Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
• Race 1 of 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series season. Twelfth Indy car race in St. Petersburg, Fla.; 11th under INDYCAR sanction … Was first non-oval race in Verizon IndyCar Series history (April 3, 2005)
• Twitter: @GPSTPETE, #FirestoneGP; @IndyCar, #IndyCar
• Weather forecast: Sunny with high of 72 (F)
• Qualifications results || Starting lineup and tire designation
• TV: ABC telecast starts at 3 p.m. (ET). Allen Bestwick is the chief announcer, with Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever Jr. the analysts. ESPN also distributes Verizon IndyCar Series race telecasts through a combination of ESPN networks and syndication to more than 197 countries, and the new ESPN Player brings fans across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (excluding the UK, France, Italy and South Africa) live and on-demand coverage as a new channel on the digital subscription service. Visit ESPNPlayer.com for information.
• Web/radio: Real-time Timing & Scoring on www.indycar.com and the INDYCAR 15 app is augment by the IMS Radio Network broadcast. Paul Page is the chief announcer with Davey Hamilton the analyst. All Verizon IndyCar Series races are broadcast live on the IMS Radio Network, Sirius 213, XM 209 and indycarradio.com.
• Get in the game: Fantasy racing returns to the Verizon IndyCar Series with the launch of the #INDYRIVALS Fantasy Challenge driven by Firestone. INDYCAR’s newest fantasy game allows fans to become team manager by fielding a four-driver lineup for each Verizon IndyCar Series race with a stockpile of prizes on the line each week as the stars of the series go wheel-to-wheel for race wins. Sign up today.
Circuit: 1.8 miles, 14 turns
Race laps: 110 (198 miles)
Pit box dimensions: 44 x 16 feet
Race day fuel: 80 U.S. gallons of Sunoco E85
Push-to-pass parameters: 10 applications for 15 seconds each
Verizon P1 Award winner: Reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Will Power, driving the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet, earned his fifth pole at St. Petersburg and led a 1-4 Team Penske sweep of qualifying with a lap of 1 minute, 00.6931 seconds in the Firestone Fast Six session. He set the track record in the middle round of the three-session qualifications at 1:00.6509.
Points: Driver, entrant and engine manufacturer receive points corresponding to their finish in the race (manufacturer points are awarded to the top three race finishers). Bonus points for driver/entrant also are awarded for Verizon P1 Award (1 point), leading the most laps (2 points) and leading a lap (1 point). Engine manufacturer bonus points are awarded for Verizon P1 Award (1 point) and leading the most laps (2 points).
2014 winner: Power of Team Penske won by 1.9475 seconds over Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport after qualifying fourth. There were seven lead changes in the race.
Of note: Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson is the grand marshal. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Cobb is the honorary starter. ... Indy Lights, Pro Mazda and USF2000 will contest their second races of the weekend are on the undercard. Jake Eidson won the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda opener. Neil Alberico won the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires race. Ed Jones won the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race.