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American driver scores victory at legendary Long Beach
With a great car under him and thoughts of his late mother on his mind, Ryan Hunter-Reay joined an illustrious list of winners at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach yesterday under sunny skies with a 5.6-second victory over Justin Wilson.
Hunter-Reay dominated the race from the moment he took the lead on Lap 18 after leader Will Power got stuck in first gear as he was coming out of the hairpin Turn 11. Power’s brief slowdown allowed the American driver to grab the point, which he held the rest of the way save for the pit stop cycles.
The win was a poignant one for Hunter-Reay, who has many connections to the Long Beach street circuit. He grew up watching the event and met his fiancee there several years ago. It was also a favorite track for his mother, who passed away last November.
Her son believed that she was with him on Sunday.
“This race is for her,” said Hunter-Reay, who led 64 of 85 laps en route to his second career IRL victory. “I was in a great zone. It was on the last couple of laps where I said [to myself], ‘Thanks for being with me today, Mom.’
“We were the fastest car out there today. We deserved it. This is like a home race for me.”
Hunter-Reay’s victory also brought his Andretti Autosport team its first win since Tony Kanaan’s triumph at Richmond International Raceway in 2008. A jubilant Michael Andretti told Versus reporter Jack Arute that he was grateful for Hunter-Reay “getting the monkey off our backs.”
“I just love this place,” said the Andretti Autosport owner. “It’s where I got my first win as a driver [in 1986], and now I’ve got my first win as a sole team owner [here].”
Over the last several seasons, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske have surged ahead of his operation, turning the former “Big Three” of the IZOD IndyCar Series into the “Big Two.” But it appears that, at least on the road and street circuits, the Andretti Autosport team is at equal strength with their main rivals once more. Hunter-Reay opened the year with a runner-up effort in Sao Paulo, Brazil, while Marco Andretti dominated much of the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama before late-race fuel trouble knocked him off what appeared to be the winning track.
On Sunday, Kanaan chipped in a season-best fifth-place finish in addition to Hunter-Reay’s win, and the 2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion was thrilled for both his new teammate and his squad’s rising fortunes.
“I am happy for Ryan, and I think he deserves this win,” said Kanaan. “He was quick all weekend…I am happy for the Andretti Autosport team, and I feel like when one teammate wins, it is a victory for all of us. We are on the right track, and I am looking forward to heading into the ovals.”
Hunter-Reay may have had a harder path to Victory Lane if Wilson hadn’t encountered trouble on Lap 53. Prior to that point, Wilson had managed to erase Hunter-Reay’s lead thanks to Dale Coyne Racing driver Alex Lloyd and his lapped car holding the American up for several laps. Lloyd was finally passed by Hunter-Reay and his No. 37 IZOD special, but as Wilson tried to pass Lloyd on the inside of Turn 8, the front wing of his No. 22 Z-Line Designs car made contact with the right rear tire of Lloyd’s No. 19 Boy Scouts of America entry.
The incident left a foul taste in Wilson’s mouth, as he believed that Lloyd had closed the door on him going into Turn 8.
“Alex was a lap down and he nearly took Ryan out a couple of times,” said the Englishman. “Once Ryan got past, it got him off-line and slowed him up. I dove down the inside of Turn 8, and I braked pretty late. I just got the door slammed in my face. Even if you aren’t going to give way to the leaders, you need to leave room at the apex to back out.”
Lloyd, who finished 19th, stood his ground on the subject.
“When Ryan got close enough and got a run, I let him by,” he said. “At the same time, we’re trying to stay on the lead lap. We just can’t make it easy and back out. Ryan had just got by and at the next corner, Justin must have tried to get down the inside and his front wing hit my right rear tire. That’s nowhere near being alongside. I can’t run around the outside because of the marbles. If he had just waited a corner and got a good run, I wouldn’t have challenged it.
“He was just impatient and it ended up hurting both of us.”
