Is it Alex Palou season again, or will someone else rise to the occasion and take down the three-time defending INDYCAR champ this year?

Downtown St. Petersburg shifted into high gear this weekend as the 22nd annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg revved up the IndyCar season and brought massive crowds — and major economic impact — to the city.

SportsLine's model reveals its top NASCAR longshot picks for the DuraMAX Grand Prix 2026 from Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas

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Will Power and Mick Schumacher had a brutal start to new chapters in IndyCar at the season debut in downtown St. Petersburg.

Check out the full celebration of the 2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, where Alex Palou picked up his 20th career INDYCAR Series win.

As drivers began to flip the stage and hit pit road, Ty Gibbs was the one who benefited the most. He will win Stage 2 over AJ Allmendinger. Suárez, Gilliland, Wallace, Reddick, Blaney, Custer, Herbst, and Byron round out the top-10 in the stage.

“Jaboo in the house,” the Firestone Grand Prix’s official Instagram announced. “We are pleased to announce Jameis Winston (@jabowins) as the Honorary Starter for the 2026 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He will wave the green flag to kick off the new NTT @indycar Series Season.”