New St. Pete mayor raises Grand Prix flag ahead of weekend

Firestone Grand Prix kicks off tourism rebound

The Firestone Grand Prix is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of people to downtown St. Pete who spend millions of dollars.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - You can almost hear the engines revving. The St. Petersburg Firestone Grand Prix will soon be underway.

Thursday morning, Mayor Ken Welch raised the Grand Prix flag over city hall. The mayor was joined by race officials, drivers and city council members. It marks the city's official kickoff of Grand Prix celebrations for the weekend.

The city is expected a record crowd over the course of the next three days, which has topped 140,000 in the past. The events have an economic impact of $40 million on the city.

For more information, head over to the Firestone Grand Prix website.

St. Petersburg Auto Racing News Seen on TV