Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is an IndyCar Series race held in St. Petersburg, Florida. In most years since 2009, the race has served as the season opener (or at minimum, the first race held on U.S. soil).^[1] The race is held annually in the spring, with the exception of 2020, when it was postponed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

IndyCar Series
Location	St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. 27°45′59″N 82°37′45″W / 27.76639°N 82.62917°W / 27.76639; -82.62917
Corporate sponsor	Firestone
First race	1985
First ICS race	2005
Distance	1.800 mi (2.897 km)
Laps	100
Duration	180.00 mi (289.68 km)
Previous names	St. Petersburg Grand Prix (1985–1990) Kash n' Karry Florida Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (1996–1997) Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (2005–2013) Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (2014–present)
Most wins (driver)	Hélio Castroneves (3)
Most wins (team)	Team Penske (11)
Most wins (manufacturer)	Chassis: Dallara (15) Engine: Honda (9)
Circuit information
Surface	Asphalt/Concrete
Length	2.910 km (1.808 mi)
Turns	14
Lap record	Will Power (59.3466, Dallara DW12, 2022, IndyCar)

The race takes place on a temporary course, utilizing downtown streets, and one runway of Albert Whitted Airport. The event dates back to 1985, with IndyCars first competing in 2003.

History

The inaugural 1985 event was organized by William T. McVey, president of the McBri Corporation in Tampa and a member of IMSA and the SCCA.^[2] The SCCA Trans-Am Series held a race on a St. Petersburg downtown waterfront circuit from 1985 to 1990. Can-Am also competed in 1985. Local residents and businesses complained about noise, and the event was eventually put on hiatus.^[3] Driver Jim Fitzgerald was killed in a crash during the 1987 race.^[4][5]

From 1996 to 1997, the St. Petersburg race was revived on a different course around Tropicana Field (about one mile west of the original waterfront course). Along with the Trans-Am Series, support races included U.S. FF2000, World Challenge, Pro SRF and Barber Dodge. The event subsequently went again on hiatus for several years.^[3]

In 2003, the event was revived again for the Champ Car World Series. A new, modified version of the original 1985 waterfront circuit was created.

For 2004, the event was cancelled due to a dispute between the promoters, furthermore, the bankruptcy and liquidation of the CART series into the new Champ Car World Series saw a shakeup of the calendar. When the race returned in 2005, it switched to the IndyCar Series, marking the first non-oval event for the Indy Racing League. In 2007, the race weekend was expanded to include an American Le Mans Series event.

Andretti Green Promotions would later take over promotion of the event.^[6] Starting in 2014, Firestone took over as title sponsor.^[7]

Past winners

Season	Date	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine/Aero Kit	Tires	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report
							Laps	Miles (km)
Champ Car World Series history
2003	February 23	Paul Tracy	Forsythe Racing	Lola B02/00	Ford–Cosworth XFE	Bridgestone	105	189.630 (305.130)	2:04:28	91.401	Report
2004	Not held
IndyCar Series history
2005	April 3	Dan Wheldon	Andretti Green Racing	Dallara	Honda	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	2:09:54	83.14	Report
2006	April 2	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	Honda	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	1:56:58	92.34	Report
2007	April 1	Hélio Castroneves (2)	Team Penske (2)	Dallara	Honda	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	2:01:07	89.166	Report
2008	April 6	Graham Rahal	Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing	Dallara	Honda	Firestone	83*	149.4 (240.435)	2:00:44	74.251	Report
2009	April 5	Ryan Briscoe	Team Penske (3)	Dallara	Honda	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	2:12:27	81.542	Report
2010	March 29*	Will Power	Team Penske (4)	Dallara	Honda	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	2:07:06	84.975	Report
2011	March 27	Dario Franchitti	Chip Ganassi Racing	Dallara	Honda	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	2:01:00	89.26	Report
2012	March 25	Hélio Castroneves (3)	Team Penske (5)	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet/UAK-12	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	1:59:51	90.113	Report
2013	March 24	James Hinchcliffe	Andretti Autosport (2)	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet/UAK-12	Firestone	110	198 (318.65)	2:22:13	83.539	Report
2014	March 30	Will Power (2)	Team Penske (6)	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet/UAK-12	Firestone	110	198 (318.65)	2:06:58	93.572	Report
2015	March 29	Juan Pablo Montoya	Team Penske (7)	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet/CAK-15	Firestone	110	198 (318.65)	2:16:58	86.735	Report
2016	March 13	Juan Pablo Montoya (2)	Team Penske (8)	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet/CAK-16 (5)	Firestone	110	198 (318.65)	2:13:28	89.006	Report
2017	March 12	Sébastien Bourdais	Dale Coyne Racing	Dallara DW12	Honda/HAK-16	Firestone	110	198 (318.65)	2:04:32	95.391	Report
2018	March 11	Sébastien Bourdais (2)	Dale Coyne Racing (2)	Dallara DW12	Honda/UAK-18 (9)	Firestone	110	198 (318.65)	2:17:48	86.207	Report
2019	March 10	Josef Newgarden	Team Penske (9)	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet/UAK-18 (6)	Firestone	110	198 (318.65)	2:04:18	95.572	Report
2020	October 25	Josef Newgarden (2)	Team Penske (10)	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet/UAK-18 (7)	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	2:06:12	85.872	Report
2021	April 25	Colton Herta	Andretti Autosport (3)	Dallara DW12	Honda/UAK-18 (10)	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	1:51:51	96.552	Report
2022	February 27	Scott McLaughlin	Team Penske (11)	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet/UAK-18 (8)	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	1:51:27	96.899	Report
2023	March 5	Marcus Ericsson	Chip Ganassi Racing (2)	Dallara DW12	Honda/UAK-18 (11)	Firestone	100	180 (289.681)	2:05:30	86.047	Report

