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Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg takes over downtown streets

The event is underway Saturday with qualifying rounds leading up to Sunday's race.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Downtown St. Pete streets have been transformed as the 17th annual Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg gets underway this weekend.

Drivers on Saturday were focused on the qualifying rounds leading up to Sunday's race.

Colton Herta has rebounded from a first-lap crash in the IndyCar season opener to win the pole on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

It is the fifth pole of Herta's career and he's now won poles on four tracks where his father, Bryan, also won poles. The father and son have now shared poles at St. Pete, Laguna Seca, Portland and Mid-Ohio. 

The field was separated by a fraction of a second from first to 24th in qualifying.

The weekend welcomes up to 20,000 racing fans to the event, marking the first time fans are allowed to watch the races since the COVID-19 pandemic began. 

The temporary circuit is a 1.8-mile, 14-turn configuration using the streets circling Pioneer Park, the Duke Energy Center for the Arts, The Dali Museum and extending onto the runways at Albert Whitted Airport, which overlooks the waterfront of Tampa Bay and picturesque St. Petersburg Harbor and Marina.

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