Palou to drive No. 10 American Legion Honda to kickoff INDYCAR SERIES
The 2023 NTT INDYCAR Series season kicks off this weekend, and The American Legion’s “Be the One” suicide-prevention will be on full display on the track.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou, the 2021 series champ, will be driving the No. 10 American Legion Honda that features “Be the One” branding in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Palou finished fifth in last year’s series post standings in finished second behind Scott McLaughlin last year in the St. Petersburg Race.
The Firestone Grand Prix is 100 laps, with the 1.8-mile course featuring 14 turns and incorporating streets of downtown St. Petersburg and a section of runway of Albert Whitted Airport. After the long frontstretch, there's a tight right-hander into Turn 1 and then a quick left-hand turn. Plenty of drivers have gotten into trouble in these two turns over the years. There are two other long straights with heavy braking zones that afford opportunities to overtake.
This weekend’s broadcast schedule:
· Friday, March 3 – practice 3-4:15 p.m. ET, Peacock.
· Saturday, March 4 – practice 10-11 a.m., Peacock; qualifications 2:15-3:30 p.m., Peacock.
· Saturday, March 5 – warmup 9-9:30 a.m., Peacock; NXT race 9:50-11:05 a.m., Peacock; NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, noon-2:30 p.m., NBC and Peacock.
For more information the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, click here.
Three Things to Look for at St. Petersburg (via INDYCAR)
1. Can anyone dethrone the kings? Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske have won the past 10 titles with Scott Dixon, Will Power and Josef Newgarden combining for eight of them. So, who breaks the streak? It’s best to look Arrow McLaren, where Alexander Rossi (No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet), Felix Rosenqvist (No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) and Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet) are employed, or Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda). Those four drivers were the highest-placed drivers in the championship who didn’t drive for Team Penske or Chip Ganassi in 2022. Herta, O’Ward and Rossi are the only three in that group to find victory last season.
2. Power Plays Poles at Will. Will Power is the greatest qualifier in modern INDYCAR SERIES history, as his 68 career poles are the all-time series record. The tale of Power’s qualifying success can best be told through the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where he has won nine of the last 13 poles. The only drivers to score a pole in the last 10 years in St. Petersburg not named Will Power are Takuma Sato in 2014, Robert Wickens in 2018, Colton Herta in 2021 and Scott McLaughlin last season. In total, Team Penske has won the pole position in 11 of the past 16 St. Petersburg races. Power has scored at least one pole position in each season since 2009, including five NTT P1 Awards last year. It’s a sure bet that the reigning series champion will add to his record this season, and don’t be surprised if it starts during NTT P1 Award qualifying Saturday afternoon.
3. Dixon Seeks His First Win on the Streets of St. Petersburg. Who wouldn’t take Scott Dixon’s resume as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver? He has six NTT INDYCAR SERIES championships, which trails only the seven INDYCAR SERIES titles collected by A.J. Foyt. His 53 wins rank second on the all-time INDYCAR SERIES victory list, behind Foyt’s 67, but Dixon has never won at St. Petersburg. Still, he has been successful on the streets of the Florida Gulf Coast city. Dixon has four runner-up finishes at the circuit and has an average finish of 7.88 in his 18 previous starts. He has finished in the top 10 in his last seven starts.