This being my first post, I will just give my brief predictions heading into the 2014 IndyCar season before jumping into the St. Pete preview. I think this season has the potential to top last year’s crazy campaign. With that said, let’s get going.

Season Predictions:

Champion: Will Power. What is this, the fourth year in a row for everyone to say this is Will Power’s year? But look at the facts, the Aussie was runner-up three consecutive years, finished a “disappointing” fourth place overall last year, and won three out of the final five races in 2013. Disproving the notion that he can’t race on ovals, one of those wins was at Fontana and Power placed in the top at four of the ovals. If Power can grab a victory in one of the 500-mile races this year, I think we might actually see an IndyCar title decided prior to the final race.

Remaining Top 5, in no particular order: Marco Andretti, Scott Dixon, James Hinchcliffe, Justin Wilson. Marco had his best season in IndyCar placing fifth overall in 2013, despite placing no higher than third in a race. I see another strong campaign from the American and could even see him challenging for the title if he grabs a few wins. Dixon returns as the defending champ and will be a favorite in ever race this year. However, I just don’t see him winning four races again this season, preventing him from repeating. Hinchcliffe had a roller coaster season last year, winning three races and six top fives, but six finishes of 20th or lower. More consistency this year will definitely improve his eighth place in the 2013 standings. Wilson returns to Dale Coyne after placing sixth in the standings last year. Wilson only had six finishes outside the top ten as he continues to prove himself as one of the most consistent drivers in the series.

Katy Perry’s Pick (the Dark Horse): Charlie Kimball. Kimball had his breakout season last year for Chip Ganassi, grabbing his first win of his career and placing ninth overall. With Ganassi adding Ryan Briscoe to a fourth car this year, I think Kimball is surrounded by more than enough talent and experience to make even bigger strides in 2014.

Rookie of the Year: Carlos Muñoz. I feel like this is definitely the easy pick among the four rookies this year, but Muñoz has more experience in an IndyCar than the others and was extremely impressive at Indy last year. I think Mikhail Aleshin will be a huge improvement over Tristan Vautier for Schmidt Peterson. Jack Hawksworth has potential but I see him struggling much like Vautier did. Carlos Huertas will round out the bunch and will likely fail to finish in the top 15 most weekends.

Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Preview (Streets of St. Petersburg, Sunday, March 30, 3:00 p.m. EST, ABC)

Track assessment: The Streets of St. Pete is my favorite street course on the IndyCar schedule. With a wide airport runway front stretch, many places to pass, and picturesque location along Tampa Bay, it provides some of the best racing you’ll see in my opinion, and is a great way to kick off the IndyCar season.

2013 Recap: Will Power dominated the race early, but finished 16th after J.R. Hildebrand ran into him under caution. James Hinchcliffe grabbed his first career victory by 1.09 seconds over Helio Castroneves and Marco Andretti rounded out the podium.

Podium Picks: 1. Helio Castroneves, 2. Tony Kanaan, 3. James Hinchcliffe. Castroneves is the safe pick, but the guy owns St. Pete. With three wins he’s the only multiple winner of the event in the field, and has only finished outside the ten twice in eight starts. I don’t see that success ending this year. Kanaan has been just as successful as his fellow Brazilian, with one win and eight top 10s in nine starts. Hinchtown doesn’t have as much experience at St. Pete as my other podium picks, has finished fourth and first in his two starts. Andretti Autosports always runs strong here and should continue that trend.

Katy Perry’s Pick: Oriol Servia . Sébastien Bourdais. (EDIT: I mistakenly named Servia my dark horse, but he will not race at St. Pete. He begins his season in two weeks at Long Beach.) Bourdais has not performed well at St. Pete, finishing no higher than 11th in three starts, but the four-time Champ Car champion should have a shot this year. KV Racing Technology is the strongest team the Frenchman has been with since rejoining IndyCar and placed both drivers (Kanaan, de Silvestro) in the top ten at St. Pete last year. Expect Bourdais to be very competitive on Sunday.

Who I’m Pulling For: Josef Newgarden. Since Simona de Silvestro has moved back to Europe to pursue Formula 1, I have adopted Newgarden as my new favorite driver. Now in his third year, a win would be huge for the Newgarden and Sarah Fisher Racing. Not only will it be great to see another first-time winner, but another young, media-savvy, entertaining, and most importantly marketable American driver will be a very good thing for IndyCar.

Sunday afternoon cannot come soon enough. I’m so glad IndyCar is back.