QUALIFYING REPORT: Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Qualifying Notes
- The Andretti Global INDY NXT team kicked off the first qualifying session of the 2026 season this afternoon on the sunny Streets of St. Petersburg with a standout performance by Andretti INDY NXT newcomer Max Taylor, who captured the pole position and will lead the field to green in tomorrow’s race. All four drivers will start in the top six tomorrow, with Seb Murray and Lochie Hughes in Row 2 and Josh Pierson in Row 3.
- The drivers took on qualifying broken out in two groups, with Lochie Hughes and Josh Pierson in Group 1 and Max Taylor and Seb Murray in Group 2.
- Following a heavy rainstorm yesterday evening, slick track conditions this morning prompted the Andretti INDY NXT team to wait until nearly the end of Practice 2 to run some solid laps and get their names on the leaderboard, which Taylor also topped.
- Today’s qualifying session saw one local yellow in Group 1, followed by a red flag in Group 2 after the No. 20 car made contact with the wall in Turn 3 (Nannini).
- The Andretti INDY NXT team will take on the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg tomorrow in the 45-lap race at 10:00 AM ET, with live coverage airing on FS1.
Qualifying Results
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 Andretti Global Dallara
P4
- Hughes returns to the Streets of St. Petersburg for the second time in his INDY NXT career, taking on qualifying in Group 1 after finishing practice this morning with the second-quickest lap time of the session.
- The Aussie driver came out strong in qualifying, shuffling throughout the top three spots on the leaderboard until ultimately finishing second in his group and fourth overall.
“It was an Interesting session. Unfortunately, I just missed out on P1 in practice, so I had to be in Group 2 for quali. Then, I got out there and just pushed too fast, too soon on the rubber that was already on the track. I wasn’t expecting that. But it is what it is, and we’ll take on the race from there.”
Seb Murray
No. 27 Prosperity Dallara
P3
- Murray started his weekend in St. Petersburg strong, finishing Practice 1 yesterday morning with the third-fastest lap time. Although with today’s wet conditions during Practice 2, he ended the session in seventh, slotting him into Group 2 for today’s qualifying session.
- Murray brought impressive pace to his qualifying run this afternoon, finishing the session with the second-fastest lap time in his group and third overall, earning him his INDY NXT career-best qualifying position and placing him in a prime position near the front of the field for tomorrow’s race.
- The Scottish driver showed significant improvement in today’s qualifying session, securing a starting position 10 spots higher than his 2025 qualifying effort.
“We’ve got to be happy with that, honestly. Starting P3 tomorrow is really good. I can’t deny that I still wanted the pole position today. The team put together a really good car that could’ve been on the pole, so massive thank you to them and the Andretti team. They’ve done a great job. We worked really hard to address all the weaknesses from last year, and I think we definitely improved a lot since then. So, I’m really happy with where we’re starting tomorrow, and I think the plan is for Max and me to just pull away and see what we can do in the race.”
Max Taylor
No. 28 Susan G. Komen Dallara
P1
- After leading all other on-track sessions this weekend, Taylor maintained his perfect performance by securing his INDY NXT career-first pole position on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
- Taking on qualifying in Group 2 with teammate Murray, Taylor immediately shot to the top of the leaderboard, where he remained until the checkered flag waved on the session.
- Before today’s performance, Taylor’s best INDY NXT qualifying effort was last year on the Streets of Detroit where he started third.
“This is my first pole position, and I am so over the moon. We’ve led every session this weekend so far, so I’m just excited to keep attacking. I love this car, I love this track and I love my team. They do a great job, they really do. The plan from here is to just win it. I mean, there’s nothing else to do but that. We’re working hard and keeping our heads down to get the car dialed in. I need to focus on preparing myself for tomorrow.”
Josh Pierson
No. 29 Starchive Dallara
P6
- As the most experienced INDY NXT driver in the Andretti lineup, Pierson made his fourth career qualifying attempt this afternoon on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
- Pierson finished Practice 2 this morning with the 16th quickest lap time of the session after struggling to find a gap once he got back on track. Yesterday, he had the second-quickest lap time in Practice 1.
- Pierson qualified third in his group, just behind teammate Hughes, placing him sixth on the grid for the start of tomorrow’s race.
“I would have liked a spot further up for tomorrow’s race, but overall, it’s not a bad start, especially here at St. Pete. For my first qualifying session with Andretti Global, I’m happy that it ended the way it did and that I didn’t make any super big mistakes. Qualifying was my struggle point from last year, so I know that I can keep improving. Max and Seb did a great job today and are proving that there’s still more out there, and that the young guns are coming through. I was unfortunately in Group 1, not really knowing what the rubber was going to do from the NASCAR race. So that was a bit tricky, but all in all, I have a pretty good spot for tomorrow, and we are looking strong as a team. So, I’m really happy with that, and I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.”
Don Lambert
INDY NXT Team Manager
“Today was a really good first qualifying session for the 2026 Andretti INDY NXT group. These guys really showed that they are ready to compete at a high level this season and that they have the speed to do it. Great to see Max on the pole and the other three guys starting close behind. Overall, it was a really good day and hopefully we can carry that into tomorrow. We just need to keep executing and looking for those points.”
