ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Fans took in the sights and sounds of the final day of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
      
“The roar of the engines, it doesn’t get any better,” said Grant Stitizlein who came from Ohio.

“Exhilarating,” said Taylor Campbell as she watched dozens of cars speed by. “It’s just so loud.”

Stitizlein is rooting for his hometown driver, number 15.

“Graham Rahal all the way,” he said. “He’s a local boy; his garage was like 10 minutes from my house and also Jack Harvey who is his teammate.”

We caught up with Rahal as his crew was preparing his car for the big race.

It’s held on a 1.8-mile 14-turn temporary street course that runs through Downtown St. Pete.

He said what makes this track unique, is going through the runway at the airport.

“That becomes inviting for a lot of guys particularly, you know first lap of the year, not a lot of people have had much time in the car,” Rahal explained. “There hasn’t been a lot of passing yet or testing or anything else.”

“So here we go into the first corner of the first race–a lot of adrenaline,” he continued.

Rahal made history in St. Pete back in 2008 when he became the then-youngest winner in Indy car history.

“I think it’s definitely worth it,” he responded. “As I get older, I’m 34 now, not old by any means, but I’ve certainly dedicated my life to this.”

“Going out there and driving these cars gets me fired up every time so without a doubt it’s been a blessing,” he continued.