“Sales are 'way up'” -  IndyCar insider reveals positive developments ahead of 2025 season

The 2025 IndyCar season has officially begun with yesterday's commencement of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race weekend. The crowds have been present in large numbers at the event, and in line with this, reporter Marshall Pruett has revealed that the ticket sales are 'way up.'

Day 1 of the St. Petersburg race weekend came to a close Friday, and the crowd turnout was noticable. During the ongoing Day 2, the fans once again packed the stands.

In his post on X, Marshall Pruett stated that IndyCar President Doug Boles recently asserted that the ticket sales are quite decent.

"My BFF Mark Miles, addressing the media with FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks and IndyCar president Doug Boles, says ticket sales are up for the event, which feels right—Friday was the busiest I can recall—and merchandise sales are “way up,” which also matches what I’ve seen," Pruett wrote.

The all-important qualifying session for the main race will kick off on Saturday around the streets of St. Petersburg. Friday's Practice 1 was topped by Kyle Kirkwood, whereas the recently concluded Practice 2 was lead by Andretti Global's Marcus Ericsson.

Veteran driver Graham Rahal on his preparation for 2025 IndyCar season

The 107TH Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Carb Day - Source: Getty

While this year's campaign of the 'fastest racing on earth' is on the upswing in terms of crowd turnout, veteran driver Graham Rahal has given his take on his preparation for the 17-race season.

In a detailed conversation with IndyCar on FOX, Rahal broke down his training routine.

"Well, once my Buckeyes guys won the championship, I've had a look back into racing here, you know, its gonna, I'm a die-hard fan from Columbus, so die-hard buckeye, but yeah, I mean offseason for me, got some other businesses and stuff, but from a racing perspective just super locked in on making sure that, you know, we've had a couple of tough years."

Rahal further added:

"We've gotta turn it around, there's a lot of new engineering staff, two new drivers out of the three on our team, as I said, only myself remains. So had to work really closely with a team. I'm the biggest guy in the sport, I'm 6'3, 200 pounds, so for me offseason was about trimming down."

Graham Rahal finished the 2024 IndyCar season in 18th place in the standings, driving for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team. During the intensely-fought 17-race campaign, he was able to amass 251 points with five top-ten finishes.

The 36-year-old has been competing in the sport since the 2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He has so far managed a whopping 278 starts alongside six wins, 29 podiums, and five pole positions. Keeping this in view, Rahal will have an immense responsibility on his shoulders in the ongoing 2025 IndyCar season.