Scott Dixon joins the finite few to claim two wins in the streets of Long Beach.
On April 21st, Indycars went racing for points for the first time in six weeks. The 40th anniversary of IndyCar racing at Long Beach has come and gone. The sun, fun, cars and stars delivered for a weekend of fantastic racing. Despite Felix Rosenqvist and Will Power starting on the front row, the Ice Man takes home his second win at Long Beach. Scott Dixon becomes the first non-American to stand on the top step of the podium in Long Beach since James Hinchcliffe in 2017.
85 Laps of North America’s Longest Running Street Race
Felix Rosenqvist started the lap in pole position, but it didn’t take long for Will Power to overtake and control the pace.
Shortly after Will Power took the lead, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward ran into the back of his teammate, Alexander Rossi. This forced Rossi to retreat to the pits to change to the Primary tyres. Race control deemed O’Ward would be given a drive-thru penalty due to avoidable contact.
Long Beach’s pitlane is extremely long, totalling an additional 40 seconds of lap time. This ultimately led to a disappointing race result for the 5 and 7 cars of the Arrow McLaren team. Despite O’Ward coming off P1 in first practice on Friday, the two veteran drivers are leaving this weekend as one to forget.
The first and only caution of the race was flown on lap 15. Christian Rasmussen of Ed Carpenter Racing found himself in the wall. This led to the only official retirement of the race.
The field is divided into two different strategies. Half of the grid dove into the pits, while the other half stayed out keeping the pace car company.
Christian Lundgaard, driver of the 45 Hyvee Honda for RLL was given an unsafe release penalty after he was questionably released in the pitlane.
Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global’s driver of the 27 AutoNation Honda found himself banging chassis with Lungaard in the pitlane. Unlike O’Ward’s penalty, Lundgaard was forced to fall back five places. This penalty was less severe, but this ultimately led to Lungaard’s disappointing finish at 23.
Scott Dixon Makes It 20 Consecutive Years With At Least One Win
There were two distinct strategies throughout the race. Rosenqvist, Power, Newgarden, Herta, Palou, Kirkwood and Dixon all shared turns leading the grid.
Ultimately, the last 20 laps of the race began with Newgarden hunting down Dixon. Newgarden did not have to save fuel which allowed him to go all out.
Dixon’s ability to lift and cost while still maintaining completive lap times is unmatched.
In addition to catching dirty air, Newgarden became concerned due to the pace of Herta and Palou closing the gap behind the 2 cars.
Lapped traffic provided more breathing room for Dixon. With 9 laps to go, Herta found his front wing in the back of Newgarden’s gearbox.
Herta’s contact with the 2 cars in Turn 11 forced Newgarden to drop down to fourth. The number 2 car went into anti-stall, but INDYCAR did not award Herta with a penalty.
Ultimately, the Ice Man fuel saved his way to the checkered flag. Herta and Palou accompanied the 43-year-old Kiwi on the podium.
A Promising Debut For The Frenchman F2 Champion
Theo Pourchaire was awarded Josten’s Biggest Mover on his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut. The 6 car qualified 22 and finished 11th. Friday’s practice session was the first time Pourchaire sat inside the cockpit of an INDYCAR. Due to Malukas’s wrist healing slower than anticipated and Callum Illot’s commitments in WEC, Pourchaire maximized his first-ever INDYCAR race.
Pourchaire has perhaps set a precedent for any former F2 champions. The ability to drive an Indycar well for the first time, in the streets of Long Beach, speaks volumes. Malukas is still not cleared to drive for Barber this upcoming weekend. The Arrow McLaren team just announced that Pourchaire will have another opportunity to showcase his race craft this upcoming weekend in Alabama.
Continuing The Double Header
The NTT INDYCAR Series packs up the travelling circus and heads to Alabama. The Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsport Park is the last race on the calendar before we jump into May.
Scott McLaughlin is the reigning winner.
McLaughlin faced gearbox issues this weekend, can he convert his 2023 road course win into a two-peat? Honda dominated road and street courses last year 11 wins to Chevrolet’s 1 win.
Tune in to see which manufacturer and driver leads the standings as we approach the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 in almost a month.