Follow the chase for pole from the streets of St. Petersburg

North America’s open-wheel series returns from its offseason as IndyCar takes over the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, this weekend. The NTT series will stage 17 races this season, culminating at Laguna Seca on Sept. 10. In all, the Indycars will visit 15 tracks comprising six road courses, five street circuits and four ovals.

Here’s what to know ahead of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg:

First-lap crash takes out five cars

The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg only got through a few corners before a yellow and eventually red flag flew. As the field snaked its way through turn three double-file, contact between Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist caused a chain-reaction wreck behind as Helio Castroneves, Simon Pagenaud, Santino Ferrucci, Sting Ray Robb, Devlin DeFrancesco and Benjamin Pederson were all collected.

DeFrancesco took the hardest knock as his car was launched into the air after Pederson t-boned him. Amazingly, DeFrancesco was the first driver released from the on-site medical center. Dixon, Rosenqvist and Robb all made it back to the pit lane and were able to continue their race days.

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg starting grid

1. Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda

2. Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda

3. Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

4. Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

5. Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda

6. Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet

7. Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

8. Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

9. Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

10. Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet

11. Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

12. Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet

13. Marcus Armstrong (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

14. Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet

15. Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda

16. David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda

17. Santino Ferrucci (14), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet

18. Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda

19. Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

20. Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda

21. Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

22. Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

23. Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda

24. Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

25. Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda

26. Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet

27. Benjamin Pederson (55), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet

Story continues

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg entries list

Josef Newgarden (2), Team Penske Chevrolet
Scott McLaughlin (3), Team Penske Chevrolet
Pato O’Ward (5), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Helio Castroneves (06), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Felix Rosenqvist (6), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Alexander Rossi (7), Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
Marcus Ericsson (8), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Scott Dixon (9), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Alex Palou (10), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Marcus Armstrong (11), Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
Will Power (12), Team Penske Chevrolet
Santino Ferrucci (14), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Graham Rahal (15), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
David Malukas (18), Dale Coyne Racing/HMD Motorsports Honda
Conor Daly (20), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Rinus Veekay (21), Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
Colton Herta (26), Andretti Autosport Honda
Kyle Kirkwood (27), Andretti Autosport Honda
Romain Grosjean (28), Andretti Autosport Honda
Devlin DeFrancesco (29), Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda
Jack Harvey (30), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Christian Lundgaard (45), Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
Sting Ray Robb (51), Dale Coyne Racing/Rick Ware Racing Honda
Benjamin Pederson (55), AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet
Simon Pagenaud (60), Meyer Shank Racing Honda
Callum Ilott (77), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet
Agustin Canopino (78), Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg broadcast schedule

All times ET

Friday, March 3 3-4:15 pm: Practice 1 (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio)

Saturday, March 4 10-11 am: Practice 2 (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio) 2:15-3:30 pm: Qualifying (Peacock, SiriusXM, IndyCar Radio)

Sunday, March 5 Noon-2:30 pm: Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (NBC, Universo, SiriusXM, IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio)

Grand Prix of St. Petersburg details

Track: Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida Turns: 14 (nine right, five left) Track length: 1.80 miles Laps: 100 Lap record: 59.346 seconds (Will Power, Team Penske Chevrolet, 2022)

Weather for the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

It’s Florida and it’s surrounded on three sides by water, so expect wildly varying conditions. As of Friday afternoon, it is forecast to be hot and humid with highs in the low 80s and a better than 50 percent chance of rain Sunday. Even in optimal conditions, St. Petersburg is described by drivers as one of the most physically demanding races on the calendar, so having to wrestle the car around in the rain for even a portion of the 100 laps would present an even stiffer challenge.