'The busiest I've ever seen it': Record crowds for IndyCar at St. Pete cap chaotic weekend

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Josef Newgarden admitted this Sunday: He “gets it.”

The negative noise, the frustrated call for Penske Entertainment to “sell the series” if it isn’t willing to inject nine figures of funding to “supercharge” IndyCar, the demand for IndyCar to keep up with the excitement of its perceived competitors — Sunday’s season-opening race-winner thinks it’s all rooted in passion and love for the sport.

And that was on display this weekend in St. Pete, through the third consecutive record-breaking crowd for the Florida street race that gave the weekend a major race day vibe.

“I know it’s subjective, and I’m trying to be sort of fair about this. The crowd was amazing. I’ve seen more people here than I’ve ever seen at an IndyCar race,” Newgarden told reporters post-race after his comfortable 7.9-second win over fellow Team Chevy member Pato O’Ward. “I saw more specific, current IndyCar team jerseys. I saw more kids.

“It looked really good to me. I’ve seen a ton of negative noise, and I get it. Everyone wants to jump on anything, but everything I experienced this weekend was pretty incredible.”

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The staple of the start of the IndyCar season returned to its early-spring slot on the calendar in 2022, and series officials told IndyStar that weekend that the crowd was up more than 40% on a 2019 crowd that was estimated at roughly 140,000.

On Saturday, an IndyCar spokesperson told media that three-day attendance numbers were tracking towards a 10% jump year-over-year, with Friday’s crowd up 16% on 2023. Through late Saturday afternoon, IndyCar merchandise sales were up 30%.

“Huge shoutout to the fans – that’s the busiest I’ve ever seen (it) at St. Pete,” wrote Arrow McLaren driver Alexander Rossi on X, a veteran of nine of the venue’s 20 IndyCar weekends.

The “negative noise” largely stemmed from Michael Andretti’s comments midday Friday, when he voiced his numerous frustrations and concerns with an offseason that served up multiple major bumps in the road – most notably the continued delay of IndyCar’s hybrid system launch and the failed plans to host the season-finale in the middle of downtown Nashville’s tourist center.

Along with suggesting a revolutionary idea about how IndyCar should tackle its next generation of its car and engine and calling for IndyCar to improve its at-track appearance, the legendary driver and longtime team owner noted his frustration about an initial charter system proposal from Penske Entertainment leadership that would’ve called on teams to pay $1 million per entry. The $20-plus million, owners were told, would be invested back into projects that would aim to stimulate IndyCar’s growth.

“First of all, $20 million isn’t going to do anything. You’ve got to have five times that number, at least,” Andretti said. “Don’t take our money, Roger. You bought the series. We don’t own the series.”

And if Penske isn’t willing to make that significant investment in IndyCar’s future – essentially, a ‘spend money to make money’ mentality – “then sell the series,” he said.

'Then sell the series': Andretti calls for Penske to invest more in IndyCar

“I think there’s a lot of people on the sidelines, thinking, ‘This is a diamond in the rough, if you do it right.’ But what you need is big money behind it to get it to that level. If he’s not willing to do it, I think he should step aside and let someone else buy it.”

Andretti also suggested Penske Entertainment consider selling an equity stake – one that would still allow them to maintain majority control – but Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Mark Miles recently told reporters that that avenue was not under consideration.

Those comments from one of Penske’s on-track rivals, who once discussed possibly acquiring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Hulman and Company before Penske’s purchase, angered series executives, who held numerous private conversations with team owners – Andretti Global executives included – and by midday Saturday had established a three-person committee of owners charged with spearheading growth opportunities for the sport.

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“We have made significant investments since our acquisition that have delivered record metrics for the sport of IndyCar across nearly ever area,” read an exclusive statement from Penske Entertainment on Friday, following Andretti’s comments. “It has fueled momentum, and we will continue to invest rationally and strategically to grow the sport.”

When asked Sunday pre- and post-race about the tumultuous first 48 hours of the season, Penske shied away from the topic, wanting to keep the focus on the tight 27-car grid, the 21-car Indy NXT lineup and the record-setting weekend for St. Pete’s attendance.

“No, no. I’m fine, I’m fine. No problem,” Penske told IndyStar. “We’ll just continue to do what we do.”

O’Ward, one of IndyCar leadership’s most vocal challengers who has long called for the series to match the professional race weekend appearance, high entertainment level and general spectacle that Formula 1 has used to skyrocket its American fanbase, said Sunday he hopes to see more of the amazing experience he had Sunday.

“Just look at the amount of people that showed up today, yesterday, Friday. People want to be here. People want to see Indy cars go racing. Like, I really don’t know what more we can ask for from the fans,” O’Ward said. “I think it’s time to turbo-charge it and just really make it what it’s potential is, because it’s so big.

“This series is so freaking hard. Like, it’s a big deal when you win an IndyCar race. I think every single race should really be a big deal.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: St. Pete hosts record crowd: 'Every race should be a big deal'