On-track incident drops Lundqvist to 23rd in season opener

Behind the wheel of the No. 8 American Legion Honda for the first time ever in an NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) rookie Linus Lundqvist was able to move up four spots during the course of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, sitting at 15th with 36 laps to go – the top rookie in the field.

But then adversity struck in the form of Romain Grosjean making contact with the rear of Lundqvist’s car, forcing the rookie into the Turn 10 barriers. It cost Grosjean a drive-thru penalty for the contact, but more importantly, it cost Lundqvist three laps. He wound up finishing 23rd in the livery carrying the Legion’s Be the One message.

“It was not the day that we wanted to have,” Lundqvist said via CGR media. “I think we were looking really good over the first stint, managing and looking after the car and the tires. We were pushing when we needed to and did a bit of an overcut and gained a few places in the pit stop sequence.

“I think we did everything we could to maximize our strategy and we were fastest when we needed to be. We were fighting on the edge of the top-10 and then sadly got taken out. It's quite unfortunate because the guys and girls with the American Legion team did such a phenomenal job to be fighting for that top-10 position. It is a long season, and we will definitely bounce back from that and bring the positives from the speed that we had."

Two-time and defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champ Alex Palou, behind the wheel of CGR’s No. 10 DHL Honda that also features American Legion branding, started the race 13th and wound up just outside of the top 5, finishing sixth. Palou was the fourth-biggest mover on the day, advancing seven spots.

“I'm happy with the race. We finished two spots better than what we did last year,” Palou said. “We started struggling at the beginning of the weekend, so it was an amazing recovery by Chip Ganassi Racing and the No. 10 DHL Honda team. I'm happy to finish in the top-six and it's a great start. Looking forward to the races ahead with Thermal and especially Long Beach."

CGR’s Kyffin Simpson was the best finisher among the five series rookies in the field, placing 14th in the No. 4 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Simpson was the day’s second-biggest mover, advancing nine positions from his starting spot.

Two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Joseph Newgarden started from the pole and led 92 of 100 laps to win the race.

Next up for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is The $1 Million Challenge, a special, non-points race at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday, March 24 at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, California.