Hinchcliffe kicks off St. Pete build
More than 20,000 feet of steel-reinforced concrete block will line the picturesque but challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit that incorporates a runway of Albert Whitted Airport.
"St. Pete has been a special race for as long as I've been going," said Hinchcliffe as he looked over the yacht club on Tampa Bay. "Being out there on the water, it's a cool atmosphere. It's a cool backdrop for the race. I'm pretty sure (teammate Ryan) Hunter-Reay parks his mega yacht out there for race week."
Hinchcliffe, who drives the No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda for Andretti Autosport, was the seventh different winner in the nine years of the race. He went on to win twice more during the 19-race season and finish eighth in the championship standings.
"Obviously, with what happened last year, it holds a special place in my heart," the Toronto native said. "It was a very emotional day last year on race day for all the right reasons. That's nice because in racing you normally have very emotional days for the wrong reasons more often than you do for all the right ones. For me, personally, on track it made a big difference because when I was then in situations later in the year where a win was on the line I felt a lot less pressure because I think there was a big amount of pressure to get that first win.
"I think it really does free your mind up a little bit when you're in those circumstances, again knowing that, 'Hey, I've been here, I know I can do it, let's focus and get the job done,' rather than make yourself over-analyze and make a mistake."
It is the first year for Firestone as the entitlement sponsor of the 110-lap "Fastest Spring Break Party," though it has been the Turn 1 grandstand sponsor since the first race in 2005 — the IndyCar Series' inaugural non-oval race. Firestone is the Official Tire Supplier of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500.
"On behalf of Firestone, we couldn't be more proud to be the title sponsor," Bridgestone Americas director of motorsports Lisa Boggs said. "Racing is part of our company's heritage dating to the days of Harvey Firestone, who used racing to test the performance of our tires. That history continues today as the title sponsor of this great event."