IndyCar: Will Sebastien Bourdais win his third consecutive St. Petersburg race?

Sebastien Bourdais has won both of the last two IndyCar races on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Will he make it three in a row this weekend?

Dale Coyne Racing’s Sebastien Bourdais has won both of the last two IndyCar races on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, meaning that he is set to go for his third consecutive victory on these streets in this Sunday’s race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

The last race at the 14-turn, 1.8-mile (2.897-kilometer) street course on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida that was won by a driver other than Bourdais was held in March of 2016.

This race was won by Team Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya. Meanwhile, Bourdais, who was driving for KVSH Racing at the time, finished it in 21st place in his #11 Chevrolet, as he crashed after completing only 87 of its 110 laps.

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In the 2017 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Bourdais started in dead last (21st place). But by going on an alternate pit strategy, he was able to lead 69 of the race’s 110 laps en route to winning it by a whopping 10.351 seconds over Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud, who led 13 laps of the race, in second.

The race featured a total of eight lead changes. Aside of Bourdais and Pagenaud, three other drivers led at least one lap of the race. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe led 21 laps while Team Penske’s Will Power, who started the race from the pole position, led five laps and Andretti Autosport’s Takuma Sato led two laps.

In the 2018 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Bourdais once again earned a victory after going on an alternate strategy. This strategy allowed him to lead 30 of the race’s 110 laps after starting in 14th place.

Bourdais won the race under caution ahead of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal in second place following an incident between Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Robert Wickens and Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi, who were two of the other four drivers who led at least one lap of the race.

The race featured a total of eight lead changes. Wickens, who started the race from the pole position, led more laps than anybody else in the field with 69 laps led. Rossi led five laps of the race, as did Ed Carpenter Racing’s Jordan King. Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay led one lap.

Will Bourdais earn his third consecutive victory on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida in this Sunday’s race, or will a driver other than Bourdais win at the track for the first time since Montoya did so in March of 2016 in his #2 Chevrolet?

Considering the fact that Bourdais has won both of the last two races on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida as a result of great pit strategy and some additional good fortune after starting in 14th place or worse both times, it is hard to see him getting back to victory lane at the track for the third season in a row unless he actually puts together a solid qualifying effort and establishes himself as a contender for the victory early on in the weekend.

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Will Sebastien Bourdais earn his third consecutive victory in an IndyCar race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida by winning this weekend’s race? This race, the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 10, and it is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET.