IndyCars - St. Petersburg: The 2022 season begins!

[MarkyS]

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The months-long drought is over as the IndyCars once again start their season with a race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. They are doing…
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The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

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Every year at this time IndyCars take over the downtown streets and a section of runway of the Albert Whitted Airport of St. Pete, to hold a great street race, kicking off the season. The course, at 1.8-miles and 14 turns, is considered fast and anything but easy - especially at the Turn 1, Turn 2 complex, which seems to bite someone every year. With three long straights, the course has plenty of passing opportunities for the brave. There is also a challenging carousel at Turns 13 and 14, leading onto the main straight.

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The St. Pete community has always had great support for this event, and this year will be no different. For their support they will get a ton of great racing all weekend long, with no less than 10 races. Those races will include:

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• SRO GT America - 2 races, on Friday and Saturday
• Mazda MX-5 Cup - 2 races on Friday and Saturday
• USF2000 - 2 races on Friday and Sunday
• Indy Pro 2000 - 2 races on Friday and Saturday
• Indy Lights - Race on Sunday

…and, of course, the IndyCars will race on Sunday

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Let’s look at that support racing. First off, both SRO GT America and Mazda MX-5 Cup are production-based SportsCar series and no IndyCar drivers are in them, so we will wish them happy and safe racing, and concentrate on the others.

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Continued…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Support Racing…

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The Road to Indy is IndyCar’s ladder system that trains and prepares young drivers to advance to IndycCars - the “big” cars. The ladder is made up of 4 rungs, with increasing difficulty. They are new rung USF Juniors and USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights. USFJuniors will kick off their inaugural season in April at brand new Ozarks International Raceway. The OTHER three series are here at St. Pete for their seasonal kick-off.

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USF2000 - is one step up from USF Juniors. The series uses the newly-fitted Tatuus USF-22 chassis and a 4-cylinder 2.0 liter engine from Elite Engines, producing 175hp. The chassis meets all FIA F4 specs but is even stronger, to meet the rigors of oval racing. Drivers get power to the ground through a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox. Cars also have four-way adjustable dampers and specific design aluminum Rotiform Racing wheels. Cosworth designed the data system, LCD steering wheel and ECU and the four-piston caliper brakes are from PFC.

The drivers often come directly from the karting ranks or from wingless F1600 cars, and this car is often the 1st formula car with slicks and wings these drivers encounter in their careers. The fields are large, with a wide range of experience and talent - some quite good while others are learning everything.

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Sophomore Thomas Nepveu testing in his Tatuus USF-22 for DEForce Racing

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Indy Pro 2000 - is the next step up on the ladder over USF2000. The Tatuus IP-22 is essentially the same chassis and gearbox combo as the USF-22, but the add-ons are all more - more power from the 2.0 liter Elite engine, at 275 hp, bigger wings for more downforce, bigger tires for more mechanical grip and braking power and a more sophisticated management system and steering wheel. It’s just as tight but faster and grippier - and tougher to get the most out of.

The series drivers are all coming in with lots of previous experience, usually from USF2000 or from Formula Regional Americas or from any number of Formula 3 series. Their racecraft is usually excellent, across the board, with few or no hamburgers in the field. That makes for VERY competitive racing, and most of these drivers are capable of podiums on any given day.

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Enaam Ahmed for Juncos Hollinger Racing in his IP-22

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Indy Lights - The car is the Dallara IL-15 and is substantially bigger and better than the PM-22. It is much closer to an IndyCar in performance and feel - a great training ground to step up to the big cars. The Dallara uses a 450 hp turbo-charged engine from AER, with engine management from Cosworth. The adjustable brakes are by PFC and are the biggest in the Road to Indy. The cars have much bigger wings and wheels than the PM-22, providing much more grip and downforce. The IL-15 has one more thing: Push-to-Pass, just like on the big cars. That is, an additional burst of 50 horsepower is available to the driver under certain conditions, with the push of a button on the steering wheel.

The drivers are typically graduates of USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000, but can often come from GP3 or GP2 in Europe. These drivers are ready to make the move to the big cars by season’s end and many of the drivers in IndyCars are recent graduates of Indy Lights.

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2021 Indy Lights Champion kyle Kirkwood is now an IndyCar driver

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Thursday was a day of practice for both USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000. Let’s GET THIS GOING!!!

