LONG BEACH, CCA (via IndyCar.com) — Mike Conway had led one IZOD IndyCar Series race prior to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach — the 2010 Indianapolis 500 — and we all know how that turned out.
On the treacherous 1.968-mile, 11-turn Long Beach street circuit, Conway overtook Ryan Briscoe in Turn 6 of Lap 72 of 85 and went on to lead to the checkered flag for Andretti Autosport’s first victory since June at Iowa Speedway.
It’s been a long and arduous road for the 27-year-old Brit since May when he suffered severe back and leg injuries in a one-car crash late at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Unbowed, he “was determined to get back in the car” and hooked up with Andretti Autosport as the fourth driver, replacing the departed Tony Kanaan.
“His comeback is now complete,” said team owner Michael Andretti, whose first and final Indy car victories came at Long Beach. “The first time we put him in a race car, I could tell he had potential. I’m just so happy he was able to (win) this early and win one of the greatest races here in Long Beach. I’m just so proud of him and the whole Window World Cares team.”
Conway, starting a season-high third, was as far back as 11th on a Lap 66 double-wide restart, but with three cars losing track position because of a Turn 1 clog, he was able to get into position to challenge Briscoe and teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay. That came following a Lap 70 restart, when Hunter-Reay’s car slowed (gear selector issue), and Conway trailed Briscoe by 0.7798 of a second.
Both drivers running on the Firestone alternate tires, Conway sized up the No. 6 Penske Truck Rental car on the short straight between Turns 5 and 6.
“I made the same move on Dario (Franchitti),” said Conway, whose previous best in 26 IZOD IndyCar Series races was third at Infineon Raceway in ’09. “It was like they were struggling to get temperature in the tires. My car was good to go. I just took my time and picked my point, and was able to pull away.
“As soon as I got in the lead, I was thinking of winning already. But I knew I had to forget about it and get with the job at hand. The car was great. I could push all the time and control the gap. I made a mistake on a pit stop when I locked up. I thought our day might be done, but we had to hang in there and push all the way. On the restarts the car was awesome and it just came to life.”
Briscoe, who was quickest in practice sessions preceding qualifications in the No. 6 Penske Truck Rental car but started 12th, posted a season-high runner-up finish. He was the last first-time winner in the series (Milwaukee 2008).
“To get this result means a lot more than just points,” he said. “I think it’s just going to strengthen us as a team moving forward.”
Five different teams were represented in the top five.
Franchitti, the reigning series champion, finished third to move back into the points lead. James Hinchcliffe, competing in his second IZOD IndyCar Series race, was fourth, and Alex Tagliani gave Sam Schmidt Motorsports, which won the Firestone Indy Lights race earlier in the day with Connor Daly, fifth place.
“The guys did such a good job getting the back-up car going this afternoon,” said Hinchcliffe, the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights championship runner-up. “We were able to save fuel when we needed to, push when we needed to.”
Hinchcliffe’s Newman/Haas Racing teammate, Oriol Servia, posted his second consecutive top 10, while Danica Patrick advanced 13 positions to finish seventh in the No. 7 Team GoDaddy car. Tony Kanaan was eighth in the No. 82 GEICO-KV Racing Technology-Lotus entry, and Vitor Meira recorded his second top 10 of the season in the No. 14 ABC Supply car for A.J. Foyt Racing.
Servia narrowly avoided contact on the final restart but lost three positions. He recovered two by Lap 71.
“We had a strong performance the whole weekend and the team keeps moving forward,” said Servia, driver of the No. 2 Telemundo car. “But I do have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth because this was probably the best race car I have ever had in a race and a podium was within reach.
“I had to do a little bit of a circus maneuver to get back on track and that obviously cost us the podium there but we finished sixth and it could have been a lot worse.”
It was for pole sitter Will Power. He was running third to Briscoe and Hunter-Reay but was bumped from behind by Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves, who locked up the brakes of the No. 3 car entering Turn 1 of a Lap 66 double-wide restart.
Power recovered to finish 10th in the No. 12 Verizon car but lost the championship points lead to Franchitti (minue-7). Castroneves also continued and finished 12th.
“I’m not really sure what happened on the restart,” said Power, who led all 90 laps in winning at Barber Motorsports Park a week earlier and led 29 laps here. “I got hit from behind by Helio but sometimes that’s what happens in racing – especially close racing like this with the double-file restarts. It wasn’t a great day for points, but Verizon Team Penske will keep working hard and move forward.”
Added Castroneves: “I’m really not sure what to say. I feel terrible for Will. I wasn’t even trying to pass, but we just made contact. Will is my teammate, and of course you just can’t take each other out. It’s just very unfortunate and I have to say I’m sorry to the team.”
Scott Dixon’s No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, running sixth, sustained right-front wheel damage on that restart and finished 18th.
Hunter-Reay, the 2010 race winner who started on the front row in the No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda car, fell off the pace on Lap 70 and pitted. He finished 23rd.
“Basically, we couldn’t shift,” Hunter-Reay said. “It’s frustrating because the DHL/Sun Drop car was running strong and challenging for the lead. I really think we could have gotten Briscoe once his tires started falling off. I was hoping for a second win here.”