St. Petersburg by the Numbers: IndyCar's 2027 Season Opener

Part of the Happy Hour Racing IndyCar Track Preview series. The 2026 season is over, so this is a between-races data feature on the circuit that starts the whole thing again.

The Short Version

IndyCar's 2027 season starts March 7 on the Streets of St. Petersburg, and the series has already confirmed the date. It is a 1.8-mile temporary street course built out of downtown roads and a runway at Albert Whitted Airport, and it has opened more IndyCar seasons than any other track on the calendar. Alex Palou has won the last two runnings and just took his fifth title. If you want to know what kind of race March gives you, the numbers here are unusually honest about it.

The track: 1.8 miles, 14 turns, and an airport runway

St. Pete is not a normal street circuit. Most of them are all corners and concrete. This one has a long back straight that is literally a runway at Albert Whitted Airport, and cars get up to real speed on it before slamming into a heavy braking zone at Turn 1. That mix is why the place produces passes instead of parades.

The lap is 1.800 miles with 14 turns, nine rights and five lefts. The race is 100 laps, 180 miles. Firestone's qualifying record is a 59.2706 by Felix Rosenqvist in 2024, and Josef Newgarden holds the race lap record at 1:00.6795 from the same weekend. Push to pass gives drivers roughly 150 to 200 seconds of extra boost across the race, worth about 60 extra horsepower, in bursts of up to 20 seconds. As of the 2026 rule change, drivers can use it on restarts too, which matters a lot at a track that throws yellows.

The other thing that shapes the racing is the tire rule. Since 2026, street events require one set of primary tires and two sets of the softer Firestone alternates, one more alternate set than before. More soft tires means more drivers willing to burn them early, which means strategy splits instead of everyone pitting on the same lap.

Twenty-two races, and Penske has won half of them

IndyCar has raced here every year since 2005, and 2027 will be the 23rd running. In those 22 races, Team Penske has taken 11 wins. Helio Castroneves has the most of any single driver with three, in 2006, 2007 and 2012. That is the kind of track record that does not happen by accident. Penske has always brought a car that works in low-grip, high-kerb conditions, and St. Pete rewards exactly that.

One year breaks the pattern in a way worth remembering. 2020 is the only time St. Pete closed the season instead of opening it. COVID pushed the March date to October 25, Newgarden won it, and Scott Dixon finished third to lock up his sixth championship. Every other year it has been the front door.

What the last ten winners actually tell you

Look at 2017 through 2026 and one thing jumps out. Winners repeat here. Sebastien Bourdais won it back to back in 2017 and 2018 for Dale Coyne Racing, which was the upset of the decade both times. Newgarden went back to back in 2019 and 2020. Palou has now done it in 2025 and 2026. Three pairs of repeat winners in ten years is not random. Drivers who figure out the braking zones and the kerbs here tend to keep figuring them out.

The second read is that St. Pete is not a spec-team track. Five different organizations have won in the last ten years: Dale Coyne, Penske, Andretti, Ganassi and Arrow McLaren. Colton Herta took his in 2021 with Andretti. Marcus Ericsson won in 2023 for Ganassi. Pato O'Ward broke through here in 2024. A street course opener with cold tires and a tight pit lane hands out results that a road course in July would never hand out.

Who arrives in March with something to prove

Palou comes in as the two-time defending St. Pete winner and the reigning champion after wrapping up a fifth title at Milwaukee in 2026. The rest of the paddock arrives with a rebuilt grid behind them. Scott Dixon moves to Arrow McLaren after 25 seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing, and a long list of seats changed hands over the offseason. A season opener is the first honest look at whether any of that actually worked.

Let's run it back, St. Pete. NEWS | Next year's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg event dates set for March 5-7, 2027

— Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (@GPSTPETE) July 23, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the 2027 IndyCar season opener at St. Petersburg?

Race day is Sunday, March 7, 2027, with the full Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg event running March 5 through 7.

How long is the St. Petersburg street circuit?

It is 1.800 miles with 14 turns, nine right-handers and five lefts, and the IndyCar race is 100 laps for 180 miles.

Who has the most wins at St. Petersburg in IndyCar?

Helio Castroneves, with three wins in 2006, 2007 and 2012. Team Penske as a team has 11 of the 22 IndyCar wins there.

Who won the last IndyCar race at St. Petersburg?

Alex Palou won the 2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for Chip Ganassi Racing, his second straight win at the track.

The Bottom Line

St. Pete is the rare season opener that tells you something real. A runway straight, a heavy Turn 1, concrete on both sides and a tire rule that pushes teams to split strategy. Penske owns the history, Palou owns the present, and March 7 is the first day anybody finds out which of those still holds.

Shop IndyCar Gear

If this made you want something on the shelf or on your back before March, here is what is in stock right now.

• Colton Herta No. 26 Gainbridge Andretti Autosport 1:18 diecast - Herta won St. Pete in 2021, so this one fits the story.
• Indy 500 Champions T-Shirt
• IndyCar Checkered Flag Sublimated Tee
• Indianapolis 500 Snake Pit Tee
• Indianapolis 500 Race Logo Long Sleeve Tee

The rest of it lives in the IndyCar collection. Dates and green flag times for every race are on the IndyCar schedule page.