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M

[MarkyS]

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Thursday at St. Pete - The Road to Indy takes to the track…

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The first guys to get on the track this weekend were the gang from Indy Pro 2000 for their one practice session before they qualify tomorrow for Race 1, later in the day

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Here was the order of speed for the Indy Pro 2000 P1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing - time of 01:10.4350s for a speed of 92.000mph

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2 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:10.4391s for a speed of 91.994mph

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3 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:10.4398s for a speed of 91.993mph

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4 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:10.4461s for a speed of 91.985mph

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5 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:10.6434s for a speed of 91.728mph

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6 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
7 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development
8 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development
9 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
10 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing

11 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
12 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing
13 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
14 - Matt Round-Garrido, Exclusive Autosport
15 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
16 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing

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Notable:

• No surprise that Nolan Siegel took the TOP SPOT. The 17-year-old rookie is used to powerful cars due to his extra-curricular racing in IMSA SportsCars. Nolan will always be a threat this season.

• Look how close these guys are. Louis and Christian are both only 0.004 seconds off Nolan’s time. The TOP EIGHT drivers were within three-tenths of Siegel, and 14 of the sixteen were within one second.

• We don’t know what is up with Yuven Sundaramoorthy. He should be much better than this.

Yuven Sundaramoorthy off his game

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Nolan Siegel in the Rolex 24 at Daytona

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Indy Pro 2000 will hold their weekend qually session first thing Friday morning and then run Race 1 mid-morning. Next up, USF2000 hold their practice session…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Thursday at St. Pete - USF2000 holds their practice session…

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The kids from USF2000 followed the IP2K gang with their own practice session, with an eye towards their qually session on Friday morning. We had a few nice surprises in the session.

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Here was the order of speed for the USF2000 P-1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing - time of 01:13.6344s for a speed of 88.002mph

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2 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing - time of 01:13.6893s for a speed of 87.937mph

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3 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:13.7998s for a speed of 87.805mph

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4 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing - time of 01:13.8100s for a speed of 87.793mph

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5 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports - time of 01:13.9599s for a speed of 87.615mph

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6 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing
7 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports
8 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing
9 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport
10 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports

11 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports
12 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports
13 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports
14 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development
15 - Frederik Lund [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
16 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport
17 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
18 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
19 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport

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Notable:

• No surprise that Jace is A-Numero-Uno here. Denmark was good in 2021, was good at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test and was good at Spring Training. But there were others just as good, so hang on and let’s watch this play out. Michael d"Orlando is the expected title shoo-in contender here.

• Myles Rowe is a last-minute addition to Pabst Racing and it’s still not clear if this is a race-at-a-time deal, where money has to keep flowing in. A great start for the “Speed Boys” at Pabst to be 1-2 on the first practice of the year.

• Myles is only 0.05 seconds off Jace and the TOP TEN are within a second of each other.

• Bijoy Garg was middling at best in 2021 but was outstanding at the Chris Griffis in late October, It looks like new and improved Bijoy is the real deal! We hope so.

• The real surprise here is Trey Burke. Trey was a back-marker all season long in 2021 but Joe Dooling Autosports has committed to giving the USAC racer a great team in 2022, including driver coach Sage Karam. It seems all to be paying off.

• We expected a lot better from Jagger Jones and Jackson Lee. We will keep an eye on those boys.

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Jagger Jones (left) and Jackson Lee

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Jace Denmark

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USF2000 will qualify on Friday right after Indy Pro 2000, in the early morning. They hold Race 1 just before Noon. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at St. Pete - Indy Pro 2000 qualifies…

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The first guys on track this morning were the gang from IP2K for their one qually session of the weekend and a rookie took his first RTI pole position.

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Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 wiill grid for Season Round 1, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:09.6117s for a speed of 93.088mph

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P2 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:09.6477s for a speed of 93.040mph

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Row 2

P3 - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing - time of 01:09.7395s for a speed of 92.917mph

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P4 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:09.8747s for a speed of 92.737mph

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Row 3

P5 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:09.9561s for a speed of 92.630mph

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P6 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:10.0143s for a speed of 92.553mph

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Row 4

P7 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing
P8 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 5

P9 - Matt Round-Garrido, Exclusive Autosport
P10 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 6

P11 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing
P12 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing

Row 7

P13 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P14 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing

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Notable:

• Despite a few years of excellence in the Road to Indy, this is the first pole for the outstanding former Team USA Scholarship driver. Pole was held for most of the session by Nolan Siegel, but as the last four minutes of the session began, Josh took the lead and shortly after that a red flag came out for Christian Brooks, into the wall in Turn 3, making it impossible for anyone to answer Josh before the session ended.

