2018 IndyCar opener features champions

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida: Seven drivers who have won IndyCar championships and 13 others who have won races in the series will be joining the 2010 IndyCar season opens here on Sunday (Monday in Manila).

Seven awardees of Rookie of the Year and four new drivers will also be joining the first race of the series this year.

“We have four new teams and owners joining the field for the Verizon IndyCar Series at Saint Pete and those four teams are fielding three full- time cars and two cars running anywhere from four to eight races this year,” said Jay Frye, INDYCAR president of competition and operations. INDYCAR is the organization behind the IndyCar series.

But more important to Frye are the four new entrants that have committed to helping grow the sport. The teams are Carlin, Harding Racing, Juncos Racing and Michael Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson.

“Seeing the results of all the hard work that these owners have done to get here is really exciting and their role in the growth of the series is something to be proud of,” Frye said. “Michael Shank, Ricardo Juncos, Trevor Carlin, and Mike Harding are part of the future of the sport and we’re happy to have them.”

The Saint Petersburg race features a 1.8-mile temporary street circuit with 14 turns encompassing city streets and a runway of adjacent Albert Whitted Airport. The race will run for 110 laps on Sunday.