Scott McLaughlin Avenges Pole for INDYCAR Season Opener

Scott McLaughlin poses in front of his No. 3 after claiming the pole for the 21st running of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. (Photo Credit: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)

St. Petersburg, Fla. — After last year’s season-opening race in St. Petersburg in which two of the three Team Penske cars were disqualified, Scott McLaughlin has made a strong comeback, as he has secured the first NTT INDYCAR Series P1 Award of the 2025 campaign at St.Petersburg, marking the ninth of his career.

It was not a good practice session on Friday for McLaughlin as he crashed in the opening round, putting the No. 3 Dex Imaging Hitachi Dallara/Chevrolet behind the 8-ball going into Saturday’s qualification round.

McLaughlin was able to rally his way into the Firestone Fast 6 qualifying round on Saturday after the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Josef Newgarden, fell just short behind McLaughlin’s time in the Round of 12. Newgarden will officially start 10th in Sunday’s race.

In addition to McLaughlin, five other drivers were able to advance to the Firestone Fast 6, competing for the first NTT P1 Award of the season. These drivers included Colton Herta (No.26), Christian Lundgaard (No.7), Marcus Armstrong (No. 66), six-time NTT INDYCAR Series champion Scott Dixon (No.9), and Felix Rosenqvist (No.60). They were all striving for the elusive pole position ahead of Sunday’s race.

In the closing minutes of qualifying, McLaughlin hustled around the 1.8-mile street circuit at a time of 59.462, equaling to a speed of 108.976 mph, stealing the pole away from 2024 championship runner-up for Andretti Global, Herta.

The streets of St. Petersburg hold a significant place in McLaughlin’s career. It was the site of McLaughlin’s first career win in the series back in 2022, leading 49 of the scheduled 100 laps and achieving a commanding victory in the race. Additionally, McLaughlin secured his first career pole position at the same track during the weekend of his maiden win in the NTT INDYCAR Series.

Scott McLaughlin navigates the tricky twists and turns of the St. Petersburg street course. (Photo Credit: Tammy-Mariah Gill | The Podium Finish)

“Huge amount of respect; we have so much trust in each other, and they trusted I could do the job today,” McLaughlin said in a post-qualifying press conference after claiming the number one starting spot for Sunday’s race. “The guys and girls on this team, they’re stars. I had to repay them. I made a little silly mistake there, and I was glad to come back with them. I just wanted to get pole first race of the year. Good vibes. It’s just great vibes – immaculate vibes, we like to say. I’m very excited.”

Herta, who originally did have the pole within the final 30 seconds of qualifying, had it snatched away by McLaughlin and will start alongside him in second.

Rosenqvist, Armstrong, Lundgaard, and Dixon qualified in third, fourth, fifth, and sixth positions, respectively, during the final round of qualifying.

Former Formula One driver Marcus Ericsson qualified seventh, followed by defending series champion Alex Palou in eighth, Kyle Kirkwood in ninth, and Newgarden rounding out the top 10 in qualifying.

The 100-lap, 180-mile sprint will air live from St. Petersburg, Florida, on FOX starting at noon EST.