• Any one of the TOP SIX guys could have been on pole. We would have picked these six to be the series title contenders and already they are showing us why. Things may change as the season goes on, with others stepping into the TOP SIX, but as of today, these are already the guys to watch.

• The TOP FOURTEEN guys are all within a second of each other. This is a great field of drivers.

• Christian Brooks’ car is too damaged to race today and may not make it into Saturday’s race, either. Brooks has WON here in USF2000 competition three times out of four outings, so this is a great shame.

Christian Brooks

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Josh Green in his Turn 3 Motorsports Tatuus IP-22

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The race is scheduled for mid-morning, today. Next up, USF2000 qualifies…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at St. Pete - USF2000 qualifies…

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Following the qually for IP2K the kids in USF2000 were next on the track for their own qualifying session.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 1, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.7274s for a speed of 89.100mph

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P2 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing - time of 01:12.7358s for a speed of 89.090mph

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Row 2

P3 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.7555s for a speed of 89.065mph

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P4 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing - time of 01:12.7769s for a speed of 89.039mph

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Row 3

P5 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:12.7800s for a speed of 89.035mph

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P6 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:12.8251s for a speed of 88.980mph

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Row 4

P7 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports
P8 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports
P10 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing
P12 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport
P14 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Frederik Lund [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P16 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P18 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 10

P19 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development

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Notable:

• This is Canadian sophomore Thomas Nepveu’s first RTI pole. Extremely tight at the top, the TOP FIVE guys are separated by only 0.05 seconds!

• The TOP SIXTEEN were all within 1 second of each other.

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Thomas Nepveu

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USF2000 will race right after Indy Pro 2000, near Noon today.
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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday morning at St. Pete - the Indy Lights practice…

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The Lights had their first practice before qualifying late this afternoon for Sunday’s race. They will practice again later today, after qualifying.

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Here was the order of speed for the Indy Lights P-1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Linus Lundqvist, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:05.7856s for a speed of 98.502mph

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2 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:05.8080s for a speed of 98.468mph

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3 - Hunter McElrea [R], Andrtetti Autosport - time of 01:05.9255s for a speed of 98.293mph

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4 - Sting Ray Robb, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.9283s for a speed of 98.289mph

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5 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:06.0430s for a speed of 98.118mph

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6 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports
7 - Matthew Brabham, Andretti Autosport
8 - Kyffin Simpson [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
9 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
10 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], HMD Motorsports

11 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
12 - James Roe [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
13 - Antonio Serravalle, Abel Motorsports
14 - Ernie Francis, Jr. [R], Force Indy

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Notable:

• The TOP FIVE drivers were within two tenths of a second for a close group at the top. The TOP NINE were within a second of each other.

• Manuel Sulaiman stopped on track with an electrical gremlin two minutes into the session, bringing out a red flag, but was able to return later, to post a time.

• The second red flag came out with just under 25 minutes remaining when Ernie Francis, Jr. stopped in the run-off area of Turn 10 with another gremlin.

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Manuel Sulaiman (left) and Ernie Francis - unfortunate

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The Lights will come out to qualify in the early afternoon. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 hold Race 1 of the weekend. the grid for this is in post # 5…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday morning at St. Pete - Indy Pro 2000 start their season with Race 1…

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…of the weekend, and a series rookie takes the first WIN of the new season, as Josh Green goes pole to checkers for Turn 3 Motorsports. P2 went to sophomore Enaam Ahmed for Juncos Hollinger Racing from his P2 start and P3 went to rookie Louis Foster for Exclusive Autosport from his P4 start.

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The first lap of the race saw Josh get a great start, and by the end of the lap he was about two seconds ahead of Enaam, On lap 1 Nolan Siegel for DEForce Racing lost two spots in the early corners to fall to P5 from his P3 start. Wyatt Brichacek for Jay Howard Driver Development went from P8 to P6 while Reece Gold for Juncos Hollinger went from P6 to P8 - both bracketing Kiko Porto for DEForce, who remained in P7. The big mover was Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri Motorsports, who went from P14 to P9.

