ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — All eyes are on the skies as the weekend approaches, especially those of racers and fans taking part in this year's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
If anyone is watching the weather more carefully than our own meteorologists, it’s racers, fans and even vendors who say the timing of a line of weather approaching the region could be everything.
Race promoter Kevin Savoree has every confidence the green flag will wave in St. Petersburg this weekend.
“It’s just going to wash the track off and make for a better show on Sunday,” he said.
Unlike NASCAR, Indy cars race rain or shine. Only the threat of lightning would have them pumping the brakes on the races.
“Firestone makes great rain tires. They’re the best in the industry, and actually, the show would be incredible and wet,” Savoree said.
Fans are watching the forecast, too.
Today it was the heat. But rain is what their keeping an eye on this weekend.
“If it was raining, I would probably just stay home,” race fan Lynn Severino said.
That’s precisely why if anyone is watching the forecast more carefully than race organizers, it's the vendors who say crowd size is key.
“The weather really makes a difference, because, like I said, when it rains, you don’t get as many people to come out,” vendor Timothy Ross said.
“I know they race in the rain, but I was here years ago when it was lightning. And they actually shut it down because they needed to get people out of the grandstand,” vendor Wendy Cappola said. “They had everyone come back and run the race on Monday, but there wasn’t a lot of people, so for the vendors, you really lose out.”
Race promoters say they also work closely with the city of St. Petersburg, which is also monitoring the weather for any safety threats, but they believe the timing is on their side.
“As I’ve said before,” said Savoree, “Come 12:32 there’s going to be a green flag and we’re going racing.”