RACE REPORT: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

• Making his 100th INDYCAR start on the Streets of St. Petersburg from the front row, Colton Herta capitalized on the opening lap incident, coming in with others in the field for the Gainbridge Honda’s first stop of the 100-lap race.
• Twenty laps in, Herta was running solidly in the top 10 before coming in for the Gainbridge Honda’s second stop of the race. A long second pit stop set the No. 26 back before being called in again just a few laps later due to a fuel issue on the earlier stop.
• Unfortunately, Herta was not able to recover from the pit lane issues and the Gainbridge Honda was shuffled back to midfield for the remainder of the race.

“It was a pretty disappointing day. I think there was a spot on the podium for the Gainbridge Honda today, so to not make it up there is upsetting, but we’ll fight back. There’s a lot of fight in this team, so I can’t wait for the next race to get another go at it.”

• Taking today’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg start from ninth, Kyle Kirkwood took on the Streets of St. Petersburg for the fourth time in his INDYCAR career. 
• Kirkwood took advantage of the opening lap yellow, setting his sights on advancing through the pack. Kirkwood slowly worked the Chili’s Honda into the top five by lap 64, where he would ultimately take he checkered 36 laps later.
• Today’s result marks Kirkwood’s eighth INDYCAR top-five, 22nd top-10 finish and best career finish on the Streets of St. Petersburg.

“It was a good day for us on the No. 27 Chili’s Honda. A top-five result from ninth is always good, but of course, we want more. We want to win and we want podiums, but under the circumstances, we were happy with a top five and leaving here with some points. We’re starting the season on the right foot.”

• Taking the green in seventh on the famed Florida street circuit, Marcus Ericsson used his street course experience to navigate his way through the challenging 100-lap race.
• Despite falling back from his starting position early, Ericsson remained committed to his strategy and ultimately took the checkered right behind his teammate Kirkwood in sixth.
• Today’s result marks Ericsson’s 51st top-10 INDYCAR finish in his 98 INDYCAR starts.

“It was a really good first weekend of the season. This is exactly what we’ve talked about in the offseason with getting off to a solid start. I think every session we were in the top seven, so super solid weekend. The Bryant crew has done a really good job. Our start to the race wasn’t the best, and then we had an unlucky first pit stop, so we dropped back a little bit, but then we had a really good drive after that. We had strong pace, the car felt good and the rest of the pit stops were where we wanted them. Sixth isn’t fantastic, but it’s a really good start to the season and something we can build on and get some momentum.”

“It was a decent day for the No. 27 and No. 28. Both cars were on a winning strategy and they both worked their way up from where they started. At the same time, it was also a frustrating day for the No. 26. We cannot make mistakes like that and get the results that we want, so we will go back and tidy it up. Overall, it was a disappointing day on the No. 26 side of things, but we’re happy with the way the 27 and 28 executed.”