Enaam Ahmed spent the remaining laps trying to whittle away at Green’s lead with a series of Fastest Laps. Green’s answer was to be as consistent as possible. On lap 13 Wyatt Brichacek spun in Turn 9, trying to pass Nolan Siegel. He was able to rejoin, but in P13. On lap 19 several cars pitted for new tires in an attempt to set Fastest Lap and thus get pole position for Race 2 on Saturday. By lap 23 Enaam was only 0.67 seconds off Josh’s tail, but still unable to shake Green up enough to err.

On the final lap of the race Nolan Siegel - on his race-starting tires - set the Fastest Lap of the weekend, so far, and secured pole for Race 2. Josh took the checkered flag with Ahmed about a car length off his rear wing, with Louey Foster almost as close to Enaam.

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Notable:

• Despite his best efforts, Enaam was unable to match Green’s excellent consistency and that was probably what saved Josh in the end.

• Josh ended his USF2000 career in 2021 with a WIN in the final race and starts his IP2K career with a WIN - too cool.

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Your happy podium - That’s Enaam Ahmed in P2 on the left, Josh Green in P1 in the middle and Louis Foster in P3 on the right:

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Next for IP2K, Race 2 will be held tomorrow. The grid was set by using either the driver’s 2nd fastest lap in qualifying or their fastest Race 1 lap - whichever is better . Next, USF2000 holds Race 1 of the weekend. The grid for this is in post # 6…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at St. Pete - USF2000 starts their season with Race 1 …

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…of the weekend, and ends it with a ton of drama, as Jace Denmark for Pabst Racing takes his first Road to Indy WIN from his P2 start. P2 went to Billy Frazer for Exclusive Autosport from his P6 start and Bijoy Garg for DEForce Racing gets the P3 spot from his P3 start.

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Thomas Nepveu for DEForce Racing led the field away from pole with Jace hot on him. Billy Frazer had a great lap, going from P6 to P3, while Jagger Jones for Cape Motorsports went the other way, from P5 to P9. Simon Sikes for Legacy Autosport took P6 from Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports. On lap 2 Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing took P4 from Bijoy Garg.

On lap 11 Myles made another move and took the P3 spot away from Billy Frazer. Michael d’Orlando set Fastest Lap, but two laps later Myles reset Fastest Lap in pursuit of teammate Jace Denmark.

On lap 19 - the penultimate lap - Myles took P2 away from Jace and set out after Thomas, still in the lead. On the start of the final lap of the race Myles and Thomas crossed the finish line virtually side by side, with Rowe on the inside. As the two tried to negotiate Turns 1 and 2 they touched, and both cars slammed into the walls, with Jace just able to squeeze by both disintegrating cars and parts, all over the track.

A red flag was immediately flown and the race ended under red, though it is pretty clear that Jace would have beaten Billy and Bijoy to the finish line, anyway.

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Notable:

• This was Jace’s first WIN in the Road to Indy, though he had 1 podium from 2021. This was the first podium for both Billy and Bijoy.

• The attempt by Myles to pass Thomas where he did was very risky and was made surely because Myles needs WINS to keep his season alive. While he was probably the fastest car on the track he probably should have accepted P2 or attempted a pass in a saner spot on the track. He now has a very bent up machine that he cannot afford to break so much.

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Here was Myles’ take on the incident:

USF2000 Series

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Your happy podium - That’s Billy Frazer in P2 on the left, Jace Denmark in P1 in the middle and Bijoy Garg in P3 on the right:

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Next up for USF2000 is Race 2 on Sunday morning. The grid for that will be based on each driver’s 2nd fastest qually lap or their fastest race 1 lap - whichever is faster. Next, the Indy Lights qualify for their Sunday race…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 - Race 1 for each…

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We have both races on Road to Indy video here, one after the other on the same feed. You will need to skip around a bit to get past the filler moments:

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Indy Pro 2000 Race 1 & USF2000 Race 1 - Streets of St. Petersburg

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[MarkyS]

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Friday at St. Pete - Indy Lights qualify for their Sunday race…

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There is a thief running around the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida and his name is Hunter McElrea, as the Kiwi stole pole from Linus Lundqvist in virtually the final seconds of qualifying for Sunday’s season opener.

