INDYCAR 2024 Opener: Newgarden Takes First Pole since 2022 at St. Petersburg [Video]

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An exuberant Joseph Newgarden ended a 27-race pole drought and captured his 17th career NTT P1 Award on Saturday with a top lap of 59.5714 seconds in the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, taking the top spot for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.

“I get jacked up every time I show up for an INDYCAR race,” two-time series champion Newgarden said. “It’s an elevated level when you start out the year because you have no idea if you’re going to keep coming back and producing results. It’s very difficult. You saw how tight it was.

“I didn’t know this would come today. I just thought, ‘Look, let’s through Round 1, let’s get through …