• 2008: Race shortened as a result of inclement weather at the start forcing the race to start on Lap 10 after nine Safety Car laps. Shortened by ESPN under time limit.
• 2010: Race postponed from March 28 due to inclement weather.^[8]
• 2020: Race postponed from March 15 to October 25 and shortened to 100 laps due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 2021: Race postponed from March 7 to April 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• UAK = Universal Aero Kit
• CAK = Chevrolet Aero Kit
• HAK = Honda Aero Kit

Support series past winners

Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tire

Indy Lights Season Date Winning Driver Chassis Engine 2005 April 3   Marco Andretti Dallara Infiniti 2006 April 1   Raphael Matos Dallara Infiniti April 2   Raphael Matos Dallara Infiniti 2007 March 31   Alex Lloyd Dallara Infiniti April 1   Alex Lloyd Dallara Infiniti 2008 April 5   Raphael Matos Dallara Infiniti April 6   Richard Antinucci Dallara Infiniti 2009 April 4   Junior Strous Dallara Infiniti April 5   Junior Strous Dallara Infiniti 2010 March 28   Jean Karl Vernay Dallara Infiniti 2011 March 27   Josef Newgarden Dallara Honda 2012 March 24   Tristan Vautier Dallara Honda 2013 March 23   Jack Hawksworth Dallara Honda 2014 March 30   Zach Veach Dallara Honda 2015 March 28   Ed Jones Dallara Mazda March 29   Ed Jones Dallara Mazda 2016 March 12   Felix Serralles Dallara Mazda March 13   Felix Rosenqvist Dallara Mazda 2017 March 11   Aaron Telitz Dallara Mazda March 12   Colton Herta Dallara Mazda 2018 March 10   Patricio O'Ward Dallara Mazda March 11   Santiago Urrutia Dallara Mazda 2019 March 9   Zachary Claman Dallara AER March 10   Rinus Veekay Dallara AER 2020 Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 April 24   Kyle Kirkwood Dallara AER April 25   David Malukas Dallara AER 2022 February 27   Matthew Brabham Dallara AER Indy NXT 2023 March 5   Danial Frost Dallara AER

Star Mazda Championship Season Date Winning Driver 2010 March 28   Conor Daly 2011 March 26   Connor De Phillippi 2012 March 24   Connor De Phillippi March 25   Jack Hawksworth Pro Mazda Championship 2013 March 23   Diego Ferreira March 24   Matthew Brabham 2014 March 29   Spencer Pigot March 30   Spencer Pigot 2015 March 28   Neil Alberico March 29   Neil Alberico 2016 March 12   Patricio O'Ward March 13   Aaron Telitz 2017 March 11   Anthony Martin March 12   Anthony Martin 2018 March 10   Rinus VeeKay March 11   Rinus VeeKay Indy Pro 2000 Championship 2019 March 9   Parker Thompson March 10   Parker Thompson 2020 October 24   Sting Ray Robb October 25   Hunter McElrea 2021 April 24   Braden Eves April 25   Christian Rasmussen 2022 February 25   Josh Green February 26   Nolan Siegel USF Pro 2000 Championship 2023 March 4   Christian Brooks March 5   Myles Rowe

