MARCH 15, 2017

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
After crashing his car in the first round of qualifying Saturday, Sebastien Bourdais (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Sonny's BBQ Honda) charged from last to first to win Sunday's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the opening race on the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. The 38-year-old Bourdais, who was raised in Le Mans, France, drove a brilliant race finishing 10.3508-seconds ahead of countryman Simon Pagenaud (No. 1 Team Penske PPG Automotive Refinish Chevrolet) in the 110-lap race on the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit. It was the 36th victory of Bourdais' illustrious Indy car career, moving him past Bobby Unser into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time win list. "It's probably the hardest race to recover, the (pit) windows are really narrow and it's really hard to pass," said Bourdais, whose Indy car career began 14 years ago at the inaugural St. Petersburg race. "Honestly, I'm a little speechless," said Bourdais, the four-time Indy car champion who now has led 2,526 laps in his career, good for 22nd place all-time. "We had a miserable day yesterday (in qualifying) and that was all me, and today we turned it into a great day. Once you're in the lead here, it's awful difficult to lose it unless you throw it away, so I sure tried not to do that again." Bourdais moved to St. Petersburg permanently more than a decade ago and rejoined Coyne's team this season after leaving it six years ago. "It's putting the band back together and hopefully we'll have many more days like this," he said. Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing GE LED Lighting Honda) finished third, marking the 90th time he has finished in the top three and tying the New Zealander with Helio Castroneves for sixth on the all-time podium chart. You can watch videos here.
(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Team Owner Dale Coyne hugs Sebastien Bourdais following their victory in the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday.
(Getty Images/NASCAR)
Martin Truex Jr. (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Toyota) passed the faltering car of Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Miller Lite Ford) on the white-flag lap and cruised to the win in Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Those two drivers dominated the race, with Truex leading 150 of the 267 laps, while Keselowski led 89. Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Target Chevrolet) was second and Chase Elliott (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet) ended up third. As Truex approached the checkered flag to win for the first time this season and the first time at Las Vegas, Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Shell Pennzoil Ford) got into Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing M&Ms Toyota) in a battle for third. Busch spun into the inside wall on pit road and limped across the finish line in 22nd place, while Logano came across the line fourth. After that, Busch confronted Logano on pit road, throwing a punch at Logano's head, while Logano's crew stepped into the fray, and wrestled Busch to the pavement. In the melee, Busch sustained a cut to his forehead. Watch a video here. Editor-In-Chief's Note: My thoughts on the dust-up? It was just one of them racin' deals. As for Kyle? Boo. Frickin. Hoo.
(Pirelli World Challenge)
Reigning GT champion Alvaro Parente (No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S) opened his Pirelli World Challenge championship defense with an impressive 10.135-second victory Saturday in the 2017 season-opening PWC Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by Case●It at the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit. Australian JD Davison (No. 007 TRG Aston Martin Vantage GT3) started sixth and finished second, while Patrick Long (No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) finished third.
(Pirelli World Challenge)
Veteran Patrick Long (No. 58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R) took advantage of a first turn melee Sunday and went on to victory in the GT Round 2 of the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by Case●It. Long, 34, started third in the 24-car lineup and followed Saturday GT winner Alvaro Parente (No. 9 K-PAX Racing McLaren 650S) into turn one in the 50-minute sprint race when Parente went wide on the slippery Albert Whited Airport front straightaway. Long took advantage of the misstep and dove into turn one and grabbed the top position. From that point on, Long never looked back. It was Long's ninth career Pirelli World Challenge GT triumph and he now takes the early GT class point lead. Johnny O’Connell (No. 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac ATS-V.R.) finished second and Alex Riberas (No. 61 R. Ferri Motorsports Ferrari 488 GT3) was third.
(LLC Photography/Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
Colton Herta (No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Mazda/Dallara IL-15) became the youngest winner in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires history when he won Race 2 of the season-opening doubleheader at St. Petersburg. Herta (aged 16 years, 11 months, 21 days) is the son of Verizon IndyCar Series team co-owner and former Indy car driver Bryan Herta. Colton started from the pole and won by 1.7797 over Santiago Urrutia.