Following an opening lap crash at Turn 4 that ended Charlie Kimball’s day and doomed Will Power’s chances, a long green-flag run broke out that saw differing strategies on the streets of Long Beach. Scott Dixon led the first 15 laps before pitting for his first of three stops, while Hunter-Reay stayed out and led until his first stop on lap 29.
The second cycle of stops saw lap 56 become the turning point, as Hinchcliffe stayed out one lap longer than Hunter-Reay and Rossi and cycled in front of them on the track, assuming the lead when Dixon and Josef Newgarden pitted on lap 62 and never giving it up again.
Hunter-Reay sat second to the Canadian for much of the closing stages, but lamented the issues that cost him a shot at the win and left him with a DNF.
“It’s the same (answer) as what happened at Pocono (last year), I have no idea,” said Hunter-Reay, who was scored 17th. “It’s really unfortunate. It’s gut-wrenching.”
“It took a while for my primary tires to come in on that (lap 70) restart. I was sliding around and James took off on the reds (alternate compound), but once my tires came up to temperature I started logging some good laps and catching James. It was going to be a good little fight at the end, and then that happened. It’s just like, ‘What do we have to do to get it right?’ Just so frustrating.”
Bourdais came home as the runner-up in the end and extended his championship lead to 19 points over Hinchcliffe, who moved to second in the standings after his win.
The Frenchman and four-time champion boasts a 1.5 average finish to start the season, marking his best start since 2006 and extending Dale Coyne Racing’s impressive early form.
“That was an incredible race,” Bourdais said. “At the beginning, someone lost an end plate or something … and I had to (duck) to avoid it, but it took off the whole left side of the rear wing. We came in and changed that, and then we played to our strengths. I’ve always been really comfortable saving fuel … and this finish came to us today.”
“We lost balance a little bit (late in the race) … so I was really just trying to hang on to second place,” he added. “James really deserved that one. He looked quick and comfortable … and I just didn’t really have the balance to be able to challenge him, so I just tried to manage the second-place (position).”
Newgarden finished third and notched his first podium for Team Penske, followed by Dixon and defending champion Simon Pagenaud, who started last after being penalized for qualifying interference on Saturday.
Polesitter Helio Castroneves never led in Sunday’s race, stumbling on the initial start and falling to sixth before the end of the first lap. He ultimately ended the day with a ninth-place finish.
The Verizon IndyCar Series resumes on April 23 at Barber Motorsports Park, with the running of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
Full race results can be viewed on the next page…
