ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Start your engines — or at least get out the hammers, fences and concrete barriers.

Construction on the 1.8 mile, 14-turn IndyCar course begins Friday. It will take weeks to get the course ready before the March 25 race.

The 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is the beginning of the IndyCar season. The street race is one of the city’s premiere events and draws around 140,000 people to the city during race weekend.

During track construction, workers will use 20,000 feet of steel-reinforced concrete barriers and 44-thousand feet of chain link fencing.