The 41st running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach ran under sunny skies and with just one caution!
Helio Castroneves, starting from the pole, led most of the first half of the race, but Scott Dixon led the most important one. The final lap. This was Scott Dixon's first win at Long Beach, and before this his average finish there was 15th!
The top 10 Finishers
1. Scott Dixon. His 36th career Indycar win vaulted him to 4th in the season points.
2. Helio Castroneves. Pole sitter for the 42nd time in his career.
3. Juan Montoya. Finished third to maintain his season points lead over teammate Helio.
4. Simon Pagenaud. His second Top 5 this season.
5. Tony Kanaan. Another strong run keeps him 3rd in points.
6. Sebastien Bourdais. Led a lap.
7. Josef Newgarden. Ran 5th much of the day but dropped a few spots pitting.
8. Marco Andretti. A second Top 10 this season, but would love to see him win here where his dad and granddad had such success.
9. Carlos Munoz. Had a solid run for his first Top 10 of the season.
10. Sebastian Saavedra. A great run in Ganassi's #8 car especially considering he hadn't been in a car in 9 months.
Top Ten included..
* Drivers from 6 different teams
* Drivers from 5 different countries
* 7 Chevys, 3 Honda
* Both of the CFHR drivers
* Three Penske Drivers
* Three Ganassi Drivers
Can't wait till the Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, April 26th on NBCSN.
The inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana had Indycars thundering through the swamps of Louisiana. (Literally)
Qualifying got cancelled because of lightning, so the starting positions were determined by entry points, giving Juan Montoya the pole.
The race was timed because of an impending rainstorm, and James Hinchcliffe was able to take home his first win since 2013. He won on only one pit stop!
The top 10 Finishers
1. James Hinchcliffe. His first win since joining Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in 2015.
2. Helio Castroneves. His second top 4 in the 2 races this season.
3. James Jakes. Finished a strong 3rd after returning to Indycar after a year off. It was the second podium of his career.
4. Simona De Silvestro. Another driver returning to the series after a year hiatus. Is currently 6th in the Indycar season standings.
5. Juan Montoya. Led the most laps of the race.
6. Tony Kanaan. Passed by Simona in one of the few green flag laps in the second half of the race to drop out of the top five.
7. Will Power. Fuel strategy left him in 7th.
8. Graham Rahal. Another strong run.
9. Josef Newgarden. A solid top ten finish leading into one of his strongest tracks at Long Beach.
10. Luca Fillipi. Two top ten finishes to start his first full Indycar season.
Top Ten included..
* Drivers from 6 different teams
* Drivers from 8 different countries
* 6 Chevys, 4 Honda
* Both of the CFHR drivers
* Both SMP drivers
* No rookies
Robin Miller's interview with a very happy winner, James Hinchliffe.
Can't wait till the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday, April 19th on NBCSN.
With the new aero kits for Honda and Chevy, the race was packed with action! (and a lot of debris cautions thanks to an overabundance of wings)
After one very long off season in Indycar, we finally got to see Indycars back on track. The favorite to win was, of course, one of the four Penske drivers. Many thought Power would continue his winning streak after winning the 2014 championship, but it was Penske's second year driver Juan Montoya who took home his first Indycar road course win since he returned to Indycars last year.
