On Sunday, March 29, tens of thousands of assembled fans were treated to a true spectacle of speed and technological prowess as the 2015 IndyCar season got underway during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The 2.2 mile temporary street circuit combines downtown roads with an airport runway to come up with one of the fastest, tightest, and possibly most exciting courses on the schedule, and the spectators were left with more than a few stories to tell.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman looked toward the blue sky, looked at the fans streaming into the downtown race circuit and declared it “a wonderful day” for the city and INDYCAR. Kriseman attributed the tens of thousands of spectators attending each of the three days of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in part to the city’s “Embrace the Race” marketing campaign.
“An event like this has such an impact on our city and we wanted to try to make everyone feel like they’re a part of it,” Kriseman said. “When you do that, you have so much more fun, too. I look forward every year to this weekend, and to see the community embrace it through the years, and especially this year, has been wonderful.
“The downtown has changed a lot since the first race (2003),” the mayor added, “and I expect that in the next few years it to look totally different with all the construction going on and new restaurants, and I see it as more opportunities to get people downtown on this weekend.”
The picturesque setting alongside Tampa Bay and spectacular early spring weather complemented the on-track action.
“It’s just a special place to go racing,” said Kevin Savoree, Green Savoree Racing Promotions president and COO. “The fans love this race, and I share with everyone that Kim (Green, CEO of Green Savoree) and I are just the stewards of this race. It really belongs to everybody in St. Pete and I’m sure that every year they put an ‘X’ on their calendar for this race weekend.”
Unlike other races, however, this race weekend was action packed. It consisted of virtual non-stop activity both on and off track from the time the gates opened, with all three series in the Mazda Road to Indy (USF2000, Pro Mazda, and Indy Lights) as well as the Pirelli World Challenge and Stadium Super Trucks also taking to the track.
The three Mazda Road to Indy ladders series conducted doubleheader races this weekend and each series saw the same driver win its two races. Ed Jones led every lap of both Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires races, Neil Alberico drove to victory in both Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires races and Jake Eidson was triumphant in the two Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda races.
The facility boasted several fan zones, including the Indy Village, the Brighthouse Fan Zone, and even a large display from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The paddock displays were also quite impressive, where you could get a look behind the scenes into what happens both before and after the racing machines hit the track.
Of course, there were also sales displays from both Chevy Racing and Cadillac, where you could give away just a bit of personal information in exchange for a free t-shirt (and a “no pressure” phone call now and then!)
The main attraction on Sunday was of course the IndyCars, but (not) surprisingly the biggest hit with the crowd was the Stadium Super Trucks, who flew through the air, bounced off each other, and even landed on each other in pursuit of the elusive victory! Bruce Jenner’s son (yes, THAT Bruce Jenner) Burt Jenner came away victorious on Sunday after a melee between Saturday’s winner Sheldon Creed and former IndyCar star EJ Viso that has to be seen to be believed!
Team Penske swept the top four positions in the Firestone Fast Six, led by Verizon P1 Award winner Will Power, during qualifications for Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
The reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion recorded a lap of 1 minute, 0.6931 of a second in the 10-minute session on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg temporary street circuit in the competition debut of aerodynamic bodywork supplied by Chevrolet and Honda.
In the first two rounds of qualifying, Power set and reset the track record that Sebastien Bourdais (1:00.928) held since the inaugural St. Pete Indy car race in 2003. Power lowered the standard to 1:00.8344 in Round 1 and bettered it with a lap of 1:00.6509 in Round 2. Had he had a clean lap in the waning seconds of the Firestone Fast Six, the driver of the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet said he likely would have made it three in a row.
It was the 37th career pole (sixth on the all-time pole wins list) for Power, who previously was the top qualifier at St. Petersburg in 2010-13. He won the race in 2010 and again in 2014 on the way to his first series championship.
First-year Team Penske driver Simon Pagenaud was 0.0321 of a second behind Power in the Firestone Fast Six to qualify second. Helio Castroneves, the only three-time race winner at St. Petersburg, qualified third (1:00.8356) and Juan Pablo Montoya was fourth (1:00.8532).
