Moderation, Family Atmosphere Part Of Grand Prix's Charm

Street races are a mix of sporting event, festival and party. Containing the party is one of the many challenges of having a good event.

Part of the charm of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is that, even as it has grown it has remained reasonably clean and sober - making it inviting to families with young children and upscale corporate customers who foot a big part of the bill.

Alcohol is sold inside the event gates, but at last weekend's fourth edition of the event, there weren't many visible signs of heavy drinking. On the contrary, the crowd included more families than in the past and, collectively, seemed more sophisticated in its knowledge of racing.

Kevin Savoree, managing director of race promoter Andretti Green Promotions, said Tuesday his group hasn't made a concerted effort to curb drinking, but "we're observant."

"We try to promote that it's a family event," he said. "But if some guys want to come out and drink beer, fine. But I think there's a lot of moderation in that. There's something for everybody."

Savoree remained in town Monday and Tuesday, and he said his group is doing a post-race critique and planning session for next year's race. Among the goals for next year: increasing attendance at the Acura Sports Car Challenge.

Here are some other final observations from the weekend:

•Sunday's race was 100 laps or two hours, whichever came first, and because rain slowed the start of the race, the time limit held the race to 83 laps.

Could a time limit work in NASCAR? We'll never see one, because there's too much money that can be made from television advertisers and track concessions.

But a time window of, say, 2 1/2 hours wouldn't be a bad idea. At least half of NASCAR's races are much too long for the attention span of all but the most diehard followers.

•Rookie Graham Rahal's victory and a strong showing overall by Champ Car teams Sunday added credibility to the four consecutive titles won by St. Petersburg's Sebastien Bourdais through last season.

Bourdais' success was viewed with skepticism because of the perception he didn't have much competition. Sunday's race showed that there was more talent in Champ Car than some of us thought.

"I think you look at the lineup coming from Champ Car, the transitioning teams, and you've got drivers that are very good," Rahal said. "Like Will Power. He has got to be one of the fastest drivers out there. I mean, the guy is insane on a single lap."

Indy Racing League veteran Tony Kanaan said he fully expected the Champ Car teams to be a handful at St. Pete.

"If you think about it, me and Helio Castroneves, in the past five years, we've done 14 road courses," he said. "They did that last year."

•Several cars in Sunday's race, including that of winner Rahal, had limited or no corporate sponsorship.

Race teams are banking on the belief that open-wheel unification - which brings about a stronger schedule and more media interest - will help them lure sponsors.

"We don't have a sponsor right now, but because of the unification, there have been a lot of people interested," said Rahal, who carried a decal for team co-owner Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for seriously ill children. "Nobody has signed, but I think there are certainly some good possibilities"