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you find anything inaccurate or misleading (or a link error), please notify the Publisher of this site (via the "Contact" button) immediately so it can be corrected or deleted.
Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, ML, its owners and affiliated administrators and advertisers shall have neither
liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained
herein. ALWAYS call travel companies directly to confirm any information before traveling, booking or paying for anything. No material From ML or any web site owned,
operated, created, licensed or controlled by ML may be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way, except that you may copy
material for your personal, non-commercial home use only unless prior written permission has been given by ML or the respective copyright owner, and provided you
keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. Anything submitted to the site for publication on the site will be reviewed. ML reserves the right to edit any
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| PHOTO OF THE DAY The 2009 IRL IndyCar Series season kicks off this weekend with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (St. Pete GP photo) |
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NEXT: IRL - St. Pete
| SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2009 "LIVE UPDATES" GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG |
2:30 PM
I created and am currently organizing something called Lake Erie Boat Week
(see link/logo to the right), to be held in Port Clinton, Ohio, on September 1-6,
2009. This is a national event, expected to attract more than 100,000 to the Erie
Islands area, adding approximately $10 million in economic impact to the area. I
have been to many, many street races in the past, but now, as an Event Director,
I am looking at the vast and amazing logistical organization of this event, and am
amazed at how well it is put together. You just cannot imagine the amount of
work and details that go into putting on an event in a public space. I was
walking the entire course just a bit ago, and was standing along a chain-link
fence watching some of the ALMS race, and - instead of watching the race cars -
was distracted by the fact that I know just how much each foot of fencing costs,
trying to calculate just how much AGR Promotions has to pay for fencing alone! I
find myself stepping over electrical wires - something I never would have paid
attention to before - thinking, "Ugh! I know what you've gone through to get this
hooked up!" I look at porta-potties, tents, merchandising, signage, the stage,
volunteers, city service personnel, golf carts, credentialing, waste disposal,
landscaping, etc., and know exactly what it has taken to make those areas look
effortless (or allow you to not notice them at all). There is a team of people
behind each of those areas for this Grand Prix event, and it shows. For my
LEBW event, it's just me, for now. So I'm observing and learning and absorbing
what the AGR folks have done right, as this is a premier event of any type. The
Andretti Green Promotions group should be very proud of how well-organized
this race is. It is truly a gem on the IRL schedule, and of the best - along with the
Long Beach Grand Prix - for spectator fun and access. And you couldn't pick a
better location and time of year to ask people to come to St. Pete.
1:00 PM
Perfect summer day, perfect summer crowd, perfect summer race! For those of
you up north who have forgotten what that means, wait a month or two - it's
coming.
The ALMS race's pre-race festivities included a really good drum corps (kids),
who entertained the crowd by drumming through pit lane. Lots and lots of
people swarmed pit lane to get a glimpse of the exotic sports cars and drivers,
and everyone - including the teams - seemed to be having a great time. Lots of
great areas to view any race here on the streets of St. Pete, as most corners not
only have grandstands, but spectator viewing areas along the fenceline.
This is an enormous facility, especially if you do not have motorized
transportation. I just walked the entire perimeter, and I'm exhausted. That
wasn't by design - I was merely trying to go take a tour of the Firestone Indy
Lights paddock area, and they are so far away (along with the ALMS paddock)
that I thought, what the heck, let's just tour the whole place! However, you can't
really get the whole way around the track without having to travel over several
bridges that span the racecourse, which makes the trek even more tiring.
It is sad to see Bobby Rahal here to support his son and his ALMS team, but not
participating as an owner in the IRL IndyCar Series this year. That Graham Rahal
won the pole for tomorrows event should ease the sting a bit, though. Here's
hoping the Rahal Letterman team can get the necessary sponsorship to re-join
the series in 2010.
For anyone who thought Graham's win last year in his very first IRL IndyCar
Series event was a fluke, please note who has been fastest (or among the
fastest) in every on-track session this weekend for his Newman-Haas Racing
Team. He was good last year, this year, he's going to be a contender every
week, as that team knows how to win races consistently and has now had a year
to figure out the IRL machines, new to them last year after the reunification
between CART and the IRL.
Graham has quite a contingent of family here this weekend to witness his Pole
Position. His mom, mom's boyfriend, and sister - who doesn't come to many of
his races - are all here. Something tells me it will be mandatory that they attend
the rest of the season's races, after the luck they brought him today.
Lots of former IRL crew guys seen working for the ALMS teams now (Grand-Am,
as well). There has always been a bit of a connection between the two types of
series, as it seems that the IndyCar crews get a little burnt out and try to take
some time away from the sport. By the time they get the racing itch again, their
spots are taken with younger guys, so they migrate to sports cars.
