The 2011 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg begins today, Thursday, March 24 with festivities & activites to celebrate the start of the IZOD IndyCar Series season.
There are many things happening besides the actual races including driver appearances & autographs, air shows with helicopters, stunt planes & jumping, music, food, Festival of the States parade, fireworks, a giant ferris wheel, kids activites, interactive activities, and many charitable causes. The cars start their practices at 8am on Friday with the races ending Sunday evening. Even though I am about 10 minutes from downtown, the way the noise drifts over the water, I can hear the cars from my house. I don't mind the sound at all-I actually get very excited. How many cities have a major car race in their cities with the actual race track weaving through downtown? The track meanders along the waterfront around Bayfront Towers, where my parents live, in front of the marina, St Pete Yacht club, restaurants, Al Lang Stadium, the Mahaffey Theatre, & new Dali Museum. There are barracades blocking off the race track.
Unfortunately, I have a friend who flew in fromSt Louis to teach classes on social media to Realtors & affiliates at PRO. We have had a plan to see the new Dali Museum for about a year now. I guess that tonight & tomorrrow I will show him the Honda Grand Prix instead & he will just have to come back to the Dali later. By the way, the weather is sunny, clear, 80 degrees with a slight breeze and no humidity. Perfect for races & visiting!
The following schedule is copied from the official website: http://www.gpstpete.com/
**SPECTATOR GATES WILL OPEN AT 8:00AM EACH DAY (FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY)
Thursday, March 24
11:30am-12:30pm Green Flag VIP Luncheon, by invitation only
7:00pm Festival of States Parade / Fireworks
Friday, March 25
8:05-8:35am World Challenge practice
8:55-9:15am USF2000 practice
9:20-10:00am Star Mazda practice
10:15-11:15am IZOD IndyCar Series practice
11:35-12:05pm World Challenge practice
12:15-12:35pm Drifting cars on-track
12:45-1:05pm USF2000 practice
1:00-2:00pm INDYCAR driver autograph session (Group A), Bright House Speed Zone
1:10-1:45pm Star Mazda practice
2:00-2:45pm Firestone Indy Lights practice
2:45-3:00pm Air Show - Jump Team
3:00-4:00pm IZOD IndyCar Series practice
4:00-4:20pm Air Show - Helicopter
4:20-4:50pm USF2000 qualifying
4:50-5:10pm Air Show - Stunt Plane
5:10-6:00pm World Challenge qualifying
6:00-9:00pm Welcome Party, by invitation only
6:15pm HGPSP 5K with Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation
Saturday, March 26
8:05-8:50am Star Mazda qualifying
9:10-9:55am Firestone Indy Lights practice
10:10-11:10am IZOD IndyCar Series practice
11:00am-12:00pm Road to Indy driver autograph session, Bright House Speed Zone
11:20-11:40am Drifting cars on-track
11:50am-1:05pm ACURA Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, World Challenge race #1
12:30-1:30pm INDYCAR driver autograph session (Group B), INDYCAR Fan Village
1:25-2:10pm Firestone Indy Lights qualifying
2:10-2:30pm Air Show - Jump Team
2:30-3:50pm IZOD IndyCar Series qualifying & Firestone Fast Six
3:50-4:10pm Air Show - Helicopter
4:10-5:10pm Star Mazda race
4:45-5:45pm INDYCAR driver autograph session (Group C), INDYCAR Fan Village
5:10-5:20pm Air Show - Stunt Plane
5:20-6:00pm USF2000 race #1
Sunday, March 27
8:05-8:20am Firestone Indy Lights warm-up
8:40-9:10am IZOD IndyCar Series warm-up
9:20-9:50am Drifting cars on-track
10:25-10:35pm Air Show - Helicopter
10:30-11:45am Firestone Indy Lights race
11:55-12:05pm Air Show - Stunt Plane
12:00-12:30pm IZOD IndyCar Series pre-race ceremonies
12:30-3:00pm IZOD IndyCar Series race, Honda Indy St. Pete
3:00-3:30pm IZOD IndyCar Series post-race ceremonies
3:30-4:10pm USF2000 race #2
4:15-4:30pm Air Show - Jump Team
4:30-5:45pm ACURA Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, World Challenge race #2
* Subject to change 
Click here for track crossing times. INDYCAR Group A Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Mike Conway,Ryan Hunter-Reay, Vitor Meira, Oriol Servia, Raphael Matos, Sebastian Saavedra INDYCAR Group B Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Ryan Briscoe, JR Hildebrand, Sebastian Bordious, James Jakes,Simona de Silvestro, Ana Beatriz, Justin Wilson, Alex Tagliani INDYCAR Group C Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Charlie Kimball, Graham Rahal, EJ Viso,Takuma Sato, Tony Kanaan
for more info, please clink on the official website http://www.gpstpete.com/
