2016 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Saturday only

"80CobraKid" (80cobrakid)
03/23/2016 at 00:44 • Filed to: Grand Prix of St Petersburg, Racing events, Pirelli World Challenge, IndyCar

Thought I would share my amazing experience going to the GP of St. Pete just over a week ago.

Gorgeous Penske Garage. Not pictured; Helio Castreneves riding up on a scooter about two feet from me.

My spring break was a trip to Florida for a few days with my family. My first day there consisted entirely of driving from Orlando to the race with my father and brother-in-law.

I recently subscribed to Motor Trend on Demand (completely worth it), and got hooked on the Pirelli World Challenge. I honestly haven’t been this excited about a racing series since V10-era Formula 1. Massive variety of cars, great drivers, and wonderful competition kept me watching every race.

Luckily, as a support series for IndyCar, it would be at the GP and I’d get to see GT race 1 and GTS race 2. Along with US F2000, Pro Mazda, Indy Lights, Stadium Super Trucks (!!!), and of course IndyCar itself.

PWC GT: Great race, no yellow flags or big wrecks (JD Davison lost the wing on his GTR), Alvarro Perente and the K-Pax McLaren made a great performance as my favorite team, coming in 2nd, with Michael Lewis in the Effort racing 991 Porsche leading him, and Johnny O’Connell following in the Cadillac Racing ATS-V.R

US F2000, Pro Mazda, and Indy Lights: I’ll sum up the open wheel cars with one word: LOUD . I don’t really follow any of the series, but it was really cool to watch.

IndyCar: While all we got to see was Practice #3 and qualifying, it was still extremely cool. Video was shot during Practice.

Stadium Super Trucks: Possibly the funniest shit I’ve ever seen on a racetrack. It’s like they deliberately created a racing series to make people laugh their asses off. There wasn’t a time with more people on the fence watching than during their race. Luckily we found a spot right behind one of the jumps in order to get the best view.

Jack Roush Jrs Boss 302

PWC GTS: The most exciting race of the day by far. As a Ford guy myself, watching the relatively old Boss 302Ss of Kohr Motorsports and Roush hold their own to keep the lead was extremely exciting. The KTM X-Bow GT4 was hot on their tail and made for some absolutely great racing. While the KTM/Mustang fight kept me on my toes, 15-year-old Parker Chase in a Ginetta GT4 absolutely stole the show. Late-brake passes into turn 10 where we were watching him pass on almost a lap-by-lap basis. his hardest competitor was the Camaro driven by Lawson Aschenbach, but after a few attempts and a couple tire lock-ups he made the pass. When he finally got the pass, our group, and those around us, started cheering wildly for the British Ford V6-powered coupe. In the end, Jack Roush Jr. took the win (after Nate Stacy broke his steering while in the lead), followed by Brett Sandberg in a KTM, and third taken by Chase. What a race. No video as I was too busy being glued to the race.

We also bought paddock passes for the ultimate up-close experience with the cars and teams. I personally got to chat with some of the guys at Kohr, which was really nice. I took many, many pictures but whittled them down to the best few. They were all taken by my phone as I’m not quite the full camera expert. Enjoy nonetheless!

Andretti Pits

I wish I had a DSLR to do this picture justice

Realtime Racing doing alignment and balancing on the TLX GT. Although the car isn’t very competitive, i applaud Acura for at least submitting a car to race and not giving up on motorsport.

This team of Bentleys is actually run by a team out of Asia GT.

Some odd track-day special found in the paddock

The GranTurismo GT4s sound AMAZING

Scrutineering after the PWC GT race

I love the K-Pax McLaren 650S

Massive brakes on a Vantage GT4

Kohr Motorsports had a “Spare” Boss 302 next to their garage, they donated its bumper to stacy’s car.

DISCUSSION (18)

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 00:49

Kinja'd!!!

I’m not even sure what this is, but are those Evo X lights?

sonicgabe > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 00:50

Good stuff. I was there, too.

