St Petersburg

St Petersburg, Florida has a tradition of street racing that dates back to 1985 when Willy T Ribbs won the the Trans-Am race and Lou Sell triumphed in Can-Am. The bayside venue continued to host the final Trans-Am race of the season until 1990. It was restored to the calendar from 1996-2000 at another temporary course a mile inland on the roads that surround Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team. After a two-year hiatus, St Petersburg signed a deal with the Champ Car World Series to open the struggling championship’s 2003 season with racing restored to its bayside setting, albeit on a new layout that used the runways of the airport to the south of the original course. It transferred to the rival IRL IndyCar Series in 2005 when local resident Dan Wheldon led an Andretti Green 1-2-3-4.