ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Rookies may have surprised in Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg qualifying on Saturday, but veteran savvy returned to the fore in this morning’s final warmup practice before today’s Verizon IndyCar Series season opener.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – A rookie starting from pole in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg after battling for top spot with another two newcomers in the Firestone Fast Six qualifying session shows the strength of the young talent attracted to the Verizon IndyCar Series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Robert Wickens came to town as the former DTM touring car driver and childhood chum of new Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate James Hinchcliffe. He’ll enter today as the pole-sitter for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. It’s been an interesting and fruitful first Verizon IndyCar Series weekend for the rookie who doesn’t feel like a rookie.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Rob Buckner’s mandate as Chevrolet’s new racing program manager for the Verizon IndyCar Series is simple, but not necessarily easy: continue the performance level that has earned the company six consecutive manufacturer titles under Chevrolet director of motorsports competition Mark Kent.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Saturday, March 10, 2018) – The unpredictability of the Verizon IndyCar Series reached a new and exciting level in Verizon P1 Award qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, with rookie Robert Wickens taking pole position in his debut event.

(An updated story with driver reaction will follow.)

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Some championship order was restored this morning in practice at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, but a pair of upstarts threatened to upset the status quo in the last session before this afternoon’s Verizon P1 Award qualifying.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – It was a metaphorical golden spike that seemed to link what was then the freshly unified Indy car world more than handshakes, contracts and paperwork could.

With a new series, new car and new team keeping him busy in the offseason, Robert Wickens continues to have difficulty lying down on the job, but not for the reason you might think.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Chip Ganassi didn’t need to see long-time sponsor Target leave his Verizon IndyCar Series and NASCAR teams after last season to realize that every relationship, no matter how successful, expires eventually.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – As a race car driver or a cultural icon, there’s no question racing legend Mario Andretti means so much to many people across the world. But perhaps none more so than 63-year-old Kenneth Acton.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Ninety minutes of practice does not a proper evaluation make, but certain themes could be drawn from today’s first day of a new era:

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Another sports car team with a championship pedigree will make its Verizon IndyCar Series debut in the Indianapolis 500.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Granted, it was just the first practice session on a green street circuit, but both manufacturers had reason to crow this morning after a slippery but damage-free session to open the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg weekend.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – As INDYCAR prepares to launch the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season, it was fitting to look back one last time at a thrilling 2017 campaign.

Will Power isn’t much for reflection, which explains his answer when asked where his 32 career Indy car victories rank on the all-time, open-wheel list.

His golf game isn’t the same, but Sebastien Bourdais rationalizes that’s a reality he can accept.

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – This has all so far seemed like the right thing to do, or at least the rightest thing given all the variables to consider for Helio Castroneves.

It looks sharp, accentuates the skills of drivers, and has been well received during offseason test sessions. But the unanswered question of this weekend’s season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is straightforward: How will it race?

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Sebastien Bourdais wasn’t satisfied with the current bid on the firesuit he wore when he won last year’s Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. It was one of a kind, he noted in commandeering the auctioneer’s microphone, because the only other of these red Dale Coyne Racing models had been cut off him after his crash during qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 last May.