After ideal weather yesterday for qualifying, the skies are getting more and more overcast today in St. Petersburg as we head toward today’s Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/IMS Radio/IndyCar.com). But the rain has held off for now and the IZOD IndyCar Series’ final warm-up this morning took place in dry conditions.
Scott Dixon paced the 30-minute session with a fast lap of 62.9343 seconds in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing machine. Pole sitter Will Power, the presumably odds-on favorite to win today, was second-fastest in the session (63.1731 seconds), followed by Tony Kanaan (63.2922), Raphael Matos (63.3433), and St. Petersburg resident Dan Wheldon (63.3504).
The 1.8-mile temporary street circuit has also seen the warm-up for the Firestone Indy Lights race and the second of two U.S. F2000 weekend events this morning. French newcomer J.K. Vernay led the FIL warmup (67.9044 seconds), followed by Sebastian Saavedra, Martin Plowman, Charlie Kimball, and pole sitter James Hinchcliffe. The FIL race will start at 12:45 p.m. ET and will be streamed on IndyCar.com. On the U.S. F2000 side, Andretti Autosport’s Sage Karam was victorious once again today and will have the series points lead for a while — the next event doesn’t come until May 29 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis as part of the “Night Before The 500.”
Now, back to the rain. Will McCarty of IsItMayYet.com is predicting that we’ll have a wet start for the HGPSP and that rain may linger throughout the afternoon. That could spice up the action by a major degree on the 1.8-mile street circuit, but it could also raise the attrition rate and, as McCarty states, the possibility of another timed event if things get messy enough to bring out a red flag. Could another wild race be in the cards?