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Here is the way the Indy Lights will grid for Season Round 1, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Hunter McElrea [R], Andrtetti Autosport - time of 01:05.2812s for a speed of 99.263 mph

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P2 - Linus Lundqvist, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:05.5735s for a speed of 98.820mph

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Row 2

P3 - Sting Ray Robb, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.6751s for a speed of 98.668mph

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P4 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:05.8377s for a speed of 98.424mph

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Row 3

P5 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:05.8580s for a speed of 98.394mph

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P6 - Matthew Brabham, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.0424s for a speed of 98.119mph

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Row 4

P7 - Kyffin Simpson [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
P8 - Antonio Serravalle, Abel Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
P10 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], HMD Motorsports
P12 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports

.Row 7

P13 - James Roe [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
P14 - Ernie Francis, Jr. [R], Force Indy
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Notable:

• Linus Lundqvist held pole for the entire session, until the final lap by McElrea. Hunter took pole by almost 3/10ths of a second. That is a massive leap over the rest of the field, when we are measuring most Road to Indy stats by hundredths and even thousandths of a second difference.

• McElrea has now taken a pole in all three series in the Road to Indy he has participated in. His record is 10 poles.

• Antonio Serravalle is already performing better in the Abel Motorsports car than he ever did in the family team Pserra Racing car. Perhaps he would have a better season if he stayed with Abel - a much more experienced team with a history of WINNING in other series.

Antonio Serravalle - time for a change?

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Hunter McElrea on his pole:

INDY NXT

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The Lights get to have a final practice this afternoon. Next, the big cars finally come out for their first practice of the weekend…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at St. Pete - the IndyCars hold their first practice session of the weekend…

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After a long, cold off-season, the series drivers finally get to test each other a bit on track as they go out for the first race practice session of the 2022 season. Topping the charts was the guy who almost died in a Formula One fire a little over a year ago. Things change.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars’ P-1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:01.0525s for a speed of 106.138mph

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2 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:01.1567s for a speed of 105.957mph

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3 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:01.2282s for a speed of 105.834mph

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4 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing - time of 01:01.3249s for a speed of 105.667mph

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5 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:01.3683s for a speed of 105.592mph

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6 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
7 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
8 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
9 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
10 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports

11 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
12 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
13 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Autosport
14 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
15 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
16 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
17 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
18 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
19 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
20 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP

21 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
22 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Racing
23 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
24 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
25 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
26 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• Romain had the wind at his back, as he learned today that he was named the most popular IndyCar driver in a global fan poll from 147 countries, just besting Pato O’Ward.

• Andretti Autosport has 3 drivers in the TOP SIX and all four drivers in the TOP THIRTEEN. Rahal Letterman Lanigan also doing well as a team, with 2 drivers in the TOP SEVEN. Team Penske has two drivers in the TOP EIGHT but neither of them is two-time former WINNER Josef Newgarden. Meyer Shank Racing has two guys in the TOP ELEVEN.

• As a team, the laggards are the Chip Ganassi boys, with Marcus Ericsson in P15 being their best guy. Most of these guys should be TOP TEN easily. Arrow McLaren is also way underperforming, with Felix Rosenqvist leading in P16 and Pato O’Ward mired in P20.

• Best rookie was David Malukas for Dale Coyne in P10, but Kyle Kirkwood and Devlin DeFrancesco are close, in P12 and P13 respectively.

Best rookie David Malukas

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The IndyCars will hold their P-2 session on Saturday morning and follow that up with qualifying at midday. Next, the Indy Lights hold their final practice…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at St. Pete - The Indy Lights hold their final practice…

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…session of the weekend, before their race on Sunday. The “thief” returned, as Hunter McElrea once again took the TOP SPOT in the final seconds of the session, as he did in qualifying, but this time the chagrined competitor was Danial Frost.

