The Starting Order is Set for the Season-Opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – March 1, 2025

THE FIELD IS SET FOR THE SEASON-OPENING FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETE

1)      Scott McLaughlin         59.4624 / 108.976 mph         (Group 1, Round 3)
14)    Devlin DeFrancesco    1:00.1019 / 107.817 mph      (Group 2, Round 1)
16)    Louis Foster                 1:00.2365 / 107.576 mph      (Group 2, Round 1)
21)    Graham Rahal              1:00.0513 / 107.908 mph      (Group 1, Round 1)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “On my fastest lap, I thought it was a half decent one but then they came on the radio and said I needed another two-tenths to advance to the next round and I just didn’t have that. It’s a bummer to not advance and be in a better position for the race but I thought we made some good changes for qualifying but the understeer level was still too high and we seemingly couldn’t take advantage of the new alternative tires. The degradation on the alternatives is extreme so it’s definitely a big challenge.”

• FAST FACTS: Will make his 18th start at the track… His best start here is pole in 2009 and best finish is a win in 2008 in his IndyCar Series debut – both history-making moments at the time as he became the youngest race winner in series history (2008), and youngest pole winner in series history (2009). Both records were eclipsed in 2019 by Colton Herta but he held them for 10 and 11 years, respectively.  Overall, he has earned one top-five and seven top-10 starts here and has two top-five and seven top-10 finishes, including sixth place here in 2023. Year-by-year details are available upon request… Has SIX INDYCAR SERIES wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2; 2023 – IMS road, Portland road) and five poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015.

DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 EVTEC Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It’s an encouraging start for us. If you had told me last night that we would be this close to advancing to the next round after how we rolled off the truck, I would have taken it! I’m happy, mainly with the progress the No. 30 EVTEC crew made. To miss it by that amount – a whisker – is tight! It’s a good solid baseline for us to start our season from. We missed advancing by less than one hundredth of a second.”

• FAST FACTS: Devlin will make his return to the INDYCAR SERIES after a year away, and his third INDYCAR SERIES start here. Since last being in an INDYCAR in 2023, he has only tested one day at Sebring, but he ranked 11th overall on the combined report. He has made two INDYCAR SERIES starts in St. Pete (2022-2023) where he qualified 18th for both races and finished 22nd in 2022 and 25th in 2023. Prior to that he competed in two INDY NXT races in St. Pete in 2021. He qualified third for both Race 1 and Race 2 and finished 12th in Race 1 and fifth in Race 2. He is optimistic of a strong start in St. Pete.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was a decent session. I think there was a bit more left on the table that we didn’t quite accomplish but, all things considered, for my first time qualifying an Indy car, I’ll take a P8 in our group. I think we definitely had the potential to advance but some things happen out of your control. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and going racing.”

• FAST FACTS: Will make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in St. Pete. Since being announced as a driver for the team, he tested at The Thermal Club and Laguna Seca in late 2024 as well as the series open test in Sebring last week. It will be his fifth race in St. Pete and first as an INDYCAR driver. In INDY NXT, Foster started on pole in St. Pete in 2023 and finished 14th and started fourth and earned a third-place podium finish in 2024. Prior to that, he competed in the Indy Pro 2000 doubleheader here in 2022 with a third-place finish in Race 1 and a second-place finish in Race 2. He is looking forward to getting his rookie season started in St. Pete, a track where he has run well… He won eight races en route to the 2024 INDY NXT championship.

NEXT UP:  Race morning warm-up will take place from 9:02 – 9:27 a.m. ET tomorrow (FS2) and will be broadcast on FS2 from 9:00 – 9:30. The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be televised live on FOX beginning at 12:00 PM ET on Sunday, March 2.