Daniel Frost at Victory Lane in St. Petersburg. (Al Steinberg photo)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Daniel Frost took the lead on a late restart and drove off to win Sunday’s season-opening Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, earning his second career victory in IndyCar’s development series.
Frost of Singapore crossed the finish line in the No. 68 HMD Motorsports DCR car 1.8038s ahead of teammate and rookie Nolan Siegel in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports DCR machine. Jacob Abel was third in the No. 51 Abel Motorsports car.
“I couldn’t believe it at the end,” Frost said. “I still drove all the way to the chessboard and when we passed the chessboard I was like, ‘Okay, we won!’ So it feels fantastic.”
Christian Rasmussen was fourth in the #6 HMD Motorsports DCR machine while Hunter McElrea completed the top five in the #27 Andretti Autosport Smart Motors car.
Frost earned his first win since last May on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway street course by pushing past Leading Seal on the first full lap after a restart on Lap 38. Siegel went wide at turn two and Frost took advantage to take the lead.
Frost on the way to victory. (Al Steinberg photo)
“I planned it out for everyone else to shoot in (turn one) and go wide, so I tried to take a different approach and go inside and get a switchback,” Frost said. “It worked for me all race, so I might as well do the same. It was worth it, so it ended up being No. 1. It’s perfect.”
Frost then retired in the final two laps. He started seventh, tying the record for the longest climb to victory in that race, as Felix Serralles also won from that spot on the grid in 2016.
Frost’s decisive move was one of 119 passes on the track in the frantic, 55-minute race around the 14-turn, 1.8-mile temporary street circuit that includes the streets of downtown St. Petersburg, Fla. and an airstrip at Albert includes Whitted Airport.
Abel and Siegel both claimed victory during the race, but in the end settled for their respective first podiums of their careers in Indy NXT by Firestone.
Siegel of Palo Alto, California, took the lead on Lap 35 after a restart that saw leader Abel and second-place Rasmussen slip wide at the inviting Turn 1, giving Siegel a chance for top spot.
“I’m really proud of the achievement,” said Siegel. “Sixth is not an easy place to overtake. We hoped for as good a recovery as possible. Of course that win would have been the best recovery, but I think it’s a really strong performance. We just missed it a bit on the last restart.”
Abel of Louisville, Kentucky led at race level for 27 laps. He took the lead for the first time on Lap 8 when polesitter and leader Louis Foster slipped wide while fending off Rasmussen for the lead on a turn one restart. Much like Siegel’s push forward, an alert Abel saw the opening and capitalized on it.
Foster of England touched the wall on the lap where he lost the lead and had to pit to get a broken left rear tie rod repaired on his #26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car entered by Andretti Autosport. He finished 14th and ran to the finish.
The next Indy NXT by Firestone race is the Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday April 30 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
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