“It was tight. Full credit to the team. I’m stoked to get pole,” said Power, who won from the fourth starting position in his 2014 series championship season. “It just shows the work we’ve done over the winter. It’s four good drivers that will battle it out.”
Power was more right than he could have imagined, as the race was dominated by Team Penske. The only racer who was able to keep pace with Penske early on was Takuma Sato, who earned the Verizon P1 Award in 2014 with a lap of 1:01.8668 in the Firestone Fast Six driving the No. 14 ABC Supply A.J. Foyt Racing car.
Stefano Coletti qualified 17th in the No. 4 KV Racing Technology Chevrolet as the top rookie.
Roger Penske is the winningest owner in Indy car history, with 174 race victories that include 15 Indianapolis 500 triumphs. Even with all that success behind him, the Team Penske owner is excited for what looms ahead this season.
“With the new aero kits creating a different look and feel for the cars, there is a lot of energy and anticipation around the start of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series,” Penske said. “We know how competitive the series has been in recent years and with some talented young drivers added to the mix this year, it has all the elements to be a very exciting season. This is the first time we will run four cars at Team Penske, with Simon Pagenaud joining Helio (Castroneves), Will (Power), the series champion, and Juan (Montoya), we know the level of competition will be even higher among our own team. After a long offseason, we are all definitely ready for the green flag at St. Petersburg.”
Juan Pablo Montoya held off Team Penske teammate and reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power over the final 27 laps to win the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg by 0.9930 of a second.
Montoya held a 3.3-second advantage over Power following an exchange of final pit stops on Laps 81 and 82, but Power closed to within 0.6147 of a second on Lap 100 and was sizing up his best opportunity to attempt a pass of Montoya’s No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Power, who set the track record on the way to winning the Verizon P1 Award for the 110-lap race on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course a day earlier, made his move entering the tight left-hand Turn 10 on Lap 101. The cars made slight contact and Power’s No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet fell 1.5474 seconds back at the start/finish line.
“If I hadn’t damaged my wing, maybe I would have had another shot,” Power said. “He was very strong on the front straight and my exits weren’t very good. I thought maybe I would catch him off-guard there. You don’t expect someone to pass there, so, yeah, I gave it a shot.
“I was surprised at how aggressively he turned, but he wanted to win the race and so did I.”
Montoya recorded his second victory since returning full time to Indy car racing in 2014 and his first on an Indy car road or street course since Vancouver in his 1999 CART championship season.
“I saw (Power) make the move, but he was way too far and I wasn’t going to give him the position,” Montoya said. “If he was beside me, I would have said, ‘OK, go ahead.’ When I got to the turning point, he wasn’t even close. It is a shame we touched, but it’s all good, it’s racing.”
The last Team Penske 1-2 finish was August 2014 at Milwaukee, with Power beating Montoya by 2.7 seconds. It was the 175th Indy car victory for the team (78 on road or street courses).
“It was a fight between our two guys in front. It was just an amazing weekend,” team owner Roger Penske said. “To come back this year with the fast times in qualifying and win this race 1-2, and four drivers in the top six, wow, what a day.”
Tony Kanaan, driving the No. 10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, finished third and Helio Castroneves, the only three-time winner at St. Petersburg, placed fourth in the No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Simon Pagenaud finished fifth in the No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet.
Ryan Hunter-Reay, who finished seventh in the No. 28 DHL Andretti Autosport car, was the highest-placing Honda entry. Last year at St. Petersburg, Power held Hunter-Reay at bay on Laps 78-110 to make an opening-round statement on the way to earning his first series title.
“I think that was the hardest seventh-place finish I’ve seen,” added Hunter-Reay. “That’s how it is sometimes, when you have bad days you have to bring home solid top 10s. We feel back to like 18th or 19th after the issue at the start with Bourdais; we rebounded nicely, but to be honest I think that’s about the car we had today — a sixth or seventh place car at best. We’ll take the top 10 and move ahead with the DHL car for New Orleans.”
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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