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Here was the order of speed for the Indy Lights’ P-2 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Hunter McElrea [R], Andrtetti Autosport - time of 01:05.7693s for a speed of 98.526mph

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2 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:05.8655s for a speed of 98.382mph

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3 - Linus Lundqvist, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:06.0056s for a speed of 98.173mph

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4 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:06.1055s for a speed of 98.025mph

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5 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports - time of 01:06.2174s for a speed of 97.859mph

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6 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing
7 - Matthew Brabham, Andretti Autosport
8 - Sting Ray Robb, Andretti Autosport
9 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], HMD Motorsports
10 - Kyffin Simpson [R], TJ Speed Motorsports

11 - James Roe [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
12 - Ernie Francis, Jr. [R], Force Indy
13 - Antonio Serravalle, Abel Motorsports
14 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports

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Notable:

• Danial had a rough qually session and was recovering here nicely. Though he missed out on the TOP SPOT he was beaten by only 0.09 seconds - a lot closer than the 0.3 seconds Hunter took pole by.

• Hunter’s final practice time was the best time of any Indy Lights driver of the weekend, so far.

• The TOP ELEVEN drivers were covered by 1 second. It should be a very close race.

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That’s all for the Indy Lights until Sunday morning, when they race. This was the last on–track activity of the day.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at St. Pete - USF2000 forms a grid for Race 2 of the weekend…

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Because of the tight weekend schedule, the grid for the second race of the weekend for USF2000 was formed by taking either the 2nd fastest lap of each driver during qualifying, or the fastest Race 1 lap of each driver - whichever is fastest.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 2, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing - time of 01:12.7399s

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P2 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.8320s

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Row 2

P3 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.8613s

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P4 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:12.8840s

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Row 3

P5 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport - time of 01:12.9152s

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P6 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing - time of 01:13.0505s

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Row 4

P7 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports
P8 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing
P10 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports
P12 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport

Row 7

P13 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports
P14 - Frederik Lund [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P18 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 10

P19 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development
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Notable:

• Almost all of the positions for USF2000’s Race 2 grid were formed using the 2nd best qually lap instead of a fast Race 1 lap.

• It’s not yet clear if either Myles Rowe or Thomas Nepveu will have their cars repaired after they were destroyed in the last lap of Race 1, but they have a full day to get it done.

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This race is scheduled for Sunday morning.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at St. Pete - Indy Pro 2000 forms a grid for Race 2 of the weekend…

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Just as with USF2000, the grid for the second race of the weekend for Indy Pro 2000 was formed by taking either the 2nd fastest lap of each driver during qualifying, or the fastest Race 1 lap of each driver - whichever is fastest.

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Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 2, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing - time of 01:09.5905s

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P2 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:09.6530s

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Row 2

P3 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:09.7840s

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P4 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:09.9050s

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Row 3

P5 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:09.9188s

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P6 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:09.9692s

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Row 4

P7 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing
P8 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P10 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 6

P11 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P12 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 7

P13 - Matt Round-Garrido, Exclusive Autosport
P14 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing

Row 8

P15 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing

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Notable:

• All but three of the drivers are using their fastest Race 1 lap to grid. That shows how fast the IP2K races are - faster than the 2nd-best qualifying laps of most drivers!

• Of the TOP SIX only Louey Foster is using his 2nd best qually lap to grid. In the case of Wyatt Brichacek, he was way behind in Race 1 due to a spin, so he pitted to get new tires just to put down a great Race 1 lap. As a result, though he ended the day in P13 he is now going to start Race 2 in P2. He was the only driver in the TOP SIX to use that strategy.

• Nolan got Fastest Lap in Race 1 on the final lap of the race and on his starting tires, yet it was more than good enough to take pole in Race 2.

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This race will be run on Saturday morning, first event of the day.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at St. Pete - Indy Pro 2000 burns the barn down…

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The 2nd race of the weekend for IP2K was an INTENSE battle all the way through, with rookie Nolan Siegel for DEForce Racing going all the way from pole to the WIN while defending himself over two restarts. Coming in P2 was determined rookie Louis Foster for Exclusive Autosport from a P5 start while P3 went to sophomore Braden Eves for Jay Howard Driver Development from his P4 start.

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As Nolan jumped off well from pole, Lap 1 was a disaster for Enaam Ahmed for Juncos Hollinger Racing, as he slipped from P3 to P7 in the first few corners, passed by Braden, Louis, Josh Green for Turn 3 Motorsports and Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing. Race 1 WINNER Josh Green then passed Louis for the P4 spot. On lap 2 Enaam recovered P6 from Kiko. On Lap 3 Louis reclaimed P4 from Josh in Turn 12. Reece Gold for Juncos Hollinger battled with Salvador de Alba for JHDD for the 12th spot in Turn 1 and the two came together, bringing out a full-course caution, with Sal out of the race and Reece heading for the pits for a new wing.