U.S. F2000 National Championship Season Date Winning Driver 2010 March 27   Sage Karam March 28   Sage Karam 2011 March 26   Spencer Pigot March 27   Petri Suvanto 2012 March 24   Spencer Pigot March 25   Spencer Pigot 2013 March 23   Scott Hargrove March 24   Scott Hargrove 2014 March 29   Victor Franzoni March 30   R. C. Enerson 2015 March 28   Jake Eidson March 29   Jake Eidson 2016 March 12   Jordan Lloyd   Jordan Lloyd 2017 March 11   Robert Megennis March 12   Oliver Askew 2018 March 10   Kyle Kirkwood March 11   Alexandre Baron 2019 March 9   Braden Eves March 10   Braden Eves 2020 October 24   Kiko Porto October 25   Christian Brooks 2021 April 24   Christian Brooks   Christian Brooks 2022 February 25   Jace Denmark February 27   Myles Rowe 2023 March 4   Lochie Hughes March 5   Nikita Johnson

 

Stefan Wilson driving along the Bay Shore Drive Southeast section during the qualifying race of the Indy Lights 2011.

Atlantic Championship

Season	Date	Winning Driver
1985	November 3	Riley Hopkins
1986	November 16	Scott Goodyear
1987	November 7	Johnny O'Connell
1988	October 23	Jocko Cunningham
1989	October 29	Jocko Cunningham
1990	November 4	Brian Till
Source: ^[9]

American Le Mans Series

Overall winner in bold.

Season	LMP1 Winning Team	LMP2 Winning Team	GT1 Winning Team	GT2 Winning Team	Report
	LMP1 Winning Drivers	LMP2 Winning Drivers	GT1 Winning Drivers	GT2 Winning Drivers
2007	#1 Audi Sport North America	#6 Penske Racing	#4 Corvette Racing	#62 Risi Competizione	report
	Rinaldo Capello   Allan McNish	Sascha Maassen   Ryan Briscoe	Oliver Gavin   Olivier Beretta	Mika Salo   Jaime Melo
2008	#2 Audi Sport North America	#7 Penske Racing	#4 Corvette Racing	#71 Tafel Racing	report
	Marco Werner   Lucas Luhr	Timo Bernhard   Romain Dumas	Olivier Beretta   Oliver Gavin	Dominik Farnbacher   Dirk Müller
2009	#9 Patrón Highcroft Racing	#15 Lowe's Fernández Racing	No entry	#45 Flying Lizard Motorsports	report
	David Brabham   Scott Sharp	Adrian Fernández   Luis Díaz	No entry	Patrick Long   Jörg Bergmeister

Stadium Super Trucks

Year	Date	Driver	Ref
2014	March 29	Robby Gordon	^[10]
	March 30	P. J. Jones
2015	March 28	Sheldon Creed	^[11]
	March 29	Burt Jenner
2016	March 12	Sheldon Creed	^[12]
	March 13	Keegan Kincaid
2017	March 11	Robby Gordon	^[13]
	March 12	Matthew Brabham	^[14]
2021	April 24	Sheldon Creed	^[15]
	April 25	Sheldon Creed	^[16]

SCCA Trans-Am

 

Dan Wheldon memorial plaque located adjacent to the course layout.

Season	Date	Driver	Team	Car	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed	Report
					Laps	Miles (km)
1985	November 3	Willy T. Ribbs	Roush Racing	Mercury Capri	50	100 (160.934)	01:15:05	79.910 mph (128.603 km/h)	Report
1986	November 15	Pete Halsmer	Roush Racing	Mercury Merkur XR4Ti	50	100 (160.934)	01:15:09	79.838 mph (128.487 km/h)	Report
1987	November 15	Pete Halsmer	Roush Racing	Mercury Merkur XR4Ti	50	100 (160.934)	02:06:24	47.462 mph (76.383 km/h)	Report
1988	October 23	Walter Röhrl	Audi of America	Audi 200 Quattro	63	125.999 (202.777)	01:38:09	77.0207 mph (123.9528 km/h)	Report
1989	October 29	Irv Hoerr		Oldsmobile Cutlass	63	125.999 (202.777)	01:42:55	73.459 mph (118.221 km/h)	Report
1990	November 4	Chris Kneifel		Chevrolet Beretta	63	125.999 (202.777)	01:47:11	70.535 mph (113.515 km/h)	Report
1991–1995, Not held
1996	February 25	Ron Fellows		Chevrolet Camaro	63	106.470 (171.346)	01:18:13	70.535 mph (113.515 km/h)	Report^[permanent dead link]
1997	February 25	Tommy Kendall		Ford Mustang	60	101.400 (163.187)	01:14:44	81.405 mph (131.009 km/h)	Report
1998–2002, Not held
2003	February 23	Scott Pruett		Jaguar XKR	55	99.330 (159.856)	01:16:06	81.405 mph (131.009 km/h)	Report

