Last weekend marked a very special occasion for some of the drivers on the 2024 grid, as it marked their first official race as IndyCar drivers. The three of them had very different first approaches to the American championship, but overall they all had a rather positive debut.
Linus Lundqvist and Tom Blomqvist are also in contention for Rookie of the year, but they both competed at events last year.
Kyffin Simpson
The youngest driver on the grid was also the best placed rookie in the inaugural St. Petersburg race, ending in P14. The Ganassi driver was also the second biggest improver during the race, having gained nine positions from his starting spot of P23.
The Caymanian, who scored two podiums in IndyNXT, has definitely had many positives to take from the street race, unlike teammate Linus Lundqvist who had been taken out during the race by Romain Grosjean.
The driver of car no.4, who won the European Le Mans Series with Algarve Team Pro in the past season, was incredibly pleased with his first race in the top single seater championship, as he said:
“What an incredible day. I’m stoked to have such a good first race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. I felt like we had a good start to the race and then we just kept it clean.”
Photo Credit: Penske Entertainment | James Black
“It was definitely tight at times with some side-by-side racing, but we were able to push through and keep things clean,” he added, recalling his good performance for the championship winning team, bagging a solid top 15 on debut.
The highlight of his day is definitely to be found in his last stint, which was key in securing it, passing Christian Lundgaard and Tom Blomqvist as he gained four spots overall following the last caution.
“We were able to really push it on the greens at the end with great pace. I’m very happy with the entire day for the Journie Rewards team.”
Colin Braun
The three-time WeatherTech SportsCar champion, who had driven an IndyCar for the first time only a handful of days ahead of the St. Petersburg race when testing at Sebring, had a mostly trouble free first day in the office for Dale Coyne Racing.
He had gained three spots at the start, making his way up to P22, but lost all of his advantage when he locked up at the notoriously tricky Turn 10 on Lap 52.
However, Braun was able to make up for the lost positions, ending the race in P22 as Ericsson, Lundqvist and Grosjean all retired after that moment.
“I think overall it was a good day for me. My goal was to run all the laps. I made a mistake in Turn 10 and got some brake lockup and it decided to go straight. It took a minute to get it in reverse so we lost one lap, so I guess I missed out on one single lap,” said the driver of car no. 51.
Photo Credit: Penske Entertainment | Chris Jones
Braun, who has been only officially confirmed by Coyne for St. Pete and the Thermal Club million dollars events at present, recalled the main events of his race, thanking his team for their unwavering support:
“I stayed out of trouble, did the pit stops, learned a ton. I saw the track progression, saw what the marbles did offline. It was a lot to take in but these Dale Coyne Racing with RWR guys did great pit stops, I think we had good strategy.”
Already focusing on the next step of his DCR adventure, the experienced American concluded: “Of course everyone wants to finish better and improve but I learned a lot and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Christian Rasmussen
It was a challenging debut for the reigning INDYNXT champion. In fact, the Danish driver had qualified in P21, but his Sunday was haltered by having to start last on the grid due to a clutch issue as everyone else made their way out for the laps before the rolling start. He made up three spots by lap 2.
However, that wasn’t the last of his misfortunes for the day, as he received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He pitted one lap before the final caution, which resulted in him going a lap down. From there it was a case of bringing the car home.
It was a valuable experience for the Ed Carpenter Racing driver, who was still ecstatic about his debut in spite of all the adversities encountered:
“First NTT INDYCAR SERIES race under my belt. It was a long race, definitely one of harder ones I have done in my career I will say! With this being the first race of the season, I think it’s known as being one of the hardest for everyone.”
Photo Credit: Penske Entertainment | James Black
The Dane, who has been signed by ECR only for street and road courses but will still try to qualify for the 500 in May, then recalled the main points of his race:
“I hung in there, it was tough with the clutch issues but we just tried to do the best we could. We went a lap down but tried to maximize it, I worked hard to be the first car one lap down.
“Obviously not where we want to be, but considering the issues we worked through, it’s an okay result,” he concluded, hoping for a better performance in his next outing.
