Background The first race of the
2013 IndyCar Series season in
St. Petersburg, saw
James Hinchcliffe earn his first career victory, holding off
Hélio Castroneves in the closing laps. Expected championship contenders
Dario Franchitti,
Ryan Hunter-Reay and
Will Power all experienced trouble during the race, finishing outside the top 15.
A. J. Allmendinger made his return to IndyCar for this race, driving for
Penske Racing.
Qualifying Scott Dixon set a new track record in the first round of qualifying, but it was
Ryan Hunter-Reay that would capture the pole in the Firestone Fast 6. While
Takuma Sato had originally made the Fast Six, he was penalized for impeding
Justin Wilson's qualifying lap, and
Tristan Vautier was bumped into the Fast Six after initially missing the cut. Sato would lose his two fastest laps and fall to 12th starting position.
Race ==Classification==