QUALIFYING NOTES – Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG QUALIFYING NOTES

STARTING POSITIONS
20th: ALEXANDER ROSSI No. 20 Java House Chevrolet
24th: CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet

TRACK: Streets of St. Petersburg
LOCATION: St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit
RACE LENGTH: 100 laps/180 miles

BROADCAST: Sunday – 12 p.m. ET (FOX)

ALEXANDER ROSSI, NO. 20 JAVA HOUSE CHEVROLET

ALEXANDER ROSSI, No. 20 Java House Chevrolet, Qualified 20th: “I am pretty disappointed. The No. 20 Java House Chevrolet was in a pretty good spot, we did everything right from a set-up standpoint. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake on our first set of tires in Turn 10 which cost us a bit of time. There is a little bit of an unknown as to what happened on the second set, but we will look into it. The car is good, but we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.”

BIRTHDAY: September 25, 1991
HOMETOWN: Nevada City, CA
RESIDENCE: Indianapolis, IN

ST. PETE STATS
NUMBER OF STARTS: 9
TOP 5 FINISHES: 3
TOP 10 FINISHES: 4
BEST START: 2nd (2020)
BEST FINISH: 3rd (2018)

CAREER STATS
SEASON: 10th
STARTS: 147
WINS: 8
POLES: 7
TOP 5 FINISHES: 50
TOP 10 FINISHES: 90

QUALIFYING NOTES

Alexander Rossi will roll off from the 20th starting spot for the first race of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Qualifications were held this afternoon and Rossi began the session on alternate green Firestone Firehawks. After switching to a second set, his first run held as his fastest at 60.487 seconds. His fast lap will place him on the outside of Row 10.

ALEXANDER ROSSI

The 2025 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will mark the beginning of Rossi’s 10th season as an NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver and first with ECR. Rossi, 33, has 30 career podium finishes, including eight victories, most notably the 2016 Indianapolis 500. The Nevada City, California native was the first American rookie to win since 1928. Rossi’s talent has taken him worldwide, with wins in F2, World Series by Renault, and the 24 Hours of Daytona along with starts in a Formula 1, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Baja 1000 and the Bathurst 1000.

NO. 20 JAVA HOUSE CHEVROLET

Java House made its on-track debut on Rossi’s No. 20 Chevrolet during his first test with ECR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2024. The innovative cold brew coffee brand will now serve as Rossi’s primary sponsor at select races throughout the 2025 season, beginning in the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. In addition to its versatile Peel n Pour™ single serve beverages, Java House owns and operates cafes in the Indianapolis and Lafayette, IN markets.

THE CREW

Strategy for the No. 20 will be called by Tim Broyles, who has held the role since ECR’s first race in 2012. Matt Barnes will move from the No. 21 timing stand to the No. 20 to serve as lead engineer for Rossi. Austin Shepherd will head the mechanics as Crew Chief for the No. 20, with the group consisting of many of the same individuals he led on the No. 21 in 2024. same individuals he led on the No. 21 in 2024.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, NO. 21 SPLENDA CHEVROLET

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN, No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet, Qualified 24th: “It was not a great run for us today. We were pretty hopeful after yesterday, we had great pace on the black Firehawks. We are struggling to figure out the green tires a bit and definitely have some work to do for tomorrow!”

BIRTHDAY: June 29, 2000
HOMETOWN:
Copenhagen, Denmark
RESIDENCE: Indianapolis, IN

ST. PETE STATS
BEST START: 21st (2024)
BEST FINISH: 21st (2024)
NUMBER OF STARTS: 1

CAREER STATS
SEASON: 2nd
STARTS: 14

QUALIFYING NOTES

Christian Rasmussen will start his sophomore NTT INDYCAR SERIES season from the outside of Row 12. He began this afternoon’s qualifications on a set of Firestone’s alternate green Firehawk tires. A switch to a second set yielded a lap of 60.621 seconds, which gives him the 24th starting position for tomorrow’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN

The 24-year-old will be embarking on his second NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. The Danish driver joined ECR after winning three championships in four years, including the 2023 INDY NXT title. He completed an impressive first year in the No. 20, including earning the distinction of the highest finishing rookie in the 2024 Indianapolis 500 field. Rasmussen’s performance in his debut season resulted in his being elevated to the No. 21 Chevrolet for the entirety of the 2025 season and beyond.

NO. 21 SPLENDA CHEVROLET

Splenda®, the most recognizable low-calorie sweetener brand in the world, will be featured on Rasmussen’s No. 21 Chevrolet at select races throughout the 2025 season, including the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Since Splenda’s launch in 1991, more than 100 billion yellow packets have been sold. Coincidentally, Splenda’s packaging facility and ECR’s race shop are both on Georgetown Road in Indianapolis with locations less than one mile apart.