By Steve Wittich
Racing at St. Pete
The 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone race will be the 30th on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg street circuit.
If you’re looking for a winner, one of the nine HMD Motorsports drivers would be a good bet, with the Brownsburg, Ind. squad winning three of the five races in the past four seasons.
Previous INDY NXT by Firestone winners in St. Petersburg
| YEAR | DRIVER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Nolan Siegel | HMD Motorsports |
| 2023 | Danial Frost | HMD Motorsports |
| 2022 | Matthew Brabham | Andretti Autosport |
| 2021 Race #2 | David Malukas | HMD Motorsports |
| 2021 Race #1 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Autosport |
| 2019 Race #2 | Rinus VeeKay | Juncos Racing |
| 2019 Race #1 | Zachary Claman | Belardi Auto Racing |
| 2018 Race #2 | Santi Urrutia | Belardi Auto Racing |
| 2018 Race #1 | Patricio O’Ward | Andretti Autosport |
| 2017 Race #2 | Colton Herta | Andretti Autosport |
| 2017 Race #1 | Aaron Telitz | Belardi Auto Racing |
| 2016 Race #2 | Felix Rosenqvist | Belardi Auto Racing |
| 2016 Race #1 | Felix Serralles | Carlin |
| 2015 Race #2 | Ed Jones | Carlin |
| 2015 Race #1 | Ed Jones | Carlin |
| 2014 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport |
| 2013 | Jack Hawksworth | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2012 | Tristan Vautier | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2011 | Josef Newgarden | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2010 | JK Vernay | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2009 Race #2 | Junior Strous | Winners Circle Group |
| 2009 Race #1 | Junior Strous | Winners Circle Group |
| 2008 Race #2 | Richard Antinucci | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2008 Race #1 | Rafa Matos | Andretti Autosport |
| 2007 Race #2 | Alex Lloyd | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2007 Race #1 | Alex Lloyd | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports |
| 2006 Race #2 | Rafa Matos | Guthrie Racing |
| 2006 Race #1 | Rafa Matos | Guthrie Racing |
| 2005 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport |
- The average starting position of the INDY NXT winner in St. Petersburg, Fla. is 2.5, with the winner starting from the pole 14 times. In 2016, Felix Serralles started from seventh, the lowest a winner has started on the tight street circuit.
- Andretti Global is currently tied with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with seven wins each.
- The average finishing position of the pole sitter on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg street circuit is 4.5, with five drivers failing to finish and one failing to start.
- Andretti Global leads all teams with 11 poles.
- Like wins, Andretti Global is tied with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports at 18 podiums each.
- INDY NXT races here average 2.1 cautions and 6.2 caution laps.
- Ten of the races have had first-lap cautions.
Season openers
The 39th season opener for the American open-wheel junior formula ladder series, now known as INDY NXT by Firestone, will take place on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg street circuit for the 15th time on March 2, 2025. The track on the shores of Tampa Bay is hosting the first race of the season for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons.
The Sunshine State is hosting the season-opening INDY NXT by Firestone race for the 26th time, with the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval hosting 10 races and the Tamiami Park Street Course holding a single race.
Season Opening INDY NXT by Firestone Host Tracks
| TRACK | STATE/COUNTRY | # OF OPENERS |
| St. Petersburg Street Circuit | Florida | 15 |
| Homestead-Miami Speedway | Florida | 10 |
| Phoenix International Raceway | Arizona | 8 |
| Long Beach Street Circuit | California | 2 |
| Barber Motorsports Park | Alabama | 1 |
| Kansas Speedway | Kansas | 1 |
| Parque Fundidora Road Course | Mexico | 1 |
| Tamiami Park Street Course | Florida | 1 |
The 2025 race will be the 18th season opener on a street circuit, leaving the twisty concrete canyons one behind the circular concrete (SAFER BARRIER) canyons of ovals.
In 38 previous seasons, the eventual champion has won 34.2% of the season’s first race, equating to 13 of the 38 openers. The last INDY NXT by Firestone champion to win the season-opening race was current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star and Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward in 2018.
INDY NXT by Firestone Champions That Have Won The Season Opening Race
| YEAR | DRIVER |
|---|---|
| 1989 | Mike Groff |
| 1990 | Paul Tracy |
| 1991 | Eric Bachelart |
| 1995 | Greg Moore |
| 1996 | David Empringham |
| 2000 | Scott Dixon |
| 2002 | A. J. Foyt, IV |
| 2003 | Mark Taylor |
| 2007 | Alex Lloyd |
| 2010 | J. K. Vernay |
| 2011 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2012 | Tristan Vautier |
| 2018 | Patricio O’Ward |
The average championship finishing position of the 38 winners of the season-opening race of the year is 5.0, with 11 of those race winners not completing the entire season. That includes last year’s winner of the INDY NXT by Firestone GP of St. Petersburg, Nolan Siegel, who contested five of the 14 races on the way to a 17th-place championship finish.
For the drivers that have contested an entire season and won the season-opening race, the average championship finish is 3.4, with 22 drivers finishing in the top three. Shigeaki Hattori, who won the season-opening race on the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval in 1998, finished the season in 14th place on the championship table. The Japanese driver who owns Hattori Racing Enterprises, a stock car and sports car team, along with Mario Dominguez (11th in 1999) are the only drivers to win the first race of the year and not finish in the top ten in the championship.
Finishing is always essential in racing, which proves itself out with eventual INDY NXT by Firestone champions finishing 37 of 38 season openers. The only champion to collect a DNF in the first race of the season was 1988 champion and former television broadcaster Jon Beekhuis, who finished 16th of 18 cars at Phoenix International Raceway after being taken out of the race in a five car incident on Lap 4.
To take that even further, there is a better than three in four chance (76.3%) chance that the eventual champion will be standing on the podium at the end of Sunday’s 45-lap opener.
