IndyCar drivers Spencer Pigot, Sebastian Bourdais and Carlos Munoz prepare for season-opening Firestone Grand Prix

PALMETTO -- An Orlando native, Spencer Pigot started going to the Verizon IndyCar Series stop in St. Petersburg long before he began competing five years ago as part of the various Mazda Road to Indy levels.

So when he captured the 2015 Indy Lights championship, Pigot's next move up the ladder to the IndyCar Series became realistic.

And what better way to begin his career at that level than with the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix next month on the streets of downtown St. Pete.

"It is very difficult to climb up the ladder system," Pigot said. "It's no secret racing takes a lot of money, and money's not always to find. But fortunately I've had a lot of good partners and scholarships from the Road to Indy and I've been able to work my way up. And now I'm in IndyCar, but right now it's only a partial season, so we haven't really accomplished the goal yet. We've got our foot in the door and that's the first step."

On Tuesday, Pigot was at Andersen RacePark in Palmetto during the annual Media Kart Day. Pigot was one of three IndyCar Series drivers and several other pro drivers that were on hand for Tuesday's action, which saw St. Pete Mayor Rick Krisemen win the second annual Mayor's Challenge race.

But the event also served as a final countdown toward the Grand Prix, slated for March 11-13. Drivers plan on testing their vehicles in Sebring shortly.

win the second annual Mayor's Challenge race.

But the event also served as a final countdown toward the Grand Prix, slated for March 11-13. Drivers plan on testing their vehicles in Sebring shortly.

And the association with Andersen RacePark was a familiar one for Pigot.

"I know he and his parents for all the years he's climbed, and it was great seeing him win the championship last year and get into the Rahal Letterman seat," said Dan Andersen, owner and chief executive officer of Andersen Promotions and Andersen RacePark.

In addition to Pigot, the Verizon IndyCar Series drivers that were at Tuesday's event included Sebastien Bourdais and Carlos Munoz.

Bourdais, a veteran, is in a unique situation as the lone driver for KVSH Racing, but it's not something that feels unique to Bourdais based on how things have gone the last two seasons.

"The second car program has been a bit of a complicated matter for the last two years," Bourdais said. "... Last year, Stefano was a great kid, who was really fast. But rookies are always a double-edged sword. They either pop and really make it great or it can turn into a pretty big disaster. I wouldn't call that a disaster last year, but it really wasn't helping at all. He had a lot of wrecks and took a lot of time and resources from the team. And again, we're short on money so it hurt us. I think to be able to focus on one car, which we know we can do well financially and technically, for me is a big help."

Like Pigot, Munoz always gravitated toward racing. Even from a soccer-hotbed like Colombia, Munoz fell in love with racing and found inspiration from countryman Juan Pablo Montoya during his climb through the ranks.

"He's a great driver and we have a great relationship racing between each other," Munoz said.

Meanwhile, Andersen said he's trying to partner with IMG Academy to utilize the private Bradenton sports campus for training with several younger drivers that are under contract with Andersen Promotions.

"IMG does a lot with a lot of different sports," Andersen said. "With our go-kart facility here, we have a number of kids under contract that we are training in go-karts to move up the ladder. Kids as young as 8 or 9 years old. And we started thinking, we've got a facility already in Bradenton that does that with tennis players and golfers and soccer players and everything else. These kids are as immersed in their sport as the other athletes are. And some of them are not from Florida. If there was an on-site housing facility that could do the fitness training and the mental training and the eye training and all the other things that IMG does for their athletes, and then half a day they come over here and train in the karts, it's an interesting alliance. We're exploring."

Jason Dill, sports reporter, can be reached at 745-7007 or via email at jdill@bradenton.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason__Dill and like his Facebook page at Jason Dill Bradenton Herald.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "IndyCar drivers Spencer Pigot, Sebastian Bourdais and Carlos Munoz prepare for season-opening Firestone Grand Prix ."