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Grand Prix kicks off with Party in the Park showcasing race cars, drivers

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Published  February 27, 2025 9:22pm EST
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
FOX 13 News

Fans celebrate Grand Prix at kick-off celebration

FOX 13’s Evyn Moon reports that the party was revving up in downtown St. Petersburg on Thursday as hundreds of thousands of people showed up for a kickoff event for the first Indycar race of the season.

The Brief

    • The Firestone Grand Prix weekend kicked off Thursday night with "Party in the Park."
    • Runners also got to race on the track during a 5K before cars began tearing it up.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The party is revving up in downtown St. Petersburg, where an event kicked off the first IndyCar race of the season. Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected in the city, giving the community a chance to showcase the unique course through the city and next to the waterfront.

Local perspective:

On Thursday evening, Firestone held a "Party in the Park," where fans could see race cars up close, and chat with the drivers. 

READ: Firestone Grand Prix expected to bring more than 100K fans to St. Pete this weekend

"Anyone who is into open-wheel racing loves anything that goes through city streets," said a father-and-son fan-duo, Dan and Christopher, attending the event. "It's like the American Monaco, so it's just a really cool experience. You get to get up close and personal with the drivers."

Dig deeper:

There wasn’t a break in the fun. At 5 p.m., there was a 5K race where runners got the chance to run on the actual racetrack before the cars tear it up. The runners were, of course, slower than the racecars, but still breaking records. The winner finished in 15 minutes.

"The race was really cool. It was good running on the course. I feel tired. I ran Gasparilla, too, this [past] weekend, but feels good," said Trevor, the first-place finisher. 

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Fans are continuing to gear up for a fun weekend ahead.

"It's really cool to watch from the stands, but the coolest experience is when you are arriving you can hear the cars from miles away, and up close actually seeing how fast they fly by… it's a great experience," said fans Dan and Christopher.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered through interviews with those attending Firestone Grand Prix festivities on Thursday.

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