IndyCar: McLaughlin Wins Pole for Firestone GP of St Pete

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin turned a lap of 59.4624s in the Firestone Fast Six Qualifying to win the pole for the 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg NTT INDYCAR Series race on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

“Yesterday – with our wreck at the end of the session – was not how we wanted to start the weekend, but there is so much trust amongst everyone on this DEX Imaging Chevy,” said McLaughlin.

“No one ever dropped their head, and the vibes have been positive the entire time. Track position in a two-stop race is very important so this was a huge pole position, not to mention my 70th for Team Penske (most with Penske in Australian Supercars. It was just his 11th IndyCar pole). Very proud of that and very proud of our effort today.

“Huge amount of respect; we have so much trust in each other, and they trusted I could do the job today,” McLaughlin said. “The guys and girls on this team, they’re stars. I had to repay them. I made a little silly mistake there, and I was glad to come back with them.

“I just wanted to get pole first race of the year. Good vibes. It’s just great vibes – immaculate vibes, we like to say. I’m very excited.”

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Driving the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda, Colton Herta will make his 100th IndyCar start Sunday in the second spot on the grid. His qualifying lap time was 59.6393 seconds, 0.1769s behind McLaughlin.

Felix Rosenqvist in the No 60 PNC Bank Honda took the third spot with a time of 59.6989s, 0.2365s behind McLaughlin.

“Great qualifying for us, P3. I don’t know if I could have gotten the pole, but it’s a really exciting day for Meyer Shank Racing with us qualifying P3 and P4. We have Shinedown on the car this weekend which was one of my favorite bands growing up. But it was a hell of a start to the season for us.”

Rosenqvist’s teammate, Marcus Armstrong, in the No 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda will start fourth after a time of 59.8278s.

“There was more available for us today, but I’m happy to be inside the Top 6 in my first weekend in the No. 66 SiriusXM / Root Insurance Honda. We left a little bit on the table, but it’s okay because we get to fight for it from this position. The alternate tire is extremely soft, it looks like it could be around five laps and you might start thinking about changing them straight away. We will see how it goes, but we will be pushing tomorrow.”

Christian Lundgaard, in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, will start fifth in his first race with his new team. His time was 59.8663s, 0.4039s behind McLaughlin.

“I’m really proud of the crew, and proud to put the No. 7 VELO Arrow McLaren Chevrolet up front,” said Lundgaard.

“Starting this season like this is really what I was trying to manifest in the offseason. I was telling everybody that I didn’t really want to show up and work my way through. I wanted to start strong, and I feel like we did that. We probably surprised a few people today, but at the end of the day, the points are scored tomorrow. That’s where we need to be strong and I feel like we have a really good car. The first one is always tough as the track and the grip improves a lot throughout the race.”

Scott Dixon in the No 9 PNC Bank Honda took the sixth spot with a time of 59.9216s, 0.4592s behind McLaughlin.

Eliminated in the first round were two-time series champion Will Power, who has won the pole nine times in the last 15 years at this race but is getting up there in age, and defending race winner Pato O’Ward. Power will start 13th in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, while O’Ward will take the green flag from the 23rd starting spot in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.

2025 Firestone GP of St Pete Qualifying Results

Dennis Hauger Wins Indy NXT  Pole in Series Debut

Andretti Global’s Dennis Hauger continued his strong first weekend in INDY NXT by Firestone, winning the pole for the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Saturday with a track-record lap.  Hauger turned a top lap of 1 minute, 3.8801 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group car to earn the top spot in his series debut.

Hauger’s top lap in the first of two qualifying groups broke the INDY NXT track record of 1:04.5759 set by Nolan Siegel last year before he climbed to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Arrow McLaren.

The 45-lap Indy NXT race on the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit starts at 10 a.m. ET Sunday. It will be live on FS1, the FOX Sports app, and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

Lucille Dust reporting live from St Pete

Indy NXT Qualifying Results