Round 1: Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, March 28 - 30, 2014

[bjohnsonsmith]

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The event was first held as an SCCA Trans-Am Series race, on the downtown waterfront circuit from 1985-1990 but local residents and businesses complained about the noise and the event was put on hold but revived in 1996-1997, on a new course around Tropicana Field. In 2003, the event was revived again, initially as a Champ Car event using a modified version of the original 1985–90 waterfront circuit. In 2004, the event was cancelled due to a dispute between the promoters. The race returned in 2005 but it had switched to the IndyCar Series, marking the first non-oval event for the Indy Racing League. This Sunday's event will be the 11th running of the race on the current course and the 10th as an IndyCar event.

Track information





Length: 1.8 Miles (2.9 Km)
Turns: 14
Lap record: Sébastien Bourdais (1:00.928, Lola B02/00-Ford Cosworth, 2003, Champ Car)

Last year's winner:
James Hinchcliffe
Andretti Autosport
Dallara Chevrolet
Laps 110
Distance 198 Miles, (318.65km)
Race Time 2:22:13
Average Spees 83.539 MPH

TV Coverage
ABC will have a live telecast of the event on Sunday, March 30, with pre-race at 3 p.m. ET. The green flag will fly at 3:27 p.m. ET.

International coverage is provided by ESPN.