Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
• TV: ABC coverage starts at 3 p.m. (ET). Allen Bestwick is 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 96 million homes. In addition, U.S. troops serving overseas and on Navy vessels around the world can watch live via a broadcast agreement between ESPN and the American Forces Network.
• Web/radio: The 9:45-10:15 a.m. warm-up and race broadcast by IMS Radio Network in conjunction with real-time Timing & Scoring on www.indycar.com and INDYCAR 14 app. The IMS Radio Network race broadcast, which begins at 2:30 p.m., also is on affiliate stations, Sirius 209 and XM 209.
• Green flag: 3:27 p.m.
• Twitter: @GPSTPETE, #FirestoneGP; @IndyCar, #IndyCar
• Weather forecast: Sunny with high in the mid-70s (F)
Click it: Pit lane assignments ||Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg starting lineup
Circuit: 1.8 miles, 14 turns (CIRCUIT MAP)
Race laps: 110 (198 miles)
Pit box dimensions: 44 x 16 feet
Race day fuel: 70 U.S. gallons of E85 (70 gallons for practice/qualifying)
Qualifications: Takuma Sato earned the Verizon P1 Award with a quick lap of 1:01.8606 in the Firestone Fast Six.
"Now we experienced new 2014 Firestone red tire, which is great, but we don't know how the degradation will be," he said. "The red tire tends to have some degradation towards the end of the stint, where the black tire seems to be very consistent for this year. We had a fully dry session for the practice the past two days. We have a good idea where we should be with it dry. It's really great to have a taste of the Firestone red tire with qualifying so we have a good idea for (the race)."
Points: Driver, entrant and engine manufacturer receive points corresponding to their finish in the race (manufacturer points awarded to the top five race finishers). Bonus points also awarded for leading the most laps (2 points) and leading a lap (1 point).
2013 winner: James Hinchcliffe of Andretti Autosport by 1.0982 seconds over Helio Castroneves. It was Hinchcliffe’s first Verizon IndyCar Series victory.
Of note: Sunoco will award $5,000 to the entrant of the driver who completes the fastest lap of the race. ... Firestone will award $10,000 to the entrant of the car in pit lane the shortest amount of accumulated time during the race. To be eligible, cars must complete at least 95 percent of the scheduled laps. The winner will be recognized during pre-race ceremonies of the next race. ... Castroneves, who starts 10th, is the only multiple winner at St. Petersburg (2012, 2007, 2006). ... Rookies Carlos Munoz and Jack Hawksworth start on Row 4.