Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Tag

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief One of the most talked about newcomers to the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series, Colton Herta, paced the final few minutes of qualifying en route to his maiden pole for the second race of the St. Petersburg doubleheader weekend. The driver of the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Mazda set a time of 1 minute, 06.5465 seconds. Last year’s championship runner-up, Santi Urrutia, will start alongside Herta in his No. 5 Belardi Auto Racing Mazda/Dallara IL-15. Dalton Kellett occupies the third spot with rookie PatoRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The recent manufacturer change of Chip Ganassi Racing from Chevrolet to Honda hasn’t affected their standing at the front of the field as Scott Dixon’s No. 9 GE LED Lighting Honda led the second Friday practice session for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the opening round of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Dixon’s lap of 1 minute 2.5591 seconds (103.582 mph) was 1.3 seconds faster than his first session time that netted him third-place inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In the first official practice session for the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season, Honda is at the top of the charts in preparation for Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Marco Andretti’s No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda timed in at 1 minute 3.7559 seconds (101.638 mph), leading a quartet of Honda cars as Ganassi Racing’s Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon were second and third, while James Hinchcliffe brought his No. 5 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda to fourth.Read More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg kicked off today with practice and qualifying for four of the six races which comprise the start of a new campaign for the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. A dramatic qualifying session for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the highest rung on the acclaimed open-wheel development ladder which offers Mazda Scholarships to enable talented drivers to reach all the way from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series, ended with Aaron TelitzRead More

PALMETTO, Fla. (March 7, 2017) – The eyes of the open-wheel auto racing world will be focused firmly on St. Petersburg, Fla., this weekend as the Verizon IndyCar Series and all three levels of the acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires begin their new season on the challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn downtown street circuit. More than 50 ambitious drivers literally from around the globe will converge on the scenic waterside track, each and every one of them looking to make a strong start to their campaigns in pursuitRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor Manor F1 reserve driver and 2015 GP2 runner up Alexander Rossi took to the wheel of the No. 98 Andretti-Herta Autosport machine for a tough but solid debut in his first IndyCar race during today’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He finished a lap down in 12th place. A result that perhaps fell somewhat short of expectations, but one that only confirms the quality of Rossi’s talent as a newcomer to IndyCar. A difficult qualifying session saw him struggle on Saturday and start today’s race backRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor To commemorate the team’s historic 50th anniversary, Penske is outfitting the chassis for their two top IndyCar aces, Will Power and Juan Pablo Montoya in a slick silver livery for the 2016 season. The cars are a bright silver with red or black accents depending on the driver. Power’s car features the red accents and will run in the new colors for 16 races this season, whereas Montoya’s in the black accents will stick with the color scheme for 9 rounds. We will get a closeRead More

PALMETTO, Fla. – A high-quality entry of 16 drivers representing nine different nations are set to battle it out for early honors as the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season kicks off this weekend with a pair of races at the Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Lucas School of Racing. Indy Lights will be joined by the other two levels of the Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel development program, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by CooperRead More

PALMETTO, Fla. – A combination of veterans and rookies will do battle this weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., as the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires kicks off with a pair of races which will comprise the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. All of the combatants will be chasing a coveted Mazda Scholarship valued at over $590,000 which will assist the series champion in graduating one more step up the Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel development ladder to Indy Lights Presented by CooperRead More

PALMETTO, Fla. – A glance down the 21-car field for the opening two rounds of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda suggests a wide-open title-chase which will commence this coming weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. Local fans will be well represented with two of the top teams, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing and Team Pelfrey, based within a few miles of the downtown street circuit. The pair of 30-minute races will run on Saturday and will set the scene for a 16-race championship onRead More