Pit Notes       
Issue No. 9 // March 16, 2010 

General Petraeus, Lt. Brennan team up again at Honda Grand Prix 5K on March 26
Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Grand Marshal General David Petraeus, who is the Commander of U.S. Central Command in Tampa and former Commanding General of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, will reunite with wounded veteran Brian Brennan at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for the inaugural 5K Run, Walk and Wheel-a-thon to support Spinal Care Research and Wounded Veterans on Friday, March 26.  Lt. Brennan’s dramatic awakening during a visit from Gen. Petraeus while hospitalized at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington received national media attention and sparked an amazing recovery. Brennan is now back on his feet, having mastered the use of two prosthetic legs, and will join Petraeus at the 5K event. The event will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 26, in downtown St. Petersburg, directly on the Honda Grand Prix race course. The public is welcome, with advance registration at www.GrandPrix5K.com.  The event benefits four charities, including the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, Shoot For A Cure Moto-Sport and Embracing Florida’s Wounded Heroes.

Festival of States Parade and Free Concert Highlight Thursday, March 25 Public Events
The annual Festival of States Illuminated Night Parade, Fireworks & Party in the Park gets under way Thursday, March 25 at 7 p.m., with the fireworks set to light up the sky at 8:30 p.m.  A group of drivers from the IZOD IndyCar Series, the Firestone Indy Lights and the World Challenge Championships will participate in the parade.  Among the IndyCar owners and drivers expected to participate Ryan Briscoe, Michael Andretti, Helio Castroneves, Sarah Fisher, EJ Viso, Raphael Matos.  The parade starts at Central Avenue and 5th Street and travels east on Central Avenue, then heads north on 2nd Street, east on 1st Ave. North, then north on Beach Drive to 5th Ave. North,

Following the parade the 'Rev Up Party' gets going with a free concert at Jannus Live in downtown St. Petersburg, featuring The Greg Billings Band, Tom Gribbin and the Saltwater Band and Gale Trippsmith.