Jeffrey Hrunka - Staff Writer
An offseason culminating with driver moves, a charter agreement and a new broadcast partner is finally over. The NTT Indycar Series action was back on the streets of St. Petersburg on Friday with practice.
Kyle Kirkwood ran the fastest lap time of Friday’s session with a 1:00.4409 in the final ten-minute group sessions at the end of the practice. On the primaries, he backed up his speed, ending the 45-minute session fifth with a 1:01.5375. In both sessions, he was the fastest Andretti Global Honda.
“I think we were in this position last year where we were really quick right out of the gate,” Kirkwood said. “We just got to continue that. Happy to know that our cars are still quicker at street courses.”
Alex Palou had the best average between both sessions. He was the quickest on the primaries and finished runner-up to Kirkwood on the alternates, with times of 1:01.2108 and 1:00.6004, respectively.
The Team Penske trio of Joseph Newarden (1:01.2494), Will Power (1.01.2925), and Scott McLaughlin (1:01.3078) rounded out the remaining spots in the primiaries session, second through fourth. McLaughlin (1:01.002), Colton Herta (1:01.0603) and Pato O’Ward (1:01.1161) rounded out the rest of the top five in the alternates session.
The Roger Penske-owned team was the only team to get their drivers inside the top ten on both sets of tires.
“Holistically speaking, on a street course, I think our cars have suited this track over the years,” Newgarden said. “It speaks to the quality of the car. Even just to start today on primaries, I felt like our car was naturally fast. We've even doubled down on it, knowing that we have a good base car here. We've tried to make it even better.”
Although the Team Penske Chevorlets were fast, it wasn’t without incident. McLaughlin made contact with the barrier in the final seconds of practice. The team will be forced to make significant repairs to be ready for practice two and qualifying on Saturday.
As for the rookies Robert Shawrtzman (1:02.4426), Louis Foster (1:02.5539) and Jacob Abel (1:04.4534), their first Indycar sessions were all about experience as they finished in the last three positions of 25th-27th to conclude Friday afternoon.
NTT INDYCAR Practice 1 (All Cars) Results (Top 10):
* All cars were restricted to primary tires for this session
Group 1 and 2 Combined Results (Top 10):
* All cars were restricted to alternate tires for this session
Dennis Hauger leads the way in first INDY NXT practice at St. Petersburg
Dennis Hauger led the way in his first INDY NXT session, topping the charts at 1:05.2225. The 21-year-old Norwegian moved to the series after spending three years in Formula 2 but never got the call up to Formula 1.
“It was time for a change for me,” Hauger said before practice. “Getting the opportunity to go to Andretti [Global], which is such a great team. It was an opportunity I couldn’t miss and a good opportunity for our future.”
Caio Collet was the second-quickest with a 1:05.7885 as he was the leading force from the HMD Motorsports stable. Abel Motorsports’ Myles Rowe (1:05.9760) and Jordan Missig (1:05.9886) and Andretti Global’s Salvador de Alba (1:05.9962) rounded out the top five.
Hauger’s rookie teammate Lochie Hughes finished the session tenth with a 1:06.3701 to cap off an all-Andretti Global top-ten showing.
“I mean, it's the team that won the championship last year, so I wanted to give myself a chance to do the same thing,” Hughes said before practice. “I have great success in the past, so it gives me good confidence going into this weekend and hopefully, we can do the same again.”
For rookie Nikita Johnson, St. Petersburg marked a hometown return. He is scheduled to make four INDY NXT starts this season, with the series’ opening weekend kicking it off. Johnson finished the session 20th with a 1:07.4739 lap time.
“A lot more goes into it. I'm professional now,” Johnson said before practice. “I have always been semi-professional in junior categories. To be here is very energetic in my hometown. I have all my friends and family that are about to come out, and everybody in the city knows me.”
One of the biggest storylines entering this practice session was how former NASCAR superstar Hailie Deegan would perform. She finished the practice session 21st with a time of 1:09.9742. Ten minutes into the session, her skills were tested as she locked her breaks into turn nine, barely avoiding the wall with 10 minutes left.
INDY NXT Practice Results (Top 10):
IndyCar and INDY NXT action continue on Saturday, with each series having its second practice session and qualifying on FS2 and FS1.
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