Motorsports insider Zion Brown recaps the qualifying round for the 2026 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. #indycar
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The sun has set on the qualifying round here at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Live from St. Pete, I’m Zion Brown, IndyStar TV, and we have a pole-sitter.
Scott McLaughlin will be on the pole for the second straight year at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
This year a little different for him.
His new strategist, Tim Cindric, back with Team Penske now on the timing stand for Scott McLaughlin.
McLaughlin said it was kind of funny today.
He had to tell Cindric to calm down and, and quiet down at times.
But those two have made a great pairing so far, as we’ve seen now with McLaughlin of Team Penske being at the pole.
But the big news really from the qualifying session was what Dale Coyne Racing was able to do with Dennis Hauger and Romain Grosjean.
Both of those two made fast six qualifying in the last round of qualifying.
The rookie Hauger, the Norwegian, will qualify and sit at third to begin tomorrow’s race.
He qualified ahead of Alex Palou, who’ll be fourth.
So those two will be in a row together in row two.
Grosjean will be in sixth.
But really a surprise to see a rookie in a team with Grosjean, who was just announced two weeks ago yesterday that he would officially be in that Dale Coyne Racing car, and we see now after a pair of tests Grosjean went through for DCR.
He and Hauger really making a push toward a victory potentially tomorrow.
But I’ll have full updates on the race and all we got from race weekend tomorrow afternoon.
For IndyStar TV, I’m Zion Brown.