We think you're near Los Angeles

History of Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg

Michael Berenis' photo
Tampa Sports Car Examiner

History of "Streets of St. Petersburg" racing

Streets of St. Petersburg course is made out of connecting a runway strip of Albert Whitted Airport  and public streets of St. Petersburg. The history behind this event, "Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg" dates as far back as 1985. It all started with the SCCA Trans-AM series which was a gulf side race held in St. Petersburg, Florida from 1985-1990. Back then, the conservative people of  St. Petersburg had a problem with the amount of noise, traffic, and litter created by this spectacle and it was temporarily banned during from 1989 to 1995.

This put a hold on things until 1996, when the race was moved to Tropicana field and added several new support races such as Barber Dodge, World Challenge, Pro SRF, and the US FF2000. This huge racing festival brought a lot of attention, but the course setup failed to ammuse drivers and fans. Another failed attempt at large race events in St. Petersburg but they did not give up! Racing in performance paradise will prevail. Returning in 2003 they decided to run the gulf side course and host a Champ Car racing event. Everything went smooth, and there was a good turn out again. But for 2004 trouble in paradise occured between promoters and ended up canceling St. Petersburg again!

Finally, in 2005 Indycar held it's first non-oval event allowing the "Streets of St. Petersburg" race to make it's mark in racing history. A contract has been signed between St. Petersburg and Andretti Green Promotions that allows races to be held up until 2013. Will the town of St. Petersburg allow this race to continue past the year 2013?

For 2009, the current sponsors are:

  • Honda
  • Acura
  • Firestone
  • Progress Energy
  • Brighthouse Networks
  • St. Petersburg Times
  • City of St. Petersburg
  • Bayfront Medical
  • St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce
  • Mars Snackfoods featuring Snickers brand @ Turn 4
    • M&M's character appearing on site
  • National Guard
  • Konica Minolta
  • Great Bay Distributers featuring Budwieser as official beer
    • Beer garden adjacent to Progress Energy and Al Lang Field
  • Taquila Patron sponsoring at turns 12, 11, 7 ,5
  • AirTran Airways is the official airline
  • Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club official resort
  • Tissot is the official watch
  • Dr. Pepper Snapple Group featuring the Dr. Pepper brand
  • Integrated Electrical Services
  • GTE Federal Credit Union
  • Old World Industries featuring it's Peak Motor Oil brand
  • Transitions Optical at turn nine

Related articles:

Video content: 2007 Honda Grand Prix

Post a comment!

Advertisement

, Tampa Sports Car Examiner

Full-time engineer turned writer, Michael brings knowledgeable articles about Tampa Bay's sports car scene. His experience in import, domestic, and exotic manufacturers ensures quality content for all readers. Michael is also a contributor at CarDomain.com and can be contacted via Streetfire.net...

Don't miss...