The inaugural 1985 event was organized by William T. McVey, president of the McBri Corporation in Tampa, with the SCCA Trans-Am Series as the headline series. Can-Am also competed that year on the original Bayfront waterfront circuit, which extended to the pier before looping back. The event ran from 1985 through 1990, but noise complaints from local residents and businesses led to a hiatus. During the 1987 race, driver Jim Fitzgerald was killed in a crash.
The event was revived from 1996 to 1997 on a different configuration centered around Tropicana Field, approximately one mile west of the waterfront course. Support series included USF2000, Speed World Challenge, Pro SRF, and Barber Dodge. This iteration also went on hiatus before the event returned again.
In 2003 the race was revived for the CART Championship Series using a new, modified version of the original waterfront circuit. The 2004 edition was cancelled due to a dispute between promoters, compounded by the bankruptcy and eventual liquidation of CART into the Champ Car World Series. When the race returned in 2005, it switched to the IndyCar Series — marking the first non-oval event for the Indy Racing League. The IndyCar race has been held annually since, establishing St. Petersburg as the traditional season opener for IndyCar.
In 2007 the race weekend was expanded to include an American Le Mans Series event, beginning a multi-year period in which the circuit hosted two major series simultaneously.
The current layout, established in its revised form in 2003, uses the roads around St. Petersburg's downtown waterfront. The primary straight and pit lane are located on the Albert Whitted Airport runway, with a purpose-built paddock paved adjacent to the runway. This section, along with the connecting turns from Dan Wheldon Way to the airport (Turns 11, 12, and 13), was constructed specifically for the circuit and constitutes its only permanent infrastructure — the remainder of the course is assembled from temporary barriers and surface markings on existing streets.
The northern section of the circuit turns at Central Avenue rather than extending to the pier as the original 1985 course did. The circuit passes by Bayfront Arena, dips into the Al Lang Stadium parking lot, and uses Bayshore Drive along the waterfront.
Following the fatal crash at the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship finale — which killed Dan Wheldon, a St. Petersburg race winner and two-time Indianapolis 500 champion who lived in the nearby Snell Isle neighborhood — the straight following Turn 10 was renamed Dan Wheldon Way in his memory. St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster unveiled the commemorative sign and plaque on March 6, 2012. A permanent Dan Wheldon Memorial was established next to the Dali Museum at the opposite side of Turn 10, where the names of subsequent race winners are added.
The circuit has hosted a succession of series over its multi-decade history in addition to its current IndyCar and NASCAR Truck anchors. Former events include the Trans-Am Series (1985–1991, 1996–1997, 2003), the Atlantic Championship Series (1985–1990), the American Le Mans Series Sports Car Challenge (2007–2009), Stadium Super Trucks (2014–2017, 2021), the Pirelli World Challenge (1990, 1996–1997, 2005–2018), and USF Pro 2000 (2010–2025), among others. IndyCar support series Indy NXT, USF2000 Championship, and Mazda MX-5 Cup currently race alongside the premier IndyCar event.
St. Petersburg's street circuit is unusual in North American motorsport for its longevity and the breadth of series it has attracted across four decades. Its airport-integrated layout and downtown waterfront setting have made it one of the most visually distinctive circuits on the IndyCar calendar, and its role as the IndyCar season opener gives the event particular significance in establishing championship narratives each year.