Driver Sebastien Bourdais yesterday won the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a victory that "might have proved" parity has "returned to IndyCar," according to Jim Ayello of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. While it is "dangerous to read too much into one race, Bourdais' win might have signaled a turning of the tide." Last year, Chevrolet cars "won 14 of 16 races, including every one of the street and road-course races." Team Penske Chevrolets were "responsible for 10 of those victories." But yesterday, Honda cars "claimed four of the top five spots." Bourdais' win in a Honda "showed that even one of the smallest teams in the paddocks can pull off an upset now and then" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 3/13).
FINDING ITS FOOTING: Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles last week said he does not "see any cap" to the growth of IndyCar, which this year has expanded to 17 races from 16. Miles said that all 16 races that were held last year "will return" in '17, and all of this year’s races are "expected to return next year." In N.Y., Dave Caldwell wrote that is a "sign of continuity for a series that took a hit last year when promoters abruptly dropped plans" for a race in Boston. IndyCar "appears to have established a foothold after spinning for two decades." Sponsors "seem to like that the series has promoted events as more than places to watch races." Bridgestone Americas CMO Philip Dobbs said, "It’s all about the racing, but there are other things that make it an experience." IndyCar CMO C.J. O’Donnell said that "younger potential fans seem to like the technology of Indy cars." O'Donnell said it "doesn’t really take an adept race fan to realize that we’re going a lot faster than our friends down South" in NASCAR (N.Y. TIMES, 3/11). HOFer Mario Andretti said, "There's no question that the series has been gaining momentum. They had a lot of ground to make up since the mistakes that were made in the '90s. A lot of ground that NASCAR had gained. ... The level of talent in this series right now is unprecedented. ... So the series has life, real life" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 3/12).