Wilson needed to get a new nose cone for his trouble, but despite the problem, Wilson managed to fight back to second after getting by Will Power on Lap 67 and was able to save enough fuel to get to the finish.
As for Power, he managed to extend his lead in the championship over teammate Helio Castroneves to 42 points with his third-place run. It’s his fourth top-five finish in as many starts this season, and it’s set him up nicely for the stretch of four straight ovals that begins on May 1 at Kansas Speedway.
“Once Justin passed me [for second], I tried for a couple of laps, but there was no point in putting the car in the wall,” said Power. “The Verizon Wireless car is still leading in points and the team has a goal of winning the championship, so we are still in line for that.
“…I have no idea why [the shifting problem] happened, and I hope it doesn’t do that again because I slowed down. I was able to get out of it and speed back up, but it hurt my placement. It is great to be on the podium again this weekend, and I am very happy with the car and the team.”
Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing finished fourth, one spot ahead of Kanaan. Mario Moraes had a fantastic drive, jumping nine positions on the tough Long Beach circuit to come home sixth for KV Racing Technology. Following him was Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, Dan Wheldon and Mike Conway.
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All quotes were taken from team and league post-race press releases, and have been properly attributed to their speakers. Video credit: Indy Racing League.
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IZOD IndyCar Series
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Streets of Long Beach, California
Final results
1. 37-Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti, 93.619 m.p.h. avg.
2. 22-Justin Wilson, Dreyer and Reinbold, -5.6031 seconds.
3. 12-Will Power, Penske, -8.5864 seconds.
4. 9-Scott Dixon, Ganassi, -10.6287 seconds.
5. 11-Tony Kanaan, Andretti, -11.7732 seconds.
6. 32-Mario Moraes, KV Racing Tech., -16.5171 seconds.
7. 3-Helio Castroneves, Penske, -16.8928 seconds.
8. 6-Ryan Briscoe, Penske, 85, -18.2214 seconds.
9. 4-Dan Wheldon, Panther, -19.4375 seconds.
10. 24-Mike Conway, Dreyer and Reinbold, -19.9307 seconds.
11. 14-Vitor Meira, Foyt, -27.4005 seconds.
12. 10-Dario Franchitti, Ganassi, -28.1352 seconds.
13. 06-Hideki Mutoh, Newman/Haas/Lanigan, -28.6037 seconds.
14. 26-Marco Andretti, Andretti, -30.0120 seconds.
15. 8-E.J. Viso, KV Racing Tech.,-31.6182 seconds.
16. 7-Danica Patrick, Andretti, -32.1864 seconds.
17. 78-Simona de Silvestro, HVM, -33.1653 seconds.
18. 5-Takuma Sato, KV Racing Tech., -1 lap.
19. 19-Alex Lloyd, Coyne, -1 lap.
20. 2-Raphael Matos, Luczo Dragon + De Ferran, -1 lap.
21. 77-Alex Tagliani, FAZZT, contact – lap 65.
22. 67-Graham Rahal, Fisher, crash – lap 58.
23. 34-Mario Romancini, Conquest, crash – Lap 58.
24. 36- Bertrand Baguette, Conquest, suspension – lap 45.
25. 18-Milka Duno, Coyne, handling – lap 10.
Race statistics
Time of race: 1:47:12.5404
Winner’s average speed: 93.619
Margin of victory: 5.6931 seconds
Cautions: 1 for 5 laps
Lead changes: 5 among 3 drivers
Lap leaders: Will Power 1-16, Ryan Hunter-Reay 17-26, Will Power 27-29, Ryan Hunter-Reay 30-56, Scott Dixon 57-58, Ryan Hunter-Reay 59-85.
Championship standings
Will Power – 172
Helio Castroneves – 130
Ryan Hunter-Reay – 129
Justin Wilson – 125
Scott Dixon/Dario Franchitti – 112
Ryan Briscoe – 103
Tony Kanaan – 94
Raphael Matos – 84
Dan Wheldon – 83
