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Marcus Ericsson wins IndyCar’s crash-filled Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

  • Marcus Ericsson wins IndyCar’s crash-filled Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
    The largest IndyCar Series field in the two-decade history of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg delivered one of its wildest races yet. Marcus Ericsson wins IndyCar’s crash-filled Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
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Two cars went airborne, and one driver was hospitalized in a wreck-filled Firestone Grand Prix.

The largest IndyCar Series field in the two-decade history of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg delivered one of its wildest races yet.

One hospitalized driver. Two airborne cars. Five wrecks (including one for the lead) that knocked out nine competitors. In the end, it was 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson that came away with his fourth career victory. It was just the second win at St Petersburg for Chip Ganassi Racing, and their first since 2011. His teammate Scott Dixon recorded his seventh career podium at St Pete, despite never winning here. It is the 193rd top-five for Dixon, which ties him with Mario Andretti for the most all-time.

Joining the Ganassi drivers on the podium was Pato O'Ward, who essentially had this race wrapped up before an electrical issue caused his No. 5 Chevrolet to hiccup with three laps remaining. That allowed Ericsson to get by him, and the Arrow McLaren driver was not able to get back to the top spot. It was a heartbreaking moment for O'Ward and the team. They did have two cars finish inside the top-four as Alexander Rossi delivered in his team debut. Callum Ilott scored his first career top-five finish as the Juncos Hollinger Racing driver improved 17 positions from his 22nd place starting spot.

One of the biggest moments came at the start of the race, when cars began checking up after light contact from Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist. As cars began stacking up, Devlin DeFrancesco came to a stop in the middle of the track. Rookie Benjamin Pedersen was not able to slow down in time and struck Devlin's Honda, sending it spinning high into the air. Fortunately, all of the drivers were able to escape without serious injury.

2023 FIRESTONE GP OF ST PETERSBURG - RACE RESULTS

1    Marcus Ericsson    Chip Ganassi Racing    Honda
2    Pato O'Ward    Arrow McLaren    Chevrolet
3    Scott Dixon    Chip Ganassi Racing    Honda
4    Alexander Rossi    Arrow McLaren    Chevrolet
5    Callum Ilott    Juncos Hollinger Racing    Chevrolet
6    Graham Rahal    Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing    Honda
7    Will Power    Team Penske    Chevrolet
8    Alex Palou    Chip Ganassi Racing    Honda
9    Christian Lundgaard    Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing    Honda
10    David Malukas    Dale Coyne Racing    Honda
11    Marcus Armstrong    Chip Ganassi Racing    Honda
12    Agustin Canapino    Juncos Hollinger Racing    Chevrolet