Four solid minutes with Grand Prix managing director Kevin Savoree

How is business?

Ticket sales are trending slightly ahead of last year, so I think for everything that’s going on, for that trend to continue, we’re just really excited about it.

Unification has been so big. This has been the first time in an IndyCar race than an Andretti, a Foyt and a Rahal will go at it, and to say that happened here is so cool. It’s just special. I think in any sport, that kind of tradition is cool to follow. There’s a lot of them that have followed their fathers or their grand fathers. We’re obviously thrilled to have them and to have Paul Newman and Carl Haas and some of the other great Champ Car owners here this weekend. That’s awesome.

We’re full. We’re past full and so we’re going to continue to have to be creative. We had to spend some money with the

University

of

South Florida

to rent some additional parking lots from them to fit some additional stuff in. Good for the university and it allowed us to add some paddock space adjacent to the racetrack. We had to be a little bit creative to fit six quarts in a gallon jug. We’re full. For us to be able to continue to grow we’re going to have to continue to grow.

Why are ticket sales up?

I suppose a couple big pieces of it are Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick. To say that they are helpful names now is an understatement. Their stars are on the rise, so obviously that played a big part in it. I think, if you look at some of the trends in the American Le Mans Series, the TV ratings for Sebring and the Tampa-St. Pete market was one of the top markets in the country for the ALMS race. So again, I think there’s those kind of trends. And I think there’s event-goers that come out to see a concert or whatever. It’s just become kind of a great weekend for the city.

Is it gratifying that the IRL will make its pitch to potential title sponsors here?

I think you heard a lot of speakers say that outside of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, this is a pretty cool place, and it is very rewarding. I think we have created this incredibly unique public/private partnership where the city and Andretti Green and so many corporate sponsors really have a way to partner together for the good of the city. People from all around the world are finding out about

St. Petersburg

and whether that’s on the IndyCar broadcast or the ALMS broadcast, its going all over the world, and I think that’s a big part of the story St. Pete wanted to tell. It’s a pretty fresh city. And that’s the message I think the mayor wanted to get out.