City: Tampa Bay, FL

Category: Spectator Sports

Description: This three-day racing weekend is as much festival as it is race. This past year, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the inaugural race of the IndyCar Series, and the Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg was one of only two street races in the American LeMans Series run in 2009. You have to hand it to the folks in St. Petersburg. They don’t just stick this race out in a back pasture somewhere. No, they run it in the city’s living room, as it were, sending these road-hugging sleek machines zooming past the Mahaffey Theater and later right through the heart of downtown with high-rise buildings on either side. Not only does the city invite in some fairly loud guests who tear around like there’s no tomorrow, but it also rearranges the furniture for them and says, “Have at it.” How many other cities would close off one of their airport runways and make it part of the 1.8-mile, 14-turn racetrack? And for three days, no less! Such a pity the drivers of the two Indy Lights races (one on Saturday, one on Sunday), the American Le Mans Series race on Saturday, and the IndyCar Series on Sunday don’t get to see that gorgeous waterfront they’re streaking past. Spectators, however, can enjoy that view, the roar of racing engines, and festival activities. Order tickets over the phone or online. General admission tickets this past year started at $25 with reserved seating starting at $60. In addition to the spinning tires, another wheel sometimes turns—this one a giant Ferris wheel to give visitors a bird’s-eye view of the race circuit ($5 per ride). There’s also live music and, of course, food.