Can-Am

• 1985 Lou Sell

SCCA Super Vee

• 1986 Didier Theys
• 1987 Dave Kudrave
• 1988 Bernard Jourdain
• 1989 Stuart Crow
• 1990 Chris Smith

Course

 

The section of the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg that curves through the Al Lang Stadium parking lot

The Streets of St. Petersburg course is a street circuit connecting existing roads with one of the two runways of Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg, Florida. It also dips into the parking lot at Al Lang Stadium. St. Petersburg is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit.^[17]

First bayfront course

The original 1985 Trans-Am course utilized a similar layout to the course used today. For the first year the track actually ran out to the pier, made a 180 degree turn and returned. At the end of Bayshore Drive, rather than diverting off to the airport runways, the course circled around 5th Avenue Southeast around Bayfront Arena, and the start/finish line was located just south of the paddock (the parking lot of Bayfront Arena). In addition, the old course traveled further up Beach Drive Northeast, all the way to 5th Avenue Northeast. 5th Ave. NE was a very narrow segment. The course came south down Bayshore Drive Northeast, and passed by The Pier.

Tropicana Field course

The second course at Tropicana Field was located about a mile west of the waterfront location. The circuit used the roads around the perimeter of the parking lot of the stadium.

Second Bayfront course

 

Helio Castroneves approaches Dan Wheldon Way (Turn 10) on the final lap of the 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

When the course was reconfigured, the northbound segment turned at Central Avenue instead, and did not go as far as The Pier. The pits and main straight were moved to the airport, and a purpose-built paddock area was paved next to the runway. The Albert Whitted Park was reconfigured/relocated, and the entire course layout was repaved.

The pits and paddock areas, as well as link from Dan Wheldon Way to the airport runway (turns 11, 12, and 13) were constructed specifically for the circuit in 2003, and are considered permanent features of the otherwise temporary circuit.

After the crash at the 2011 Izod IndyCar World Championship that killed Snell Isle resident Dan Wheldon, who won the 2005 race and two Indianapolis 500 titles, the straight following Turn 10 (the turn from Bayshore Drive to Albert Whitted Park) was renamed "Dan Wheldon Way" in his memory. The sign and commemorative plaque was unveiled by St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster on March 6, 2012. A permanent Dan Wheldon Memorial is located next to the Dali Museum on the opposite side of Turn 10, where race winners have their names placed on the memorial.^[18]

•  

  The circuit layout from 1986 to 1991

•  

  The circuit layout from 1996 to 2000

•  

  The circuit layout from 2003 to present

Lap Records

As of February 2022, the fastest official race lap records at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg are listed as:

