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). 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.
The race takes place on the streets of St. Petersburg, utilizing downtown streets, and one runway of Albert Whitted Airport. The event dates back to 1985, with Indy cars 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. 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. Driver Jim Fitzgerald was killed in a crash during the 1987 race.
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.
In 2003, the event was revived again for the CART Championship 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. Starting in 2014, Firestone took over as title sponsor.
Past winners SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngine/Aero KitTiresRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed(mph)Report Laps Miles (km)CART Championship Series history 2003 February 23 Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing Lola B02/00 Ford–Cosworth XFE Bridgestone105189.630 (305.130)2:04:2891.401 Report 2004 Not held IndyCar Series history 2005 April 3 Dan Wheldon Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda Firestone100180 (289.681)2:09:54 83.14 Report 2006 April 2 Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Dallara Honda Firestone100180 (289.681)1:56:58 92.34 Report 2007 April 1 Hélio Castroneves (2) Team Penske (2) Dallara Honda Firestone100180 (289.681)2:01:07 89.166 Report 2008 April 6 Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Dallara Honda Firestone83*149.4 (240.435)2:00:44 74.251 Report 2009 April 5 Ryan Briscoe Team Penske (3) Dallara Honda Firestone100180 (289.681)2:12:27 81.542 Report 2010 March 29* Will Power Team Penske (4) Dallara Honda Firestone100180 (289.681)2:07:06 84.975 Report 2011 March 27 Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara Honda Firestone100180 (289.681)2:01:00 89.26 Report 2012 March 25 Hélio Castroneves (3) Team Penske (5) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/UAK-12 Firestone100180 (289.681) 1:59:51 90.113 Report 2013 March 24 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport (2) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/UAK-12 Firestone110200 (320.1)2:22:1383.539 Report 2014 March 30 Will Power (2) Team Penske (6) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/UAK-12 Firestone110200 (320.1)2:06:5893.572 Report 2015 March 29 Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske (7) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/CAK-15 Firestone110200 (320.1)2:16:5886.735 Report 2016 March 13 Juan Pablo Montoya (2) Team Penske (8) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/CAK-16 Firestone110200 (320.1)2:13:2889.006 Report 2017 March 12 Sébastien Bourdais Dale Coyne Racing Dallara DW12 Honda/HAK-16 Firestone110200 (320.1)2:04:3295.391 Report 2018 March 11 Sébastien Bourdais (2) Dale Coyne Racing (2) Dallara DW12 Honda/UAK-18 Firestone110200 (320.1)2:17:4886.207 Report 2019 March 10 Josef Newgarden Team Penske (9) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/UAK-18 Firestone110200 (320.1)2:04:1895.572 Report 2020 October 25 Josef Newgarden (2) Team Penske (10) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/UAK-18 Firestone100180 (289.681)2:06:1285.872 Report 2021 April 25 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport (3) Dallara DW12 Honda/UAK-18 (10) Firestone100180 (289.681)1:51:5196.552 Report 2022 February 27 Scott McLaughlin Team Penske (11) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/UAK-18 Firestone100180 (289.681)1:51:2796.899 Report 2023 March 5 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing (2) Dallara DW12 Honda/UAK-18 Firestone100180 (289.681)2:05:3086.047 Report 2024 March 10 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren (1) Dallara DW12 Chevrolet/UAK-18 Firestone100180 (289.681)1:51:2996.867 Report 2025 March 2 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing (3) Dallara DW12 Honda/UAK-18 Firestone100180 (289.681)1:51:0897.173 Report 2026 March 1 Álex Palou (2) Chip Ganassi Racing (4) Dallara DW12 Honda/UAK-18 Firestone100180 (289.681)1:52:2296.118 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. 2020: Race postponed from March 15 to October 25. 2021: Race postponed from March 7 to April 25 as part of a series of rescheduling with Barber and Long Beach. 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 2024 March 10 Nolan Siegel Dallara AER 2025 March 2 Dennis Hauger Dallara AER 2026 March 1 Nikita Johnson 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 HawksworthPro 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 VeeKayIndy 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 2024 March 9 Lochie Hughes March 10 Nikita Johnson 2025 March 1 Alessandro de Tullio March 2 Max Garcia
USF2000 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 2024 March 8 Max Garcia March 9 Max Garcia 2025 February 28 Liam McNeilly March 1 Liam McNeilly 2026 February 27 Sebastian Garzon March 1 Sebastian Garzon
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series +SeasonDateWinning driver2026February 28Layne Riggs
Atlantic Championship Series Season Date Winning driver1985 November 3 Riley Hopkins1986 November 16 Scott Goodyear1987 November 7 Johnny O'Connell1988 October 23 Jocko Cunningham1989 October 29 Jocko Cunningham1990 November 4 Brian TillSource:
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 March 30 P. J. Jones 2015 March 28 Sheldon Creed March 29 Burt Jenner 2016 March 12 Sheldon Creed March 13 Keegan Kincaid 2017 March 11 Robby Gordon March 12 Matthew Brabham 2021 April 24 Sheldon Creed April 25 Sheldon Creed
SCCA Trans-Am
SeasonDateDriverTeamCarRace DistanceRace TimeAverage SpeedReport Laps Miles (km) 1985 November 3 Willy T. Ribbs Roush Racing Mercury Capri50100 (160.934)01:15:05 Report 1986 November 15 Pete Halsmer Roush Racing Mercury Merkur XR4Ti50100 (160.934)01:15:09 Report 1987 November 15 Pete Halsmer Roush Racing Mercury Merkur XR4Ti50100 (160.934)02:06:24 Report 1988 October 23 Walter Röhrl Audi of America Audi 200 Quattro63125.999 (202.777)01:38:09 Report 1989 October 29 Irv Hoerr Oldsmobile Cutlass63125.999 (202.777)01:42:55 Report 1990 November 4 Chris Kneifel Chevrolet Beretta63125.999 (202.777)01:47:11 Report1991–1995, Not held 1996 February 25 Ron Fellows Chevrolet Camaro63106.470 (171.346)01:18:13 Report 1997 February 25 Tommy Kendall Ford Mustang60101.400 (163.187)01:14:44 Report1998–2002, Not held 2003 February 23 Scott Pruett Jaguar XKR5599.330 (159.856)01:16:06 Report
Can-Am 1985 Lou Sell
SCCA Super Vee 1986 Didier Theys 1987 Dave Kudrave 1988 Bernard Jourdain 1989 Stuart Crow 1990 Chris Smith
Race summaries CART Series 2003: The St. Petersburg Grand Prix was revived with the CART World series. Sébastien Bourdais won the pole and led the first 30 laps. After the first sequence of pit stops, Paul Tracy emerged as the leader. Bourdais tagged the wall on lap 42, which dropped him several laps down. That left Tracy out in front, and he cruised to victory. Tracy led the final 71 laps, and finished over 12 seconds ahead of second place Michel Jourdain Jr.
IndyCar Series 2005: The first ever road course race for the Indy Racing League saw Andretti Green Racing win the pole and sweep the top four positions. Dan Wheldon finished first, with Tony Kanaan second.