Scott McLaughlin helped Team Penske put memories of a tough 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season into the rearview mirror Saturday by starting 2026 with the NTT P1 Award for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
New Zealand native McLaughlin earned his 12th career pole and third in the last five years on this 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit, leading the Firestone Fast Six with a best lap of 1 minute, .5426 of a second in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet.
Team Penske underwent a turbulent 2025 season, marked by the dismissal of three team executives after an illegal modification of a part was discovered before the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge. The team won just two races, with McLaughlin being shut out of Victory Lane for the first time since his rookie season in 2021.
“Raul (Prados), my new engineer, gave me a great car,” McLaughlin said. “But we have a lot of experience here with a great car, as well.
“Just really pumped. Everybody knows the slog we went through last year, so to start on this note is fantastic. Bloody good, bloody good.”
Another driver on the comeback trail, 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, will join McLaughlin on the front row of the 100-lap race Sunday (noon ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio, Powered by OnlyBulls) after his best lap of 1:00.5621 in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of Andretti Global. Ericsson has finished 15th and 20th in the standings in his first two seasons, respectively, with Andretti Global after three consecutive sixth-place finishes from 2021-23 with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Rookie Dennis Hauger led arguably one of the best performances in the history of Dale Coyne Racing by qualifying a stunning third, leading both DCR cars in the Firestone Fast Six for the first time since 2022. 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Hauger’s best lap was 1:00.5743 in the No. 19 Ault Block Chain Honda as he became the first driver to make the Firestone Fast Six in their series debut since Christian Lundgaard in 2021.
Reigning and four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou will defend his 2025 St. Petersburg victory from the fourth starting position after a best lap of 1:00.6842 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Meyer Shank Racing’s Marcus Armstrong will start the race in seventh place, four places above his teammate Felix Rosenqvist.
David Malukas continued a strong debut weekend with Team Penske as one of the team’s two drivers in the Firestone Fast Six. Malukas, who replaced two-time series champion Will Power this offseason at Penske, qualified fifth at 1:00.7638 in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Romain Grosjean marked his return to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES after a one-year hiatus and his return to Dale Coyne Racing after his 2021 series debut with the team by rounding out the top six at 1:01.3462 in the No. 18 BMax Honda.
Last year’s runner-up in the standings, Pato O’Ward, didn’t advance past the second round of qualifying. He will start eighth in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
O’Ward wasn’t the only series star to falter before the Firestone Fast Six. Multiple series champions Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden were eliminated in the first round.
Six-time series champion Dixon will start 16th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing after a slide at the start of his final qualifying lap of the first session. It’s the first time he was eliminated in the opening round of qualifying at this race since 2013.
Two-time series champ and two-time St. Petersburg winner Newgarden will start 23rd in the 25-car field in the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet.
