The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10, 2024. Credit: cityofstpeteFlickr

The streets of the ‘Burg will be abuzz with loud engines during the return of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg this weekend.

This four-day event kicks off the IndyCar season—and there are free tickets available thanks to a promo code good for two general admission Friday tickets (a $60 value).

During the 20th edition of the race in the city, fans will be able to see IndyCar legends like Scott Dixon, Josef Newgarden and Will Power, as well as rising stars like Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward—last year’s St. Petersburg winner.

Track action starts bright and early on Friday, Feb. 28 with practices from the USF Pro 2000 and USF2000 categories followed by its qualifying sessions for the races later that evening and the following day. Around lunchtime, attendees will have the chance to meet their favorite IndyCar drivers at Fan Village for an autograph session followed by practice sessions from the Indy NXT and NTT IndyCar series.

Saturday, March 1 follows a similar format as Friday with practices, qualifiers, races and autograph sessions throughout the day before a yet-to-be-announced night concert.

For Sunday, March 2, the day starts with USF Pro 2000’s second race of the weekend followed by the NTT IndyCar warm-up and a 45-lap Indy NXT race. The big 100-lap race starts at around 12:30 p.m.

The event also features a “Run on the Race Track” 5K as well as “Party in the Park” at North Straub Park on Thursday, Feb. 27 where attendees can meet the drivers and see, and even touch, the race cars.

To redeem the free Friday tickets all you have to do is visit gpstpete.com/greenflagfriday and type in the code GFF:TDEUO.

Friday is the only day organizers let general admission ticket holders explore the outside of the team’s garages. Here you can see the mechanics dismantle the cars and work on them to prep them for the big day. You might even see a driver or two pop out of their trailers.

Tickets to the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg happening Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March 2 are still available and start at $30. Readers are invited to submit their own events to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s things to do calendar.

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This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2025.