Former IRL President Leo Mehl looked right at home in the pits this morning,
strolling around with his headset on like he had never left.
Roberto Moreno is really working the 3G team hard for an Indy ride - he was
glued to their pit area the entire practice.
10:00 AM
Lights qualifying is underway under incredibly beautiful skies and hot, hot, hot
temperatures already this morning here in St. Petersburg. Massive amounts of
people are streaming into the facility from all points, ready for some fun in the
Florida sun!
I created and am currently organizing something called Lake Erie Boat Week
(see link/logo to the right), to be held in Port Clinton, Ohio, on September 1-6,
2009. This is a national event, expected to attract more than 100,000 to the Erie
Islands area, adding approximately $10 million in economic impact to the area. I
have been to many, many street races in the past, but now, as an Event Director,
I am looking at the vast and amazing logistical organization of this event, and am
amazed at how well it is put together. You just cannot imagine the amount of
work and details that go into putting on an event in a public space. I was
walking the entire course just a bit ago, and was standing along a chain-link
fence watching some of the ALMS race, and - instead of watching the race cars -
was distracted by the fact that I know just how much each foot of fencing costs,
trying to calculate just how much AGR Promotions has to pay for fencing alone! I
find myself stepping over electrical wires - something I never would have paid
attention to before - thinking, "Ugh! I know what you've gone through to get this
hooked up!" I look at porta-potties, tents, merchandising, signage, the stage,
volunteers, city service personnel, golf carts, credentialing, waste disposal,
landscaping, etc., and know exactly what it has taken to make those areas look
effortless (or allow you to not notice them at all). There is a team of people
behind each of those areas for this Grand Prix event, and it shows. For my
LEBW event, it's just me, for now. So I'm observing and learning and absorbing
what the AGR folks have done right, as this is a premier event of any type. The
Andretti Green Promotions group should be very proud of how well-organized
this race is. It is truly a gem on the IRL schedule, and of the best - along with the
Long Beach Grand Prix - for spectator fun and access. And you couldn't pick a
better location and time of year to ask people to come to St. Pete.
1:00 PM
Perfect summer day, perfect summer crowd, perfect summer race! For those of
you up north who have forgotten what that means, wait a month or two - it's
coming.
The ALMS race's pre-race festivities included a really good drum corps (kids),
who entertained the crowd by drumming through pit lane. Lots and lots of
people swarmed pit lane to get a glimpse of the exotic sports cars and drivers,
and everyone - including the teams - seemed to be having a great time. Lots of
great areas to view any race here on the streets of St. Pete, as most corners not
only have grandstands, but spectator viewing areas along the fenceline.
This is an enormous facility, especially if you do not have motorized
transportation. I just walked the entire perimeter, and I'm exhausted. That
wasn't by design - I was merely trying to go take a tour of the Firestone Indy
Lights paddock area, and they are so far away (along with the ALMS paddock)
that I thought, what the heck, let's just tour the whole place! However, you can't
really get the whole way around the track without having to travel over several
bridges that span the racecourse, which makes the trek even more tiring.
It is sad to see Bobby Rahal here to support his son and his ALMS team, but not
participating as an owner in the IRL IndyCar Series this year. That Graham Rahal
won the pole for tomorrows event should ease the sting a bit, though. Here's
hoping the Rahal Letterman team can get the necessary sponsorship to re-join
the series in 2010.
For anyone who thought Graham's win last year in his very first IRL IndyCar
Series event was a fluke, please note who has been fastest (or among the
fastest) in every on-track session this weekend for his Newman-Haas Racing
Team. He was good last year, this year, he's going to be a contender every
week, as that team knows how to win races consistently and has now had a year
to figure out the IRL machines, new to them last year after the reunification
between CART and the IRL.
Graham has quite a contingent of family here this weekend to witness his Pole
Position. His mom, mom's boyfriend, and sister - who doesn't come to many of
his races - are all here. Something tells me it will be mandatory that they attend
the rest of the season's races, after the luck they brought him today.
Lots of former IRL crew guys seen working for the ALMS teams now (Grand-Am,
as well). There has always been a bit of a connection between the two types of
series, as it seems that the IndyCar crews get a little burnt out and try to take
some time away from the sport. By the time they get the racing itch again, their
spots are taken with younger guys, so they migrate to sports cars.
Former IRL President Leo Mehl looked right at home in the pits this morning,
strolling around with his headset on like he had never left.
Roberto Moreno is really working the 3G team hard for an Indy ride - he was
glued to their pit area the entire practice.
10:00 AM
Lights qualifying is underway under incredibly beautiful skies and hot, hot, hot
temperatures already this morning here in St. Petersburg. Massive amounts of
people are streaming into the facility from all points, ready for some fun in the
Florida sun!