Alex Palou enters the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday not only as the defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion but also as the reigning winner on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn Florida street circuit.

Everyone chases his No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda entering Sunday’s race that begins at noon ET on FOX, FOX One, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio, Powered by OnlyBulls.

Everyone is also chasing Chip Ganassi Racing, in general. Team owner Chip Ganassi earned his 17th series title last season, tying Team Penske for the most in INDYCAR SERIES history.

CGR produced nine wins during the 17-race 2025 season and two of the top three points finishers, as Scott Dixon finished third.

“I didn't want 2025 to end,” Ganassi said. “We were having a pretty good year there.”

Ganassi has produced three St. Petersburg victories and enters 2026 with five championships in the last six seasons.

CGR drivers produced two of the top six times in Friday’s opening practice session, led by Kyffin Simpson’s No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda (photo, top) in fourth and Palou in sixth. Scott Dixon crashed in Turn 9 but remained 15th quickest among 25 drivers. Team officials confirmed that his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda didn’t sustain enough damage to require a switch to a backup car.

Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Settle Lawsuit With Arrow McLaren

Palou and McLaren Racing announced a settlement Friday morning, formally ending a contract dispute that lingered for more than two years.

McLaren was awarded $12 million in a breach-of-contract after Palou withdrew from a deal he signed in 2022 to drive for the team beginning in 2024. McLaren initially sought $31 million in damages. Instead, Palou remained with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Although a judge ruled in McLaren’s favor in January, the case remained open to appeal. The settlement closes the matter ahead of the season opener.

“It’s the first time I can finally say that it’s over,” Palou said. “I can finally focus on what’s important, which is to race and win races. I’m very happy about that. Everything that had to be said has been said. We can move forward and focus on this season.”

In a statement, Palou addressed both Ganassi and Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, and how mismanagement of the situation cost him.

“Over the past few months, I’ve had time to reflect on what has been an incredibly challenging period, and I want to address it directly,” Palou said. “First, I want to acknowledge both Zak Brown and Chip Ganassi. Both were put in a difficult position, and I regret being in the middle of that.

“In January, a U.K. judge ruled in McLaren Racing’s favor regarding my INDYCAR contractual breach. I respect that decision.

“I also recognize that the way events unfolded in the summer of 2023 could have been handled differently. While little of this is publicly known, I found myself pulled in various directions and had the wrong people around me at the time who I believe did not have my best interests at heart. I believe I was provided the wrong advice or no advice at all. In hindsight, had I reached out to Zak directly, perhaps things may have played out differently.

“McLaren and Zak supported me in many ways. They fulfilled every obligation, went above and beyond and delivered on everything they said in their contracts. I was never misled by McLaren, and I very much respect their organization.

“I also want to thank Chip, my teammates and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing for their dedication and support throughout the process. I’ve learned a great deal from this experience. I’m delighted this matter has now been settled, and I wish to thank all those involved in reaching an amicable conclusion. My focus now is fully on moving ahead, where two great organizations that I respect deeply will compete solely on the racetrack.”

Ganassi said: “I’m happy to confirm we have reached a final settlement with McLaren Racing following a U.K. judge ruling in January. I cannot condone what happened, and I’m glad the matter is over. With the benefit of hindsight, I hope Alex has learned it’s important to keep good people around him, which he now does, so the events of 2023 are never repeated. I want to thank Zak and McLaren Racing for giving us the chance to leave this matter behind and fully focus on the exciting INDYCAR season ahead.”

Brown said in a statement: “I’m very pleased that we have reached a final settlement with Chip Ganassi Racing after a U.K. judge ruled in our favor in January. I want to thank the team working directly on the case for so many months and everyone who supported us throughout the process. Pleased we can now return to battling it out on track and focus on what’s set to be an exciting INDYCAR season.”

