Josef Newgarden Gains Ground at St. Petersburg, McLaughlin Finishes Second

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Josef Newgarden demonstrated resilience and strategic prowess at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 10, 2024, finishing seventh after starting in 23rd position. Scott McLaughlin nearly secured victory, ultimately finishing second. David Malukas faced early challenges but salvaged a 13th-place finish in his debut race with the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team.

Newgarden’s Comeback Drive

Despite a difficult qualifying session, Newgarden avoided a first-lap crash and steadily climbed through the field. Working with race strategist Jonathan Diuguid, the two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion capitalized on strong tire performance, particularly with the red alternate tires, and efficient pit stops. He gained 16 positions throughout the race, earning him the “Josten’s Biggest Mover of the Race” Award.

“Just what you need on a day like today – just execute,” Newgarden said. “Pit stops were incredible. The best I’ve seen in years. The strategy was pretty standard, but it was a good day for our strategy. Just what we needed to do. Nothing went against us, and we tried to use our speed in the Astemo Chevy when we could to climb. You just have to be happy with a day like this. It’s a shame how tough the weekend was. I wish we could have made more of it by starting up front.”

McLaughlin’s Near Victory

Scott McLaughlin led the field to the green flag after securing his second consecutive pole position at St. Petersburg, adding to Team Penske’s record of 71 top qualifying spots. He maintained the lead for the first 35 laps before his first pit stop. McLaughlin briefly regained the lead before his final pit stop but ultimately finished second, unable to close the gap to the race leader.

“Obviously you want to be top step,” McLaughlin stated. “I think that was a solid day for the DEX Chevy. I think we maximized our strategy. I think it was going to go one way or the other with tires. I maybe thought the black tire could have probably performed a little bit better in that first stint, but yeah, my car just didn’t probably turn that tire on well enough. Wanted to pull a gap, but I was too trying to save fuel and make it a two-stop in some ways. It was a difficult first stint, and then I sort of got stuck behind the Andretti guys when they were losing their tires. I thought our car was really good. Just probably was a little bit hidden today just where it was position on track, but that’s okay. Like I said, I think we maximized our day. No mistakes. Pit road was great. Yeah, just good start.”

Malukas’ Recovery Drive

David Malukas and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team faced adversity early in the race. After placing his Verizon Chevy in the Firestone Fast Six during qualifying, Malukas dropped to sixth on the opening lap. A subsequent incident involving contact with Romain Grosjean resulted in a flat left front tire, forcing a pit stop and putting him a lap down.

However, Malukas and his team rebounded, aided by a mid-race caution period, to get back on the lead lap and finish 13th. “We made a mistake early on that made our tire explode and sent us to the back of the grid,” Malukas said. “Had a really strong recovery and got it back to P13 so we actually scavenged some sort of points. Not the start that we wanted, but I learned quite a bit. There is a lot of learning curves there from a race perspective. I think with the whole new crew, everything new, it is a big learning curve for the rest of the season. Not the start we wanted, but upward from here.”

Next Race: Phoenix Raceway

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES will next head to Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 8, for the first race at the one-mile oval since 2018.