The Forza Global Sports staff spent the weekend on Florida’s West Coast at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
We introduced ourselves to the Instagram worthy models at the Woodie’s Car Wash booth, feasted on Fried Chicken-On-A-Stick, guzzled some brewskis and, oh yeah…
We watched some killer racing.
Josef Newgarden in his Team Penske Chevrolet won the race on Sunday and popular New Zealander Scott Dixon clinched a sixth IndyCar championship with a third place finish.
For the first third of the 100 lap race through the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, it looked like Newgarden’s teammate Will Power, who started from the pole, was going to cruise to victory.
On Lap 37, though, Power had mechanical problems downshifting and then hit an outside wall. He ended up finishing last.
Awesome Track Set-Up
The unique temporary track configuration in St. Petersburg always makes for great racing. Utilizing the downtown streets with some exciting turns and a runway at the Albert Whitted Airport for a marvelous straightaway, the course is challenging and demanding and generally identifies the best drivers of the day.
Cars on the track whiz by a waterfront dotted with yachts, the world famous Salvador Dali Museum and the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team stadium. Not surprisingly, some announcers refer to the event as “The Monaco of South Florida.”
It’s really a raucous fun event that typically attracts more the 60,000 fans. Attendance was purposely curtailed this year due to Covid-19 concerns.
Can’t Miss Event
The Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is typically held in March, but was moved to October this year because of Covid-19 rescheduling.
In 2021, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be staged March 5-8.
