Andretti Green Promotions / Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
If the following text-only file is not easily readable, particularly any tables of numbers, try enlarging this window since every line has a forced end and there is no word-wrap. Otherwise, this report will look and print better from the following PDF file: http://www.sportssystems.com/applib/PDFload.cfm?file=/email/filehost/AA589.pdf&id=BC589AA9EC574 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For immediate release ANDRETTI GREEN PROMOTIONS TO PROMOTE HONDA GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG IN 2005 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Sept. 2, 2004) - Andretti Green Promotions, which is a collaborative effort between Team Green Investments, Inc., Andretti Green Racing (AGR), Inc. and CSS-Stellar, PLC, announced today it will serve as the promoter of the 2005 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on April 3, 2005, in the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. The race, which will be the third of 17 events on the 2005 Indy Racing League® (IRL) IndyCar® Series schedule, will be the series' first street circuit event and will mark the first-ever IRL race run on a non- oval. Led by Barry Green, who will serve as the managing director of the event, Andretti Green Promotions is focused on continuing the steady growth and increasing popularity of the IndyCar Series as it makes its foray into racing on a temporary street circuit. "Andretti Green Promotions is thrilled with the opportunity that lies ahead in St. Petersburg," said Green. "It's a terrific venue and has all the elements necessary to create a successful event for the city, the fans, the competitors, a national television audience and the Indy Racing League." The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will mark Green's large-scale return to the motorsports industry since he sold the assets of Team Green to Michael Andretti, brother Kim Green and Kevin Savoree, who formed Andretti Green Racing at the end of the 2002 racing season. Since then, Green has worked as a consultant to AGR, which joined the IRL in 2003. The team currently occupies the top two positions in the IndyCar Series championship standings with drivers Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon and has won a league- record eight races in 13 starts this season. CSS-Stellar, which is headquartered in London, England, is a full service, global marketing/communications group with a broad base of event marketing and promotion experience. The company is led by founder and CEO Julian Jakobi, who managed Formula 1 drivers Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Jacques Villeneuve and currently handles management responsibilities for Dario Franchitti, Wheldon and Juan Pablo Montoya. Honda, which claimed its first IRL manufacturer's title on Aug. 15, will serve as title sponsor of the event. It marks Honda's second entitlement of an IndyCar Series event, joining the Honda Indy 225 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. The race will be the IndyCar Series' first visit to Florida's West coast. Known as Florida's Sunshine Capital, St. Petersburg is one of the state's top spring-time tourist destinations and features 234 miles of shoreline along Tampa Bay, Boca Ciega Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and intracoastal waterways. Ft. DeSoto Park is one of the nation's top-ranked beaches. The Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be held on a 14-turn, 1.806-mile temporary course which incorporates a runway at Albert Whitted Airport and features a stretch along the St. Petersburg waterways. - 30 - Contact: Al Larsen, (317) 872-2700 ext 239, alan.larsen@andrettigreenracing.com