80CobraKid > sonicgabe
03/23/2016 at 00:53

It was my first time at an IndyCar event, and I think I’ll go back next year, but I’ll also stay the week and go to Sebring 12 hours the following weekend

80CobraKid > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
03/23/2016 at 00:54

Yeah, it had 8th gen Civic Coupe taillights as well.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 00:57

That’s an even weirder mashup of parts than the Rally Fighter.

sonicgabe > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 00:59

The St Pete race is a great event. I’m so happy it’s literally down the street from my house.

Next year, I’d like to do the Rolex 24 and Sebring as well. I haven't been to Sebring since the mid 1980s, when I was a little kid. Good times.

BoulderZ > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 01:16

Thanks for the pics and info! Quick question: what’s sort of the minimum age for a kid to enjoy going to see it? My son is 3, still needs an afternoon nap, so obviously that’s too young even though he loves watching Sebring, LeMans, etc. on TV. But, there must be some age at which it would be fun. I’m not sure what that might be. Your best guess?

80CobraKid > BoulderZ
03/23/2016 at 01:24

Ehh, given the event I’d say you want a kid that can walk around all day. Maybe 5 or 6? depends on the kid. Also bring hearing protection, they handed out earplugs for free but don’t risk it.

80CobraKid > sonicgabe
03/23/2016 at 01:25

I had never been to St Pete at all, and honestly really liked it for the little time I spent outside the race, it was very nice.

80CobraKid > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
03/23/2016 at 01:25

I know. I think it used a Honda K20 engine too. Mid-engine.

BoulderZ > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 01:27

Excellent, thanks! Yeah, wide variance in kids at that age. I know 3 year olds that don’t nap, and 5 year olds that do. Must be after dropping naps, and either walkable or parent(s) can carry. Decent full-ear protection is cheap and good insurance. Thanks again!

sonicgabe > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 01:29

It’s a great little city. I had lived across the bay in Tampa forever but ended up over here. It’s fantastic.

80CobraKid > BoulderZ
03/23/2016 at 01:34

No problem! anything for raising another gearhead!

80CobraKid > sonicgabe
03/23/2016 at 01:35

I need to take a trip out there and just soak it in without the GP. I’ve gotta be careful though, I might just like it too much.

BoulderZ > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 01:44

:) Went out to our neighborhood brewpub with friends last night, with our son. We always have him pick some toys to bring, e.g. a few matchbox/hotwheels cars, a coloring book, etc. He chose two of my old favorites, a Tyrell P34 and the Mach 5. I know I’m not a perfect Dad, not even close, but I must be getting a few things right.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > BoulderZ
03/23/2016 at 08:40

It depends on the kid. I brought the Finnlet to check out the rally cars at Parc Expose when he was only about 1.5. He thought they were pretty neat, but promptly fell asleep in the car when we were done since it was nap time.

When he was 2.5 we watched a rally stage and he was pretty interested in that. A group of my friends has a hunting camp located right on the stage so a bunch of us made a day of it. To watch the cars we walked a little ways down the road to a corner. Everyone else got bored and headed back to the camp, but the Finnlet kept asking to stay and see one more car.

If he is interested in watching racing on TV I’m sure he would be very excited to see them in person. The things that are problematic with a little one are mobility and attention span. Best to bring a stroller if you will need to cover a lot of ground, even if he is old enough to not generally sit in a stroller. And be prepared to take a break from the cars and find another distraction for a while.

BoulderZ > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
03/23/2016 at 09:33

That’s pretty much where we’re at with our son. The attention span and interest are there, but if he misses a nap, he’s... significantly less fun in the evening, let’s say. And unfortunately he likes the car ride so much he won’t sleep in that. Same deal with the stroller (still useful to have though, if he wears out or I don’t feel like shoulder carrying him). We think he is showing some signs of outgrowing his nap, maybe by summer. He missed one two weeks ago and that evening was not bad.

JRapp: now as good as new again > 80CobraKid
03/23/2016 at 14:15

My first reaction was “Russia’s having a race in the winter?”.. and then the obvious “oh yea, there’s one in Florida too” hit me.

How is IndyCar nowadays though? I used to follow it before the split, and was at every race in Portland until they pulled out and split, so I stopped following them.

And that Lotus is pretty. For some reason that’s the one that stands out to me from the pictures.