Kirkwood Praises Power’s Push

Kyle Kirkwood described the news last fall that friend and former teammate Colton Herta would drive in FIA Formula 2 this season as bittersweet. But what Andretti Global lost in a nine-time race winner, it gained in Will Power, a 45-race winner and two-time series champion who joined Andretti Global this offseason after spending 17 years with Team Penske.

“He’s got a lot of passion,” Kirkwood said. “He’s one of the hardest-working guys, especially for his age. It’s fun to be around him, and he’s brought a lot of knowledge. He’s definitely got a bone to pick, which is a good thing for us because he wants to push hard.”

Will Power

Power’s Unique Pit Assignment

Power will have an unusual visual cue this weekend. His Andretti Global pit stall is directly in front of his former box with Team Penske.

Power (photo, above) spent 17 seasons driving the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet before joining Andretti Global in the offseason. He drives the No. 26 TWG AI Honda.

“I was like, it’s going to be really interesting coming in,” Power said. “Pulling into the wrong box is on my mind. I know it is. It’s weird.”

Newgarden Overcomes Off-Track Excursion

Josef Newgarden made contact with the tire barrier in Turn 13 just 25 minutes into the opening practice session of the weekend. Fortunately, the damage to the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet was not severe enough to sideline him for the remainder of the session.

Newgarden’s crew serviced the car and returned him to the track later in practice. He finished 14th on the time chart with a best lap of 1 minute, 1.7816 seconds.

“I would say it was a mixed day for us,” Newgarden said. “It seems like some parts were good, some parts were not. Obviously, we had the spin, but I think our cars look relatively quick. Scott (McLaughlin) was quick up front, and David (Malukas) looked good. I think there’s enough to draw from for us at Team Penske that would be positive.

“We tried something different on our car, and I just got loose in the corner. It’s as simple as that.”

Dixon and Louis Foster also made contact in separate incidents in the session.

Wickens Honored in Canada

Former INDYCAR SERIES driver Robert Wickens recently was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. He joined the NTT INDYCAR SERIES as a rookie in 2018 and earned the NTT P1 Award in his first start on the streets of St. Petersburg. He later was named Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year after finishing ninth.

Ontario native Wickens scored four podiums and seven top-five finishes in 13 starts before suffering severe injuries in a crash in August 2018 at Pocono Raceway. He has since returned to competition using hand controls and won the 2023 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR championship.

INDYCAR Radio Lands Sponsor

The INDYCAR Radio Network announced a partnership with OnlyBulls, a digital wallet and mobile app, as the title sponsor of INDYCAR Radio.

Throughout the year, listeners across the globe will tune into INDYCAR Radio, Powered by OnlyBulls, including the global radio broadcast of the historic 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May.

The partnership marks a major activation for the launch of the OnlyBulls “Green Flag” marketing campaign. This initiative is designed to transition fans from being spectators on the sidelines to active participants in the digital economy.

Odds and Ends

  • Felix Rosenqvist qualified second and third, respectively, in his two St. Petersburg tries driving the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda for Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian. He was second quickest Friday.
  • Enzo Fittipaldi added Med-Stop as a partner for the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season.
  • Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing named AVL RACETECH its official dynamic vehicle simulation partner.
  • Juncos Hollinger Racing announced a technology partnership with AIPEX Racing to deploy AI-assisted engineering tools.
  • Core Personnel Staffing Services partnered with AJ Foyt Racing as a sponsor on Santino Ferrucci’s No. 14 Chevrolet.
  • Racing For Kids opened its 37th year with driver visits to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, led by Ferrucci and AJ Foyt Racing INDY NXT driver Nicolas Monteiro.
  • Cadillac rebranded its car for its maiden Formula One season this year as the MAC-26, short for Mario Andretti Cadillac. TWG Motorsports owns the team and Andretti Global.
  • Saturday’s second practice (9:35 a.m. ET on FS2) will mirror Friday’s group format. The field will be split by odd- and even-numbered pit boxes for an initial 40-minute session, followed by two 12-minute group segments.