule includes new venues in Arlington, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth market; Markham, Ontario, Canada and Washington, D.C. For information about the series or teams, visit www.indycar.com.

Max Taylor backed up his preseason performance during Practice 1 of the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season Friday at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, leading a 1-2-3 sweep for Andretti Global.

Max Taylor set the pace to lead Andretti 1-2-3 during the INDY NXT by Firestone practice session in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday.

Connecticut native Taylor, 18 and entering his first full season in INDYCAR’s developmental series, topped the 45-minute session with a best lap of 1-minute, 5.0852-seconds/99.562 mph in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen entry. It’s the same Andretti machine Dennis Hauger drove to the INDY NXT championship last season before earning a promotion to the NTT IndyCar Series.

SEE: Practice Results

Taylor, who made six INDY NXT starts in 2025 amid a full-time effort in USF Pro 2000, led the INDY NXT Group Test last November at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, was second-fastest at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test in October on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course and ranked in the top-two in all four sessions at a group test last month at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.

“A good first session,” Taylor said. “Always loved driving around this place. Missed it. It was a really good session working with the team, developing the setup, fixing my driving, as well. A really good start to the weekend and I’m excited to keep on attacking it.”

Series veteran and Andretti newcomer Josh Pierson was a distant second behind Taylor with a best lap of 1:05.5358-seconds/98.877 mph in the No. 29 Starchive Andretti entry. Second-year INDY NXT driver Seb Murray of Scotland completed Andretti Global’s sweep of the top-three at 1:05.5368-seconds/98.876 mph in the No. 27 Prosperity entry.

Myles Rowe was fourth at 1:05.5845-seconds/98.804 mph in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy car. Series rookie Enzo Fittipaldi, the 24-year-old grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil, completed the top-five at 1:05.7017-seconds/98.628 mph in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports entry.

The session was slowed by two red flags. Australian Jack Beeton, an 18-year-old series rookie, backed into the wall in Turn 10 in the No. 45 HMD Motorsports car about 15 minutes into the session. The rear of the car was damaged, but Beeton was able to drive to the pits for repairs.

About 20 minutes later, Lochie Hughes of Australia nosed into the barrier in Turn 7 in the No. 26 Andretti Global entry. Hughes, the series’ top returning driver this season, drove to the pits without a front wing for a replacement.

Up next is Practice 2 for the 24-car field at 8:35 a.m. (EST) Saturday, followed by qualifying at 3:45 p.m. FS1 will televise practice live, with qualifying on FS2. FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls, also will provide live coverage of both sessions.

The 45-lap race is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Alex Palou unveiled the ticket for the race’s 110th edition on Tuesday, Feb. 24, in Indianapolis.

Palou earned his first victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” last May in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. One of the many honors bestowed upon the winner is unveiling the ticket for the following year’s race. The tradition of featuring the winning driver on the next year’s 500 ticket dates to Mauri Rose’s appearance in 1948.

A 28-year-old native of Spain, Palou received a special DHL delivery at K1 Speed in Fishers, Ind. He opened the DHL packaging to reveal an enlarged version of the colorful ticket, featuring a photo of his celebration standing on his winning car following the victory.

“I always had to sign the ticket as a driver, and I always wanted be on the ticket,” Palou said. “It’s amazing. I love it. It was probably the coolest day of my life, and I cannot wait to see it on a small scale all around IMS. It’s going to look good.”

Designed in-house by Senior Art Director Mandy Walsh, the ticket celebrates the excitement of Palou’s first 500 victory with his full-color image superimposed over an overhead shot of his car crossing the famed Yard of Bricks. The ticket also features a patriotic flair to celebrate the nation’s military, which is honored throughout the event held annually during Memorial Day weekend, and the 250th birthday of the United States this year.

Palou will defend his victory on Sunday, May 24, in the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with live coverage starting at 10 a.m. (EDT) on FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Tickets for the Indy 500 and all Month of May activities are on sale at IMS.com, by calling the IMS Ticket Office at 317-492-6700 or by visiting the ticket office.

FOX SPORTS’ 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES RACE BROADCAST SCHEDULE

Note _ All times Eastern

Sunday, March 1 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., Noon

Saturday, March 7 _ Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Ariz., 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 15 _ Streets of Arlington, Texas, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 29 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala., 1 p.m.

Sunday, April 19 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif., 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 9 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 24 _ 110^th Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval, 10 a.m.

Sunday, May 31 _ Streets of Detroit, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 7 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill., 9 p.m.

Sunday, June 21 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., 2 p.m.

Sunday, July 5 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, 12:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 19 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn., TBA

Sunday, Aug. 9 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway, 4 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 16 _ Streets of Markham, Canada, Noon

Sunday, Aug. 23 _ Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., TBA

Saturday, Aug. 29 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 1, West Allis, Wis., 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 30 _ The Milwaukee Mile Race 2, West Allis, Wis., 1 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 6 _ WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif., 2:30 p.m.

Note _ Dates and times subject to change.