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Date
Current Grand Prix Circuit: 2.897 km (2003–present)^[19]
IndyCar	1:00.9868^[20]	Conor Daly	Dallara DW12	2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
CART	1:01.825	Sébastien Bourdais	Lola B02/00	2003 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
LMP2	1:04.340^[21]	Ryan Briscoe	Porsche RS Spyder Evo	2007 Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg
LMP1	1:04.725^[21]	Allan McNish	Audi R10 TDI	2007 Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg
Indy Lights	1:04.9562^[22]	Kyle Kirkwood	Dallara IL-15	2021 Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
Indy Pro 2000	1:08.1141^[23]	Sting Ray Robb	Tatuus PM-18	2020 Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
GT1	1:09.770^[24]	Oliver Gavin	Chevrolet Corvette C6.R	2008 Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg
US F2000	1:12.2279^[25]	Kiko Porto	Tatuus USF-17	2020 Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
GT2	1:12.699^[21]	Tomáš Enge	Ferrari F430 GTC	2007 Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg
GT3	1:13.642^[26]	Justin Wetherill	Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020	2022 St. Petersburg GT America round
Barber Pro	1:13.930^[27]	Dan Di Leo	Reynard 98E	2003 St. Petersburg Barber Pro round
Trans-Am	1:14.634^[28]	Scott Pruett	Jaguar XKR	2003 St. Petersburg Trans-Am round
SRO GT2	1:18.881^[26]	C.J. Moses	Audi R8 LMS GT2	2022 St. Petersburg GT America round
GT4	1:19.190^[29]	Jade Buford	Ford Mustang GT4	2019 St. Petersburg GT4 America round
GTS	1:21.777^[30]	Peter Cunningham	Acura TSX	2012 St. Petersburg Pirelli World Challenge round
Mazda MX-5 Cup	1:24.344^[31]	Justin Piscitell	Mazda MX-5 (ND)	2022 St. Petersburg Mazda MX-5 Cup round
TC	1:25.101^[30]	Tristan Hebert	Volkswagen GLI	2012 St. Petersburg Pirelli World Challenge round
Third Grand Prix Circuit: 2.720 km (1996–2000)^[19]
Trans-Am	1:14.8^[32]	Tommy Kendall	Ford Mustang	1997 St. Petersburg Trans-Am round
Second Grand Prix Circuit: 3.219 km (1986–1991)^[19]
Trans-Am	1:17.440^[33]	Scott Pruett	Merkur XR4Ti	1987 St. Petersburg Trans-Am round
Original Grand Prix Circuit: 3.219 km (1985)^[19]
Can-Am	1:23.020^[34]	Peter Greenfield	Ralt RT4	1985 Can-Am Challenge at St. Petersburg
Trans-Am	1:27.836^[35]	Willy T. Ribbs	Mercury Capri	1985 St. Petersburg Trans-Am round

