The 2026 edition of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was all about a fresh start for Cape Motorsports powered by ECR: a new driver line-up, a new partnership with Ed Carpenter Racing, and the first race of a new INDY NXT by Firestone season.

Qualifying on Saturday was a tale of two halves, with the team’s two drivers ending up on opposite ends of the grid. Nikita Johnson set the quickest time of his group, securing a front row start and narrowly missing out on pole by just 0.326 seconds.

Matteo Nannini was in the second qualifying group and had the pace to qualify near the front as well, but a slight touch to the wall led to a bigger impact that knocked him out of the session. The times he had already set were deleted per the rules and he lined up 23rd.

When the green flag waved for Sunday morning’s race, Johnson wasted no time attacking for the lead. He tucked into the draft of Max Taylor’s Andretti Global entry down the front straight, then swept around the outside of Turn 1 to take the lead.

Four separate caution periods interrupted the race, leading to four restarts with Johnson pacing the field in the #21 entry. During each restart the 17-year-old expertly held off charging competitors from behind, including when Taylor attempted the same outside move in Turn 1 that Johnson employed at the race start.

Johnson went on to lead every lap and take victory in the time-limited race, earning his first win in his fourth ever INDY NXT start. The P1 result was Cape Motorsports’ first victory since moving up to INDY NXT in 2023, leading to emotional celebrations from the crew on pit lane.

Nannini also moved forward as soon as the race got underway, avoiding an incident just ahead of him on the first lap and quickly jumping up to 20th. The cool-headed 22-year-old scrapped amid tight battles all race, continuing to keep himself from getting caught up in the other incidents that occurred every few laps.

Nannini finished the race in 19th, completing all 42 laps and keeping his car free from damage while battling on the narrow course.

The next race on the schedule is another street circuit, this time encircling AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. The famous home of the Dallas Cowboys will provide a unique backdrop as the team works to quickly learn the new course from March 13-15.

Nikita Johnson:

I knew I just wanted to get to the front. That’s the biggest thing. I saw there was an opportunity coming into Turn 1, so I went for it and stuck it. After that, I don’t want to say smooth sailing, but I had it pretty controlled. Max was there the whole time behind me, so I just had to keep the distance right.

It’s my third win around here and all in different classes, so it’s pretty nice to come back here and win. Can’t thank the Cape Motorsports powered by ECR boys enough. Everything that ECR does for us and all the Cape boys, they just made this car so fast. We’ve been working together great. It’s pretty nice to come in as an underdog and come out of nowhere and qualify and go win in the race. Yeah, I think it’s a great team effort.

Matteo Nannini:

The weekend was a decent one for me. Unfortunately I feel qualifying compromised the entire race, especially here in St. Pete where it’s so hard to overtake.

It’s a great weekend for the team overall, though, and Nikita showed what is possible for us. This gives me motivation that the car can do it, and it’s just about having a complete weekend to bring home the results.