IndyCar Friday report from the Firestone Grand Prix of St Pete

Good afternoon from sunny St Petersburg, Florida. The temperatures are expected to read the high 70s by the time the NTT INDYCAR SERIES has the first and only practice session for today at 2:45 ET.

The drivers are anxious to hit the race track and see how the 25-pound lighter race car is going to handle with a harder Firestone tire. This weekend, the teams are allotted six sets of the black tires and four sets of the alternative tires which are going to the guayule tire with the green sidewall.

Scott Dixon, driver of the Chip Ganassi No. 9 PNC Bank entry, will be running his 20th St Pete Grand Prix. The six-time champion has run in every race here on the streets but has never claimed a win. Could this be his year?

Graham Rahal, driver of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing No 15 Fifth Third Bank entry, is his 17th start at this track. He was the youngest winner at that time in the series with his win coming in 2008 his first race debut.

Stay tuned to more reports from the practice session and what some of the drivers are saying about some of the IndyCar changes.

Lucille Dust reporting live from St Petersburg