Round 1: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, March 27 - 29, 2015

[bjohnsonsmith]

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The waiting and the long off season are almost over, with this Sunday's 2015 season opener nearly upon us. It will be the 12th running of the race on the current course and the 11th as an IndyCar event. It will also feature the first running of Chevrolet's and Honda's road-street/short oval aero-kits in a race.

The dominant aero-kit package appears to be Chevrolet's and Power pipped Dixon in pre-season testing at Barber, so can Power take back to back wins on Sunday?

The event was first held as part of the SCCA Trans-Am Series, on the downtown waterfront circuit, from 1985-1990 but when local residents and businesses complained about the noise the event was cancelled. It returned from 1996-1997 on a new course around Tropicana Field. After a second hiatus, the event returned again in 2003 but as a Champ Car race, using a modified layout of the original 1985–90 waterfront circuit. In 2004, the event was cancelled due to a dispute between the promoters but returned in 2005, this time as part of the IRL IndyCar Series, marking the first non-oval event for the Indy Racing League.



Length: 1.8 Miles (2.9 Km)
Turns: 14

Lap record: Sébastien Bourdais, Feb 22, 2003. 1:00.928, 106.710 mph - 171.733 kph. Lola B03/00-Ford Cosworth, Champ Car World Series.

Last year's winner:
Will Power
Team Penske, Dallara-Chevrolet
Laps 110
Distance 198 Miles, (318.65km)
Race Time 2:06:58
Average Speed 93.572 mph, 150.59 kmh

TV Coverage:
ABC Sunday, March 29.
Green flag at 3:00p.m. ET.