Josef Newgarden will open his 2024 NTT IndyCar Series campaign from pole position after putting up the fastest time in Saturday’s (March 9) qualifying session for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Newgarden, the defending Indianapolis 500 winner, asserted his dominance on ovals last season, but he only had one podium finish on a road course with a second place at Road America. Now, Newgarden will be in an optimal position to chase his first non-oval win since Road America in 2022.
“No,” Newgarden told NBC’s Marty Snider when asked if he had expected to take the pole. “Gosh, I get jacked up every time I show up for an IndyCar race. You know, it’s an elevated level when you start out the year because you just don’t know. You have no idea if you’re going to keep coming back and producing results.
“It’s very difficult; you saw how tight it was. I didn’t know that this would come today. I just thought ‘Look, let’s get through round one, let’s get through round two and then see what we can make happen in the Fast Six … I’m happy to be back!”
Firestone Fast Six
Felix Rosenqvist and Romain Grosjean, both entering the season with small teams after leaving Arrow McLaren and Andretti Global, respectively, were the hot topic through the final round, both punching above their new teams’ normal weight and securing second and fifth-place starting positions.
The session ended in thrilling fashion, with only 0.0058 seconds between first and second.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time |
| 1 | Josef Newgarden | 3 | Team Penske | 59.5714 |
| 2 | Felix Rosenqvist | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing | 59.5772 |
| 3 | Pato O’Ward | 5 | Arrow McLaren | 59.6540 |
| 4 | Colton Herta | 26 | Andretti Global | 59.8189 |
| 5 | Romain Grosjean | 77 | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 1:00.0642 |
| 6 | Marcus Ericsson | 28 | Andretti Global | 1:03.5583 |
Round 2
After much speculation throughout the week that speeds would reach a new level on the streets of St. Pete, the track record was first broken by Herta during the second round. Soon after Herta set his then-record lap, Rosenqvist followed, breaking the track record with a time of 59.2706 seconds.
Eliminated from Round 2 were:
Round 1 Group 1
The first session of the day passed without issue. Ericsson finished with the fastest time ahead of Armstrong and O’Ward.
Round 1 Group 2
Round 1 Group 2 likewise passed with no major incidents. Herta set the fastest time, followed by Grosjean and Rosenqvist.
Eliminated from Round 1 Group…
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