2020 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
| Race details | |||||
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14th round of the 2020 IndyCar Series season
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| Date | October 25, 2020 | ||||
| Official name | Grand Prix of St. Petersburg | ||||
| Location | Streets of St. Petersburg | ||||
| Course | Temporary street circuit 1.800 mi / 2.897 km | ||||
| Distance | 100 laps 180.000 mi / 289.682 km | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | .svg.png){kind=small} Will Power (Team Penske) | ||||
| Time | 01:01.0369 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Marcus Ericsson (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||||
| Time | 1:01.2384 (on lap 93 of 100) | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First |  Josef Newgarden (Team Penske) | ||||
| Second |  Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren SP) | ||||
| Third | Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing) | ||||
| Chronology | |||||
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The 2020 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was IndyCar Series event held on October 25, 2020. It made up the fourteenth and final round of the series' 2020 season. Will Power won pole for the race with Josef Newgarden taking victory. Scott Dixon finished third to secure his sixth IndyCar Series Championship, holding off Newgarden by 16 points.[1]
Background
In a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new Roger Penske-led IndyCar was forced to move the St. Petersburg Grand Prix from the season opener to the season finale.[2] The race proved to be a championship-deciding showdown between Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden, the latter of which won the 2019 race and the former never having won at St. Petersburg.[3] Dixon had to finish ninth or better to win the championship, while Newgarden had to both win the race and finish at least nine positions better than Dixon to clinch the championship.[4][5]
Entrants
Team Penske announced that Scott McLaughlin, then the two-time reigning champion and active championship leader of Supercars Championship would make his IndyCar Series debut in the #3 car at St. Petersburg in the season finale. He became the first driver to drive the #3 car other than Hélio Castroneves since Will Power subbed for Castroneves at St. Pete on April 15, 2009.[6] Leading up to the race, Penske confirmed McLaughlin would compete in IndyCar full-time in 2021 as the team expanded to four cars.[7]
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
Practice
A single practice session was held on Saturday, October 24 at 10:55 AM ET.[8]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Colton Herta |
Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 01:01.1306 |
| 2 | 26 | .svg.png){kind=small} James Hinchcliffe |
Andretti Autosport | Honda | 01:01.2279 |
| 3 | 55 |  Álex Palou R |
Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh | Honda | 01:10.3857 |
| Source:[9] | |||||
Qualifying
Qualifying classification
Qualifying began at 3:05 PM ET on Saturday, October 24th. The field was split into two groups of twelve drivers, with the top 6 of each group progressing to the Fast 12. The top 6 of the Fast 12 proceeded to the Firestone Fast 6.[8]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Time | Final grid | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Will Power |
Team Penske | Chevrolet | 01:01.0369 | 1 | |||
| 2 | 27 | Alexander Rossi |
Andretti Autosport | Honda | 01:01.1730 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 88 | Colton Herta |
Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport | Honda | 01:01.1815 | 3 | |||
| Source:[10] | |||||||||
Race
Josef Newgarden won his fourth race of the season from eighth place on the grid, while Scott Dixon finished third to secure his sixth IndyCar Series Championship.[3] Although Penske's Will Power qualified for a record ninth pole at St. Petersburg, it was Andretti Autosport's Alexander Rossi who led most of the race before he suffered an unforced error and crashed into the walls. In the final stint, Newgarden managed to pass Pato O'Ward for the race lead, forcing the normally calm Dixon to drive aggressively into third position and finish there to win his sixth IndyCar championship.[11]
Race classification
Championship standings after the race
By securing the championship, Scott Dixon became one of the few drivers to lead the IndyCar Series championship standings from the start of the season to its conclusion.[13]
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References
- ↑ "2020 Standings". IndyCar Series.
- ↑ "IndyCar's GP of St. Petersburg preview – schedule, facts". Motorsport. October 23, 2020. Archived from the original on July 22, 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
- 1 2 Horall, Zach (October 25, 2020). "Newgarden Wins at St. Pete, Falls 16 Points Short of Champion Dixon in Dramatic Race". IndyCar Series. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Title Race One of Many Intriguing Storylines in Season Finale at St. Petersburg". IndyCar.com. October 23, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Newgarden Clings to Optimism Entering St. Pete after Long Climb into Title Contention". IndyCar.com. October 21, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
- ↑ "McLaughlin to Make Series Debut At St. Pete With Team Penske". September 17, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ Brown, Nathan (October 23, 2020). "Team Penske announces Scott McLaughlin will drive fourth full-time IndyCar entry in 2021". IndyStar. Retrieved June 26, 2026.
- 1 2 "Fan Resources". IndyCar Series. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Round 14: Results of Session: NTT INDYCAR Series Practice 1 (PDF) (Report). INDYCAR. October 24, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
- ↑ Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Round 14: Results of Qualifying Round 3 (PDF) (Report). INDYCAR. October 24, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
- ↑ Ryan, Nate (October 25, 2020). "IndyCar results and final points standings after the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg". NBC Sports. NBC Universal. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ↑ Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Round 14: Box Score (PDF) (Report). INDYCAR. October 25, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2026.
- ↑ Martin, Bruce (October 16, 2020). "Dixon Eyeing Rare Wire-to-Wire Championship Run". IndyCar Series. Retrieved June 25, 2026.
- ↑ "IndyCar 2020 results and standings for top drivers and teams". Motorsport.