Front Row and New Track Record for Felix Rosenqvist and Meyer Shank Racing

Teammate Tom Blomqvist continues to make gains, qualifies 17th
St. Petersburg, Fla. (9 March 2024) – Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) kicked off the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SEASON off with a bang, with Felix Rosenqvist putting the No. 60 AutoNation / SiriusXM Honda on the front row for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (12:00pm ET, NBC, SiriusXM Ch. 218).
Carrying a special Bon Jovi Radio livery (SiriusXM Ch. 312) for the event, Rosenqvist’s qualifying effort was just 0.0058-seconds shy of pole position and the closest front-row qualifying margin on a street course since 2012. To add to Rosenqvist’s front row run, he also had the new St. Pete track record during the Fast 12 round after he posted a 59.270-second lap (previous track record was 59.346-seconds).
Rosenqvist showed his hand early in the weekend in his first outing with his new team, leading Friday’s first practice and then carrying that speed through three rounds of qualifying over the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Pete street course.
The result was the best in six tries for Rosenqvist at St. Pete and marks the fourth front row start for Meyer Shank Racing (2020 – Indy GP, 2020 – Road America, 2021 – St. Pete).
Tom Blomqvist (No. 66 AutoNation / Arctic Wolf Honda) will start 17^thon the street course after posting a qualifying time of 59.9968 in the opening session. The British-born Blomqvist has found speed in his new mount throughout the weekend, gaining more than two seconds from Friday’s practice, as he looks to kick off his first full INDYCAR season in style.

Sunday’s 100-lap Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will air on NBC on Sunday starting at Noon ET. SiriusXM will also host live IndyCar Radio coverage on SiriusXM Ch. 218.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Felix Rosenqvist: “Big thanks to AutoNation, SiriusXM, and Meyer Shank Racing. It’s been an incredible start honestly. We are still kinda pinching ourselves a little bit and we don’t want to get too carried away, the race is a different challenge. I just haven’t really had to think too much about the way I drive the car and brake and go on power. It’s kind of been coming naturally. And that’s when you perform the best, so I’m lucky to be in that situation. MSR has done a great job to figure out what I like with the car. Mike (Shank) and I have been talking a lot and really focusing a lot on our racecraft, so that is my full focus – the race itself. I think the warm up will be huge for us to get the first long run under our belt and see what the car feels like with full tanks.”
Tom Blomqvist: “A hell of a first qualifying of 2024. I mean, it’s been a tough weekend for me. I don’t know the track and we had some issues in FP1, which in such a tightly packed and competitive series kinda puts you on the back foot. So my practice this morning was kind of my first proper run on track. The car has been really good, it’s just chipping away at that and trying to understand how to get the most out of this package. I have a great team alongside me to give me some advice. My teammate Felix has done a fantastic job this weekend so hopefully he can do something for the boys.”