Race summaries

• 2005: The first ever road course race for the Indy Racing League saw Andretti Green Racing win the pole and sweep the top four position. Dan Wheldon finished first, with Tony Kanaan second.
• 2006: Dario Franchitti won the pole, but was knocked out early due to mechanical failure. The race finished under the yellow flag after Tomas Scheckter and Buddy Rice hit the barrier with 4 laps to go. Roberto Moreno replaced Ed Carpenter for this race as Ed recovered from his injury's but finished 18th due to steering issues. Hélio Castroneves was the winner.
• 2007: Pole winner Hélio Castroneves led 95 of the 100 laps, holding off Scott Dixon for the win by 0.6007 seconds, the closest finish on a road circuit in IRL history at the time. On the first lap, five cars were involved in a spin, including Tony Kanaan. In practice, Kanaan had crashed his qualified car, but the team made repairs so he could start in the 6th position rather than using a backup. The spin dropped him to the rear of the field. After a series of pit stops under yellow, Dan Wheldon took the lead. On a lap 35 restart, Castroneves bumped Wheldon from behind, and slipped by to take the lead for good. In the best run by a Foyt team in a few season, Darren Manning ran as high as third until a late spin dropped him to 13th. After the first lap spin, Tony Kanaan recovered to finish third.
• 2008: Heavy rain in the morning soaked the track, and left considerable standing water. The race was started under 10 laps of caution as the track dried. At the start, Tony Kanaan assumed the lead, but soon was passed by Justin Wilson. The early part of the race saw several spins by several cars, including Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti and Mario Moraes. On the 37th lap after a restart, rookie Graham Rahal was hit from behind by Will Power while running 3rd. He was able to continue. Several cautions slowed the race, including a crash by Ryan Briscoe, and a multi-car incident involving Vítor Meira, Franck Perera, and Townsend Bell. On the restart that followed, Rahal-Letterman Racing driver Ryan Hunter-Reay led Graham Rahal. Rahal got the jump and took the lead into the first turn. With time running out before the two-hour time limit, the race was poised to end before the scheduled distance. On the final restart, just under 4 minutes of racing remained. Rahal held off a charging Hélio Castroneves and won his first race. At 19 years, 93 days old, Rahal became the youngest driver ever to win an Indy-style race, as well as the youngest winner in IndyCar Series history.^[36] He broke Marco Andretti's record from 2006.^[36] He also became the fourth driver to win an IndyCar Series race in his first start, joining Buzz Calkins, Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Dixon.^[36]
• 2009: On the opening lap, polesitter Graham Rahal was involved in light contact with Tony Kanaan, which damaged his nosecone, and dropped him deep in the standings. With 20 laps to go, defending IndyCar champion Scott Dixon crashed out after contact with Hideki Mutoh. With 14 laps to go, Ryan Briscoe took the lead from Justin Wilson on a restart. Briscoe held off Ryan Hunter-Reay to secure the victory.
• 2011: The first race featuring the new double-file restarts takes a toll on the field as drivers adjust. On the first lap, a big collision involving several cars saw Marco Andretti flip over in turn 1, a crash he blamed on Hélio Castroneves.^[37] Several other drivers experienced contact on restarts, thinning the field. Dario Franchitti stayed in front for most of the race and won the season opener. Simona de Silvestro garnered the most attention of the later stages of the race, as she hotly challenged Tony Kanaan. Kanaan, who had landed his ride with KV Racing just days earlier, held her off over the final few laps for a surprising third-place finish.
• 2012: Hélio Castroneves won the season-opening event,^[38][39] snapping a winless streak that dates back to Motegi in 2010. It was the first race for the new Dallara DW-12 chassis, and the new turbocharged engine package. Castroneves' victory marked the first win by Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series since 2005. It also marked the first race since the fatal accident of Dan Wheldon. Will Power took the lead from the pole position at the start, but during the first yellow, he ducked into the pits in order to gamble on a fuel strategy. The strategy backfired, and Power was not a factor during the remainder of the race. During the final sequence of pit stops, Castroneves and Scott Dixon were running 1st–2nd. Dixon pitted first on lap 72, and Castroneves pitted on lap later. As the rest of the leaders shuffled through their final pits stops, Castroneves made a bold pass of Dixon on the outside of turn 1 for second place. After the sequence of pit stops was over, Castroneves led the final 26 laps to claim the victory. On his victory lap, Castroneves stopped in turn 10, climbed from his car, and performed his customary "Spider-Man" celebration, climbing the catch fence. He climbed the fence which displayed the street sign "Dan Wheldon Way," which had been designated days earlier by the city of St. Petersburg in the memory of Wheldon.^[40]
• 2013: James Hinchcliffe won the first IndyCar race of his career, taking the lead from Hélio Castroneves on a restart on lap 85 of 110. Hinchcliffe held off Castroneves by 1.09 seconds, with Marco Andretti finishing third, passing Simona de Silvestro for the position on the final lap.^[41] Will Power dominated the early parts of the race, but dropped to 16th at the finish after contact with J. R. Hildebrand. Dario Franchitti finished last after an early crash, and defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay dropped out with mechanical problems.
• 2014: Takuma Sato sat on the pole, but he lost the lead at lap 30 to Will Power. On a restart on lap 82, leader Will Power was bringing the field back to green when an "accordion effect" saw the field check-up on the main stretch. Marco Andretti and rookie Jack Hawksworth made contact and crashed into the inside barrier. Power led the most laps, and held off Ryan Hunter-Reay and Hélio Castroneves for the victory. Polesitter Takuma Sato finished 6th.
