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IndyCar Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg preview, predictions

By Brittany Frederick

Tony Kanaan in his pit stand during qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar
Tony Kanaan in his pit stand during qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/Courtesy of IndyCar /
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It’s a new Verizon IndyCar Series season but the contenders are the same. Here’s what you should watch for in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series campaign once again begins on the streets of Florida, and while it’s a new year there’s much that looks the same about the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Once again Will Power is starting from the pole after earning the Verizon P1 Award in Saturday’s qualifying session. It’s the third time in a row that Power has been up front at St. Pete and also the seventh time he’s captured the top spot overall. At this point, IndyCar should just rename it the Will Power Qualifying Award.

The last time Power wasn’t number one going into the race was 2014, when the pole position went to Takuma Sato. But even then, Power went on to lead the most laps, set the fastest lap and ultimately win the 2014 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg — as well as his first Verizon IndyCar Series championship.

So does anybody have the, erm, power to beat Will Power? How about his old rivals at Chip Ganassi Racing?

Penske didn’t lock out qualifying for St. Petersburg the way they dominated much of the 2016 season. Instead, it was Ganassi that put all four of their cars in the Top 10. Scott Dixon will start second, and don’t sleep on Tony Kanaan lurking quietly in sixth. Those two wily veterans can never be counted out of any fight.

WEATHER FORECAST:

Weather could be a factor in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. As of Saturday night, the forecast called for a 40 percent chance of rain on Sunday. The Weather Channel describes race day as having “considerable cloudiness with occasional rain showers,” and the rain is expected to begin at 11 a.m. ET — an hour before the green flag. Let’s hope we don’t have to break out the rain tires on opening day.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH:

  • The entire Ganassi roster: Dixon, Kanaan, Max Chilton (7th) and Charlie Kimball (9th) are all starting in the Top 10. Dixon in particular dominated practice before Power popped him in qualifying. Especially as this will be Ganassi’s first race since returning to Honda power, could they be the stronger team on Sunday?
  • Josef Newgarden: All eyes will be on the former Ed Carpenter Racing driver as he makes his debut with Team Penske. Newgarden will start third in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which is a great position for him to show what he can do now that he’s part of the Big Three. His predecessor Juan Pablo Montoya started 4th last year and won the race so what will Newgarden do with a spot better?
  • What will happen to Simon Pagenaud: The Frenchman singlehandedly smashed IndyCar last season on the way to winning his first championship. He also led most of the Firestone Grand Prix last year until Montoya got by him on a restart at the halfway point. However, Pagenaud qualified way back in 14th. Will he be able to show off strong form again or was 2016 his year?

PREDICTION:

All of the numbers, both on Saturday and historically, are once again pointing toward Will Power as dominating at St. Petersburg. Yet let’s not go so far as to call Power a lock. His best qualifying lap of 106.118 MPH was actually down significantly from the 107.561 MPH record he set last year. And just ask Pagenaud how you can run up front for seemingly ever only to have somebody come up and steal your thunder.

We think Power should at least make the podium, but keep your eye on IndyCar’s Mr. Consistency himself, Scott Dixon. Dixon will pounce if Power makes a mistake and also knows how to save fuel in order to help his pit strategy. St. Petersburg is one of the rare tracks Dixon has not yet won a race at, but the last time somebody brought that statistic up was at Long Beach last year — just before Dixon won.

Tony Kanaan is also a viable upset pick. The No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing driver has finished in the Top 10 at St. Petersburg each of the last four years.

If you’re looking for a driver outside of the Big Three to cheer for, we’ll suggest Graham Rahal, who qualified seventh in 2016 and then promptly got wrecked in the massive pile-up at mid-race. If he can avoid another logjam, who knows what he could do?

Next: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg qualifying results

The 2017 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg takes place Sunday, March 12 at 12 p.m. ET. The race will be nationally televised on ABC. For race weekend updates, follow along with the Motor Sports category at FanSided here.