IndyCar at St Petersburg: Begin time, the best way to watch, entry checklist, and so on

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg introduced by RP Funding would be the twentieth Indy automotive race on the course that includes streets in downtown St. Pete together with one of many runways at Albert Whitted Airport.

Final 12 months, Group Penske-Chevrolet’s Scott McLaughlin edged teammate Will Power for pole place, and went on to clock his first IndyCar win, forward of Alex Palou (Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda) and Energy. Different former winners set to participate on this Sunday’s race embrace Energy (2010 and ’14), Helio Castroneves (2006, ’07 and ’12), Josef Newgarden (2019 and ’20), Graham Rahal (2008) and Colton Herta (2021).

Group-wise, Penske has received 11 of the 19 editions of the 19 GP St. Pete, whereas Andretti Autosport has three wins right here, Dale Coyne Racing has two, Chip Ganassi Racing one, whereas the now defunct Newman/Haas Racing and Forsythe Racing groups additionally scored one apiece.

Energy has scored 9 pole positions and two different front-row begins at St. Petersburg, all whereas driving for Penske. The one different St. Pete pole-winners within the discipline this weekend are Herta and McLaughlin.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who’s chasing his seventh Indy automotive title to match AJ Foyt’s report, will this weekend tie the Texan legend for fourth within the all-time checklist for Indy automotive begins at 369. Nonetheless, regardless of making competing in 18 GPs at this monitor, Dixon has but to win right here, his finest outcomes being 4 runner-up finishes.

One other important milestone will likely be Simon Pagenaud making his 200^th Indy automotive begin. The Meyer Shank Racing-Honda driver was the 2016 IndyCar Collection champion and 2019 Indy 500 winner.

On the different finish of the dimensions, St. Petersburg would be the first ever IndyCar begins for rookies Marcus Armstrong (Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda), Sting Ray Robb (Dale Coyne Racing-Honda), Benjamin Pedersen (AJ Foyt Racing-Chevrolet) and Agustin Canapino (Juncos Hollinger Racing-Chevrolet).

Additionally making its race debut this weekend will likely be Shell’s 100% renewable race gasoline will make its competitors debut in St. Petersburg. This consists of a mix of second-generation ethanol derived from sugarcane waste and different biofuels to create a gasoline that’s 100% comprised of feedstocks categorized as renewable below the relevant regulatory frameworks. The gasoline will allow a 60 p.c life cycle greenhouse gasoline emissions discount in comparison with fossil-based gasoline.

Talking of renewable sources, this would be the second race for the Firestone Firehawks made with sustainable, domestically sourced guayule rubber. For all of IndyCar’s avenue races within the 2023 season, Firestone will provide tires utilizing a sidewall materials made completely with rubber derived from the guayule woody desert shrub grown on the corporate’s personal farm in Eloy, AZ. These tires made their debut in final August’s Massive Machine Music Metropolis GP in Nashville.

When is the IndyCar race at St. Petersburg?

Date: Friday, March 3 – Sunday, March 5

Begin time: Sunday, 12.30pm Jap Time

How can I watch the IndyCar race at St. Petersburg?

NBC’s protection of the 2023 Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg will start on Sunday, 12.00pm (ET).

Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s protection of the NTT IndyCar Collection, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Marty Snider, Kevin Lee and Dave Burns are the pit reporters. Telemundo Deportes on Universo will present a Spanish-language telecast.

All IndyCar apply periods, qualifying and races, in addition to Indy NXT by Firestone (previously Indy Lights) races will stream dwell on Peacock, NBC’s livestreaming product.

IndyCar and Indy NXT broadcast schedule (Jap Time)

Friday, March 3

1.55-2.40pm – Indy NXT apply 1 – IndyCar Reside (IndyCar’s personal livestreaming product)
3.00-4.15pm – IndyCar apply 1 – Peacock

Saturday, March 4

9.00-9.45am – Indy NXT apply 2 – IndyCar Reside
10.00-11.00am – IndyCar apply 2 – Peacock
1.35-1.55pm – Indy NXT qualifying – IndyCar Reside
2.15-3.30pm – IndyCar qualifying – Peacock

Sunday, March 5

9.00-9.30am – IndyCar warm-up – Peacock
10.00am – Indy NXT RACE (45 laps / 55 minutes) – Peacock
12.00 – NBC Broadcast begins
12.23 – “Drivers, begin your engines”
12.30 – Inexperienced flag for Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, NTT IndyCar Collection RACE (100 laps) – NBC, Telemundo Deportes on Universo, Peacock

Will the IndyCar race at St. Petersburg be on the radio?

Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman, Jake Question and Michael Younger are the flip announcers. Ryan Myrehn, Alex Wollf and Georgia Henneberry are the pit reporters.

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race and all NTT IndyCar Collection practices and qualifying periods air dwell on community associates, SiriusXM IndyCar Nation 160 and SiriusXM NBC Sports activities Audio 85, racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar App powered by NTT DATA. All Indy NXT by Firestone apply and qualifying periods and races can be found on racecontrol.indycar.com, the IndyCar App and SiriusXM 160.

Race Notes

What number of laps is the IndyCar race at St. Petersburg? 100 laps (180 miles)

Monitor: 1.8-mile, 14-turn avenue/runway course in St. Petersburg, FL.

Firestone tire allotment: Six major units, 5 alternate units (groups should return a set of every earlier than qualifying). One extra set of major tires is on the market to rookie drivers to be used within the Friday afternoon apply session.

Push-to-pass parameters: 150sec whole time, with a most time of 15sec per activation. The push to move isn’t out there on the preliminary begin or any restart until it happens within the remaining two laps or three minutes of a timed race.

2022 Firestone GP of St. Pete winner: Scott McLaughlin, Group Penske-Chevrolet.

2022 Firestone GP of St. Pete pole-winner: Scott McLaughlin, 59.4821sec, 108.940mph.

Qualifying lap report: Will Energy (Group Penske-Chevrolet), 59.3466sec, 109.189mph set in Spherical 2 of qualifying, Feb. 26, 2022.