• 2015: The season opener at St. Petersburg was also the debut of unique aero kits for Honda and Chevrolet. Apprehension amongst the teams going into the race revolved around the complex, elaborate, and seemingly fragile front wings, and the lack of adequate replacement parts. The concerns were not unfounded, as dozens of on-track contacts throughout the field damaged countless wing components. Will Power won the pole position, leading a Team Penske sweep of the first four positions on the grid. Power took the lead at the start, and led 75 laps. During the final round of pit stops, Juan Pablo Montoya grabbed the lead after he managed a quicker pit stop than Power. In the closing laps, Power chased down Montoya, and narrowed the gap to less than a second with 11 laps to go. Power tried to pass Montoya for the lead in turn 10, but the two cars touched, damaging Power's front wing. Montoya held the lead, and went on to win, his first road course victory in IndyCar racing since 1999.
• 2016: Team Penske driver Will Power qualified for the pole, but was diagnosed with a concussion shortly after the conclusion of the session and was forced to miss the race. Oriol Servià filled in place of Power.^[42] Second place qualifier Simon Pagenaud inherited the pole position. Pagenaud led the opening 48 laps before being passed by his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya would lead 44 laps en route to his second win in a row at St. Petersburg. Rookie driver Conor Daly also led 15 laps during the race due to pit strategy, but was shuffled outside the top 10 by the end of the race. The race was slowed by only two yellows. The first came on lap 46 when Luca Filippi and Marco Andretti made contact in the first turn. The second came on the restart from the prior caution when Carlos Muñoz made contact with Graham Rahal in turn four, creating a logjam that completely blocked the race course.^[43] After the race, Will Power was reevaluated and deemed not to have a concussion, but instead to be suffering from a lingering ear infection.^[44] Power would be cleared to race for the following round at Phoenix International Raceway.
• 2017: Sébastien Bourdais crashed during qualifying on his out lap, and was relegated to starting 21st and last.^[45] Bourdais charged from last to first, the first win for Dale Coyne Racing since 2014. On lap 20, the first round of green flag pit stops began, with several drivers further down the order, including Sébastien Bourdais and Simon Pagenaud, being some of the first in. However, the race's second full-course caution came out in the middle of this pit sequence on lap 26, when Tony Kanaan and Mikhail Aleshin made contact in turn 4, littering the track with debris.^[46] The caution forced the top seven drivers in the race to pit during the caution and lose large amounts of track positions. Following the pit stops, Pagenaud, Bourdais and Marco Andretti were running 1st-2nd-3rd. Bourdais got by Pagenaud on lap 37, and began to pull away. After the second and third rounds of pit stops, Bourdais emerged with a 10-second lead, and comfortably cruised to victory over Pagenaud and Scott Dixon.
• 2020: In a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the new Roger Penske led IndyCar was forced to move the St. Petersburg Grand Prix from the season opener to the season finale. The race proved to be a championship deciding showdown between Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden, the latter of which won the 2019 race and the former never having won at St. Petersburg. Dixon had to finish eighth or better to win the championship, while Newgarden had to both win the race and finish at least nine positions better than Dixon to clinch the championship. Although Penske's Will Power qualified for a record ninth pole at St. Petersburg it was Andretti Autosport's Alexander Rossi who led most of the race before he suffered an unforced error and crashed into the walls. In the final stint Newgarden managed to pass Pato O'Ward for the race lead, forcing the normally calm Dixon to drive aggressively into third position and finish there to win his sixth IndyCar championship. ^[47]
• 2021: St. Petersburg returned in 2021 to its more traditional early season slot but was instead placed as the second race of the season rather than the season opener. Throughout the weekend Andretti Autosport's Colton Herta proved to be the fastest driver and ended up dominating the race, winning from pole position. Behind him Penske drivers Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud edged out Jack Harvey of Meyer Shank Racing to round out the podium.
• 2022: For the first time in two years the St. Petersburg GP returned to its seasoning opening slot. The Grand Prix was hosted on the 27th of February, the earliest date the Grand Prix has ever been hosted and the earliest season start date for the IndyCar Series. The starting grid was also the largest in the history of the event with twenty six entries, including twenty five full time cars and drivers. Team Penske's second year driver and former Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin out qualified Romain Grosjean, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Colton Herta, and Rinus VeeKay for the pole position, his first in IndyCar.^[48] McLaughlin used a two stop fuel saving strategy to lead most of the race, his strategy holding up even through a yellow caused on lap 26 by rookie David Malukas. In the closing laps 2021 champion Alex Palou, who used the same strategy as McLaughlin, began to hunt McLaughlin down for the lead. McLaughlin beat Palou's attempt at an overcut in the final series of pit stops and conserved enough push to pass to use it to both hold off Palou and work through traffic to take his first IndyCar win. Palou would finish in second place, his best finish on a street circuit. Will Power would round out the podium in third place.
• 2023: St. Petersburg again saw a record setting of entries in the Grand Prix, with 27 full time entries. Romain Grosjean qualified on pole. A first lap five car pileup threw an early red flag before racing resumed. At lap 36 Scott McLaughlin over cut Grosjean for the lead. McLaughlin held on through another series of cautions before being caught up in an incident on lap 78 between himself and Grosjean, ending Grosjean's race and putting himself a lap down. Pato O'Ward cycled to the front and led the closing laps before an overboost issue with three laps to go caused him to lose control, handing the lead to reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson held on to win the incident filled race, which saw almost half the field retire due to crashes. O'Ward and Scott Dixon finished second and third respectively.