On the lap 6 restart Nolan kept the lead as Braden passed Wyatt Brichacek for JHDD, taking over P2. Louis followed Braden on through and Wyatt fell to P4. Something befell Josh Green and he fell down the order as he pitted. He would rejoin, but 3 laps down. On lap 9 Enaam charged past Wyatt for the P4 spot in Turn 1. On lap 10 Louis was past Braden for P2 in Turn 4. Louis poured it on and set Fastest Lap on lap 14 in pursuit of Nolan. Enaam was also pushing hard to catch Braden and on lap 16 he came into Turn 4 and brushed the wall on his right, sending him hard into the barriers on his left, out of the race and bringing out the second caution.

On the lap 20 restart Nolan again stayed ahead of Louis while Kiko passed Wyatt for P4 and Matt Round-Garrido for Exclusive Autosport passed Reece for P9. By lap 23 Louis was almost next to Nolan as they entered Turn 1 but had to back out of it, allowing Braden to catch him up and fill his own mirrors. That gave Nolan just enough breathing room for the WIN two laps later, with Louis 0.7 seconds back and Braden 0.8 seconds off Louis.

Outstanding racing and hard battles all the way through the field, Indy Pro 2000 is once again shaping up to be the hardest fought, most equal and most exciting Road to Indy series with a huge number of title contenders.

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Notable:

• This is Nolan’s 4th Road to Indy season. He started at age 14 in USF2000 and spent two unremarkable years learning, but last year he was clearly one of the series hot shoes and took his first RTI WIN. His 2nd RTI WIN comes very early in his rookie season in IP2K. Siegel’s secret is that he isn’t content to wait for RTI racing, but rather will jump into any race car he can get in, and then make them work.

• Louis Foster will be, as predicted, a title contender all the way through. He was the only guy to take 2 podiums from the weekend. Enaam Ahmed was also a hard charger, but his error cost him a probable podium.

• Braden Eves was as potent as Louis and Enaam - all that we have come to expect from the former USF2000 Champion.

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Your happy podium - That’s Louey Foster in P2 on the left, Nolan Siegel in P1 in the middle and Braden Eves in P3 on the right:

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With these results, here are the TOP TEN in points leaving St. Pete:

1 - Nolan Siegel, 50
2 - Louis Foster, 48
3 - Josh Green, 42
4 - Braden Eves, 41
5 - Kiko Porto, 34
6 - Enaam Ahmed, 33
7 - Jack William Miller, 28
8 - Wyatt Brichacek, 25
8 - Reece Gold, 25
10 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 24

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The next outings for Indy Pro 2000 will be a series test at Barber Motorsports Park, March 21-22. Next up, the IndyCars hold their P-2 practice…

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M

[MarkyS]

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We have Road to Indy TV video of Indy Pro 2000 Race 2…

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…and it’s very entertaining!
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Indy Pro 2000 Race 2 - Streets of St. Petersburg

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Even the Indy Lights are hard pressed to have racing this close and this intense.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at St. Pete - The IndyCars hold their 2nd practice session…

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…in anticipation of qualifying, which will be midday, today.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCar P-2 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 00:59.7342s for a speed of 108.481mph

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2 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:00.0851s for a speed of 107.847mph

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3 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing - time of 01:00.0853s for a speed of 107.847mph

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4 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:00.1075s for a speed of 107.807mph

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5 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:00.1600s for a speed of 107.713mph

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6 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
7 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
9 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
10 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP

11 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
12 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
13 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
14 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
15 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Autosport
16 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Laniga
17 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
18 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Racing
19 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
20 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

21 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
22 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
23 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
24 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
25 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
26 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• Scotty’s time is an unofficial new track record. If he can repeat it in qualifying he will own it. He was the only guy to dip below 1:00 minute, but the third of three red flags in the session kept a lot of guys from getting any time on alternate red tires.

• The first red flag was for Jack Harvey who slammed into the Turn 9 wall after glancing off the inside corner. Alex Palou created the 3rd red flag for doing exactly the same thing.

