ST. PETERSBUG, Fla. -- Less than six months ago, Simona de Silvestro entertained thoughts – albeit briefly – of pursuing another profession after a year that challenged her resolve and ambition.

What had the ingredients of a breakthrough season with a career-high fourth place in the opening round of the IZOD IndyCar Series on the streets of St. Petersburg cascaded into “the hardest year I had to go through in my life.”

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There was the fiery crash in practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May. There was the concussion suffered in a practice crash at the Milwaukee Mile weeks later. There was an issue with U.S. Customs that prevented her from competing at Infineon Raceway in August. Finally, there was the 15-car incident in the season finale that claimed the life of Dan Wheldon.

“It was the first time I doubted getting back in a race car,” said de Silvestro, whose hands bear no trace of the burns suffered during the incident in practice for the Indianapolis 500. “I took my courage in my hands and realized that it’s what I wanted to do. It was good to go back home to Switzerland to spend some time with my family after the season, and after a week I was missing racing already.

In the blog: How St. Petersburg got its name

“Last year was just a difficult season for me in general. The season started off great, but I think in every athlete’s career there’s always that one year that is difficult. Things happen that you couldn’t control. Actually, I think it made me stronger and I learned lessons out of it.”

At the HVM Racing shop Dec. 15, de Silvestro was on hand to receive an early Christmas present with delivery of the new Dallara chassis. Five weeks later, she was the first to shake down the Lotus 2.2-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engine prepared by Engine Development Inc.

“It was a great opportunity for me to be part of the engine development,” said de Silvestro, who recorded three top-10 finishes in 2011. “As a driver you can learn so much out of it. I see things a bit differently and I think that will help me in the future.”

This week, she’ll be attempting to better that fourth place on the streets of St. Petersburg and kick-start a season of potential.

“Finishing fourth gives me a little bit of confidence going into this race,” de Silvestro said.

Nine sets of tires for opener

Firestone Racing has provided nine sets of tires (six primary and three alternate) to be used through the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg weekend.

The primary and alternate tires supplied by Firestone for the race are new for 2012 and feature updated tread compounds applied to the same street course tire construction used in 2011.

Of note

Ed Carpenter Racing announced that Hoosier Momma, with a line of Indiana-made premium Bloody Mary mixes, has become of a corporate partner for the Indianapolis-based IZOD IndyCar Series team. The team has primary sponsorship from Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka. … Hustler Casino will be a first-time sponsor of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 13-15. Over the next few weeks, Hustler Casino will be giving its guests and players opportunities to take part in exclusive Grand Prix events such as riding in an official Toyota pace car during race weekend.  Hustler Casino will also have a booth in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Lifestyle Expo, which is free to all race attendees…. Performance Racing Industry, producers of the motorsports business magazine and trade show, finalized plans to be purchased by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA). … The opening sequence of ESPN on ABC’s telecast of the 2011 Indianapolis 500 has been nominated for a Sports Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Winners will be announced April 30.