Notes

Works cited

• Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg's website
• City has had false starts with racing
• Florida State Fairgrounds course map via TheRacingLine.net 2016-03-27 at the Wayback Machine

References

1. "IndyCar delays start of season five weeks; St. Pete moves to April 25 as Barber becomes 2021 opener". IndyStar. January 6, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
2. Koff, Stephen (July 26, 1991). "Council not ready to give race go-ahead". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
3. "St. Petersburg Grand Prix: City has had false starts with racing". St. Petersburg Times. February 21, 2003. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
4. "Trans-am Driver Killed In Crash During St. Petersburg Event". Sun-Sentinel. 1987-11-09. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
5. "Veteran driver Fitzgerald dies". Reading Eagle. Reading, Pennsylvania. November 9, 1987. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
6. Brassfield, Mike (6 April 2009). . St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
7. "Firestone rolls in as title sponsor of St. Pete race".
8. Auman, Greg (29 March 2010). . St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
9. "St. Petersburg Street Circuit".
10. Sinclair, Adam (March 16, 2015). "SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS Returns to St. Petersburg Grand Prix for Two Races March 27–29". Speedway Digest. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
11. Green, Chuck (April 1, 2015). "Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks Rock Saint Petersburg". Off Road Xtreme. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
12. "Team TRAXXAS Sweeps Stadium SUPER Trucks Weekend at Grand Prix of St. Petersburg". Speed Energy. March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
13. Nguyen, Justin (March 11, 2017). "SST: St. Petersburg Race #1 Recap". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
14. Nguyen, Justin (March 12, 2017). "SST: St. Petersburg Race #2 Recap". Overtake Motorsport. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
15. "2021 St. Pete Race 1 Results". Stadium Super Trucks. April 25, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
16. "2021 St. Pete Race 2 Results". Stadium Super Trucks. April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
17. "List of FIA licensed circuits" (Press release). Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. December 14, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
18. "Street in St. Petersburg named for Dan Wheldon". Fox News. AP. 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
19. "St. Petersburg - RacingCircuits.info". Retrieved 10 May 2022.
20. "2022 IndyCar Streets Of St. Petersburg Statistics". Retrieved 27 February 2022.
21. "American Le Mans Series St. Petersburg 2007". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
22. "2021 Indy Lights Streets Of St. Petersburg Session Facts". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
23. "2020 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Streets Of St. Petersburg Session Facts". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
24. "American Le Mans Series St. Petersburg 2008". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
25. "2020 USF2000 National Championship Streets Of St. Petersburg Session Facts". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
26. "2022 Streets of St. Petersburg GT America Race 2 - Classification - Final" (PDF). Retrieved 10 May 2022.
27. "2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series Round 1: St.Petersburg, 22nd February". Retrieved 16 July 2022.
28. "PRUETT RUSTY NO MORE; WINS GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG - Complete Results". Retrieved 28 May 2022.
29. "Pirelli GT4 America Sprint St Petersburg 2019". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
30. "World Challenge: Aschenbach, Bell and Cooper win race one in St. Petersburg". 24 March 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
31. "2022 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Race 2 Official Results (45 Minutes)" (PDF). 31 March 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
32. "1997 Kash n' Karry Florida Grand Prix". Retrieved 11 May 2022.
33. "Trans-Am St. Petersburg 1987". Retrieved 11 May 2022.
34. "Can-Am St. Petersburg 1985". Retrieved 10 May 2022.
35. "Trans-Am St. Petersburg 1985". Retrieved 10 May 2022.
36. . IndyStar.com. 2008-04-06. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
37. Long, Mark (March 27, 2011). . ThatsRacin.com. Ann Caulkins; The McClatchy Company. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
38. Lewandowski, Dave (March 25, 2012). "Castroneves starts year with exuberant victory". IndyCar.com. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
39. "Helio Castroneves wins opener". ESPN. March 25, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
40. "Street in St. Petersburg named for Dan Wheldon". AP. Fox News. March 7, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
41. Lewandowski, Dave (March 24, 2013). "Hinchcliffe records 1st win in drama-filled opener". IndyCar Series. IndyCar. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
42. "Power diagnosed with concussion; Servia replaces him for St. Pete race". IndyCar Series. INDYCAR. March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
43. "Montoya repeats trip to St. Pete victory lane". IndyCar Series. INDYCAR. March 13, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
44. "Thorough testing concludes Power does not have concussion". IndyCar Series. INDYCAR. March 16, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
45. Miller, Robin (March 11, 2017). . Racer.com. St. Petersburg, Florida: Racer Media & Marketing, Inc. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
46. Malsher, David (March 14, 2017). "IndyCar opener felt 'fabricated' – Scott Dixon". Autosport. St. Petersburg, Florida: Motorsport Network. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
47. Ryan, Nate (25 October 2020). "IndyCar results and final points standings after the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg". NBC Sports. NBC Universal. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
48. Fair, Ashley (26 February 2022). "The starting lineup for the 2022 IndyCar season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg is set following Saturday afternoon's qualifying session". Beyond The Flag. Minute Media. Retrieved 27 February 2022.

External links

• Official website  
• Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info

Preceded by First race of season

IndyCar Series Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Succeeded by Xpel 375 (Texas)