ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — This weekend marks the 20th running of the NTT IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. It’s the first race of the season - except when COVID forced a reschedule in 2020, and the drivers are excited to run 100 laps through one of the most scenic courses in the world.
"Exciting. I think nothing matches better, right? Celebrating 20 years for the race here in St. Pete. Great to be here,” six-time IndyCar series champion Scott Dixon said Thursday. "The weather looks fantastic for the whole weekend. Sunday, a little iffy in the morning, but for the race, it’s going to be perfect."
Dixon has 56 wins in his hall-of-fame racing career, and he clinched the season title on this track in October 2020. But he’s never taken the checkered flag at St. Pete. His team always seems to have a fast car, but they haven’t been able to put it all together…yet.
"It’s never easy. We’ve been in situations where we’ve led the race. I think I’ve crashed leading the race. We’ve been in situations where we maybe just we’re slightly off on strategy,” Dixon explained. “That’s the hard part. Especially the depth of the field now and the competition in the NTT IndyCar series. It’s hard to be 100% right.”
Second-year IndyCar driver Sting Ray Robb might have the greatest name in motorsports. And yes, that’s the legal name on the 22-year-old’s birth certificate.
"Being in Florida, everyone thinks it’s with the fish. But I grew up in Idaho,” Robb joked. "There’s not a lot of sting rays there. My parents weren’t aquatic veterinarians or anything like that. Big Corvette fans, so it worked out well."
Robb made his rookie debut at St. Pete last year. He said it was an awesome experience full of hot and cold memories.
”Crazier than I was expecting. Everyone probably remembers last year, turn three. There was that big pile-up” he recalled. "It was just a long, challenging race which I think everyone had."
Sting Ray speaks for all drivers when he says getting off to a good start at one of the most gorgeous venues for a race is the best way to avoid playing catch-up during the season.
"The weather’s usually amazing. This is our ‘Monaco.' I look forward to it every year just because it’s a great race track. It races very well,” Robb added. "It’s always where things kinda get going for the year. If you can win a race on day one it’s always a great head start on the rest of the field.”
The green flag drops just after 12:30 P.M. on Sunday.
