St. Pete: Round two preview

FAST FACTS

Castroneves eyes three-peat as IndyCar Series returns to St. Petersburg Firestone Indy Lights teams ready to tackle doubleheader weekend

Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Date / Time
Sunday, April 6
2:30 p.m. (EDT)

Track
Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Distance
100 laps / 180 miles

TV
ESPN (Live)

Radio
IMS Radio Network / XM Satellite Radio

2007 Winner
Helio Castroneves

2007 Polesitter
Helio Castroneves

Track
1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street course
First IndyCar Series race in 2005
Seats: 25,000 (Grandstands)

Race Notes:

Three Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005).

Three IndyCar Series champions are scheduled to participate in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: Scott Dixon (2003), Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005).

Drivers entered in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg as of March 31 have combined for 52 IndyCar Series victories, 57 pole positions and 813 starts.

The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be the fourth IndyCar Series event conducted at St. Petersburg. Helio Castroneves has won the past two races, while Dan Wheldon won the inaugural race in 2005. Both are entered in this year's race.

Season-to-Date:

* Scott Dixon, last weekend's winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway, will go for back-to-back wins to start the season. He has finished second at St. Petersburg in each of the last two seasons.

* Andretti Green Racing, which had a 1-2-3-4 finish at St. Petersburg in 2005, placed three of its four drivers in the top 10 at Homestead-Miami.

Milestones & Records:

* Helio Castroneves can establish an IndyCar Series record for most consecutive seasons with at least one win should he win the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Castroneves is tied with Scott Sharp with victories in seven consecutive seasons.

* Helio Castroneves will attempt to make his 95th consecutive IndyCar Series start, becoming the reigning ‘Iron Man.'

* Helio Castroneves can join Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon as winners of three consecutive events at one track if he wins the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

* Vitor Meira has gone 77 starts without a victory in the IndyCar Series, the longest drought of any IndyCar Series driver.

Weekend Schedule:

Friday, April 4
10:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. - IndyCar Series practice
3:25-4:25 p.m. - IndyCar Series practice (two groups)

Saturday, April 5
8:05-9:05 a.m. - IndyCar Series practice (two groups)
10:55 a.m. -12:25 p.m. - PEAK Motor Oil Pole Qualifying

Sunday, April 6
8:30-9 a.m. - IndyCar Series warm-up
2:30 p.m. - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (100 laps, 180 miles)

-credit: irl