Last year's pole sitter fourth-quick in practice source: indycar.com / Dave Lewandowski Dario Franchitti knows every twist and turn of the 1.8-mile temporary street circuit on Tampa Bay. So the Andretti Green Racing driver who started from the pole position in last year's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg landing in the top five in combined practice sessions isn't surprising. Franchitti had a quick lap of 1 minute, 2.0060 seconds - one of four drivers to run lower than his track record (1:02.2753) set in qualifying last year. Andretti Green Racing cars three of the top five positions (Tony Kanaan was second and Marco Andretti fifth). "We've got work to do," said Franchitti, driver of the No. 27 Canadian Club Dallara/Honda/Firestone. "I'm not really happy with the car yet and on certain parts of the track I'm not happy with my driving either. I know I'm working hard, but I've got to start with those parts of the track that I'm not doing my job." Mechanical issues prevented Franchitti from challenging for the victory last year. Helio Castroneves won the race, starting from the fifth starting position. "For the past two seasons we've run very well at St. Pete," Franchitti said. "In fact, in both years we've had a winning car if it weren't for mechanical problems keeping us from the win in the first year and completely taking us out in the second. I'm going in with a good frame of mind because I enjoy road racing. The Canadian Club team has worked hard over the winter, so we'll give it our best shot." Manning gets results from seat time Darren Manning is get reacquainted with the streets of St. Petersburg. Manning, driving the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. Dallara/Honda/Firestone for A.J. Foyt Racing, twice in CART. The team joined others in testing at Sebring earlier in the week. "The testing went really well," said Manning, who was 10th overall in practice (1:02.8449) in his second event with A.J. Foyt Racing. "We were fastest of the eight cars that were there. It was a good start. We definitely learned a lot about the car and how I like it. The changes we made --going backwards and forwards, making it better or worse -- but learning all the time, it was good. Sebring is slow and bumpy and has higher grip than St. Pete, but it's still relevant.
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