• Roamin Grosjean brought out the 2nd red flag when he slammed into the back of Takuma Sato at the entrance of Turn 10. Sato was in the back of a line of cars moving slowly, trying to create gaps for flying runs on the next lap. Romain will likely be repaired in time for qualifying but Sato will need to replace at least his transmission and maybe the engine, so he is a lot more iffy.

• Much improved over the P-1 session were the Arrow McLaren guys, the Chip Ganassi guys and the Ed Carpenter guys, but Andretti Autosport and Team Penske are still dominating the practices.

• Best rookie was Kyle Kirkwood who is getting advice from two-time race WINNER Sebastien Bourdais, even though Seb is no longer driving for AJ Foyt…

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Kyle Kirkwood (left) and Sebastien Bourdais

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Scott McLaughlin - speed demon

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The IndyCars will hold knock-out qualifying at 12:30 EASTERN time today, broadcast LIVE on Peacock.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at St. Pete - The IndyCars are qualified…

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…And it was Scott McLaughlin taking the pole for Team Penske - his first IndyCar pole.

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Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Season Round 1, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 59.4822s for a speed of 108.940mph

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P2 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 59.6058s for a speed of 108.714mph

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Row 2

P3 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 59.7104s for a speed of 108.524mph

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P4 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 59.8102s for a speed of 108.343mph

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Row 3

P5 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - time of 59.8116s for a speed of 108.340mph

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P6 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing - time of 1:00.20141s for a speed of 107.634mph

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Row 4

P7 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
P8 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 5

P9 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
P10 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 6

P11 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P12 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 7

P13 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
P14 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 8

P15 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P16 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP

Row 9

P17 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
P18 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Racing
P20 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 11

P21 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
P22 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing

Row 12

P23 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P24 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports

Row 13

P25 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
P26 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing

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Notable:

• Scott attributes the pole to all the off-season work that he and engineer Ben Brentsman have put in, including a great deal of simulator time. He was the first recipient of the new pole award trophy, pictured with him.

• While he just missed getting his 10th St. Pete pole, Will Power was able to set a great new track record, by pulling down a 59.3466-second time in the Q1 session. He was one of several drivers to dip into the 59-second mark - never done before this season.

• Highest qualifying rookie was Kyle Kirkwood in P12 - the only one to transfer out of Q1.

• This is the best showing for Rinus VeeKay in a long time - since before his bicycle accident in 2021 when he broke his collar bone. He started P3 at both Detroit and the Indy 500 prior to that but was never in the Fast 6 afterwards.

• This is the best qually ever for Dalton Kellett who almost transferred to the Firestone Fast 12, beaten in the last moments by Kyle Kirkwood’s time.

Dalton Kellett

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The race is scheduled for broadcast LIVE on NBC starting at 12:00 Noon EASTERN time on Sunday, but next up for the IndyCars will be the morning Warm-up on Sunday, first track activity of the day. This qually session was the last on-track activity today.
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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday morning at St. Pete - The Morning Warm-Up…

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It’s officially known as the P-3 practice session, but informally known as the “warm-up” for the race. This is the last opportunity for the teams to make any adjustments for the race, following their qualifying heroics. As such, it is impossible to read the results of the warm-up, because some guys are really happy with their cars while others are dumbfounded and flabbergast.

Some folks are still looking for speed while others are testing tires or fuel mileage or something else entirely. Sometimes there are split strategies within a team. So, comparing them is impossible. Still, the fastest guys in warm-up will likely be the fastest guys in the race - but not necessarily the ONLY fast guys in the race. The only accepted norm is that qualifying set-ups are out. Everyone will be on race set-ups.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-3 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 1:00.3283s for a speed of 107.412mph

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2 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 1:00.5971s for a speed of 106.936mph

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3 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 1:00.8311s for a speed of 106.524mph

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4 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Racing - time of 1:01.0936s for a speed of 106.067mph

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5 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 1:01.1879s for a speed of 105.903mph

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6 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
7 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
9 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprise
10 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing

11 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
12 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
13 - Will Power, Team Penske
14 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
16 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
17 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
18 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
19 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
20 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises

21 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
22 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
23 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
24 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
25 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

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Notable:

• Nobody hit anybody during practice but a few drivers came close - especially Helio Castrneves, who managed to back into the walls at Turn 4, but did little damage

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Nexrt up, the Indy Lights hold their race. The grid for this is in post # 11…

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M