Dario Franchitti, the reigning series title-holder, was second with a quick lap of 1:03.5180 in the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry.
There were 16 drivers, however, within one second of Power's No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, including Mike Conway in the No. 27 Team Godaddy entry for Andretti Autosport. Conway, who was third (1:03.6660), is making his first start since being injured in the Indianapolis 500 last May.
Ryan Briscoe (1:03.7214), the 2009 race winner, was fourth overall and Scott Dixon (1:03.8734) fifth. Two-time event winner Helio Castroneves (1:03.9049) was sixth quick.
Marco Andretti, four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais (making his IZOD IndyCar Series road/street debut with Dale Coyne Racing), Tony Kanaan (making his debut with KV Racing Technology-Lotus) and Danica Patrick (celebrating her 29th birthday) filled out the top 10.
Also on March 25, Anders Krohn and Conor Daly set the early pace in practice for the March 27 race on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit. Both competed in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear last year on the racetrack.
Krohn, driving the No. 9 Liberty Engineering Racing Special for Belardi Auto Racing, had a quick lap of 1 minute, 9.0371 seconds in the hour-long session. Daly had a best lap of 1:09.1544 in the No. 77 Mazda Road to Indy/Sam Schmidt Motorsports entry.
DAY 1 NOTES:
The IZOD IndyCar Series will compete in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a 100-lap race at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. The Firestone Indy Lights series will compete in the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, a 45-lap race at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The Star Mazda Championship and USF2000 National Championship - part of the Mazda Road the Indy ladder system - are also racing this weekend. Star Mazda will race at 4:10 p.m. Saturday. USF2000 will compete at 5:20 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
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Live timing and scoring reports from the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg are available on the Internet at < span>. The live timing and scoring module provides statistical information, including track segment speeds, lap information and much more.
Feature stories, reports, driver quotes and notes, and photos will be posted on the site each day. More detailed information, including media advisories and VNF coordinates, is available at media.indycar.com<>
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Drivers will have 240 seconds total of the Honda overtake assist at their disposal during the 100-lap Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday. Each press will have a horsepower boost for 12 seconds, with a 10-second recharge period between presses built into the ECU.
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ABC will broadcast the first of its five IZOD IndyCar Series races this weekend. Marty Reid and Scott Goodyear will be the announcers.
ABC's schedule also includes the Indianapolis 500 on May 30, marking the 46th consecutive year that "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" will air on ABC, as well as events at The Milwaukee Mile, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Reporting from the pits will be Rick DeBruhl, Jamie Little and Vince Welch. For the Indianapolis 500, former race winner Eddie Cheever will be an analyst with Reid and Goodyear in the booth for the third year. Jerry Punch returns to Indy as a fourth pit reporter. Brent Musburger will host the Indy telecast.
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Happy birthday: Andretti Autosport driver Danica Patrickcelebrates her 29th birthday March 25 (today). She has been running at the finish in 33 consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series races. She broke the series record at Infineon Raceway in 2010.
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