Today’s IndyCar Series and Mazda Road to Indy headlines:
1. Conway choice pays dividends early for Carpenter team
2. Inside the box score – Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
3. Texas test up next for drivers, teams
1. Conway choice pays dividends early for Carpenter team: Mike Conway is a part-time Verizon IndyCar Series driver with a full-time schedule of racing and though he’d like nothing more than to bask in glow of a victory in the 40th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with Ed Carpenter Racing this week, he’s off for more racing.
The 30-year-old Brit will head to Silverstone in England to compete in one of his other part-time gigs — A six-hour sports car race for Millennium Racing this weekend — before jetting back to the States for the April 25-27 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
The cross-continent, multi-series schedule was Conway’s choice because he enjoys nothing more than the pursuit of victory no matter the series or racetrack. After leaving A.J. Foyt Racing with one race remaining in the 2012 season – by his choice – Conway coaxed five top-10 finishes, including a victory and third place at Detroit, out of seven starts in 2013 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Dale Coyne Racing.
Carpenter, the sole Verizon IndyCar Series team owner/driver, stepped up to hire Conway for this season as he stepped out of the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka car for his own part-time schedule of ovals and to concentrate on solidifying the business side of the 3-year-old team.
Conway placed 16th in the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., and starting 17th for the 80-lap race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn Long Beach street course didn’t do much to raise his confidence. But as he’s experienced through his career that began in British Formula Ford, if you’re not challenging you’re not really driving.
Conway inherited the lead when reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon had to pit for a splash of fuel on Lap 78, and he held off Will Power and rookie Carlos Munoz to win by less than a second.
“It says a lot for the ECR crew that I was able to win in my second race with them,” Conway said. “Of course, I just love this circuit as well as the overall event. It’s a classic and I just can’t believe I have now won it twice in the last four years. We did get some breaks in the race as a driver usually does when he wins.”
Conway’s charge to the front late in the race was similar to his 2011 Long Beach performance as he took advantage of others’ mistakes and misfortune along with displaying solid race craft.
“When I won in 2011, I had to come back from 20th in the middle of the race to get up to the leaders,” he said. “So I knew that starting 17th it was possible to challenge to get up front. But we had a game plan with our Firestone tires to use the black tires (primary and hard) first and then follow up with two sets of red (softer) sticker tires during our pit stops. The car felt good with the red tires for our final two stints.”
Carpenter, who will test in the No. 20 Chevrolet-powered car this week at Texas Motor Speedway before beginning practice May 11 for the Indianapolis 500, sees the race as a statement for the remainder of the 18-race season. Also, the victory came 35 years to the weekend that Fuzzy Zoeller (founder of primary sponsor Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka) won the Masters.
“I have never won a race this early in the season,” said Carpenter, who gave the team its first victory in the 2012 season finale at Auto Club Speedway about 50 miles northeast of Long Beach. “So this is very exciting to show that our decision paid off pretty quickly.
“We have made some solid gains with Mike already and this victory will give the team more confidence to cement our beliefs that we can we can win additional races.”
Conway will do his part to help claim the entrant championship.
“I’ve got to say a big thanks to Ed for making it happen, and all the guys at Fuzzy’s Racing to put me in this position,” he said. “I think it’s a great combination. It’s great to repay them this soon with a win. I think Ed’s going to be awesome on the ovals, so it’s great to be part of it.”
2. Inside the box score – Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach: Numbers to note following the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach — the second round of the 2014 Verizon Indy Car Series season.
2 – Wins at Long Beach by Mike Conway. He became the sixth driver to win at Long Beach more than once, joining Mario Andretti, Al Unser Jr., Paul Tracy, Alex Zanardi and Sebastien Bourdais.
3 – Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates in the top 10. Carlos Munoz finished third, Mikhail Aleshin finished sixth and Carlos Huertas finished 10th.
5 – Consecutive Long Beach races led by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who led the most laps in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
6 – Lead changes in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The previous five races averaged 5.5 lead changes.
9.64 – Average running position of winner Mike Conway for the 80 laps of racing at Long Beach.
12 – Consecutive Indy car seasons that Scott Dixon has led an Indy car series race.
16 – Positions improved by Mike Conway (17th to first), most of any driver in the race.
27 – Laps in which Graham Rahal improved his position – most of any driver in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
105 – The lead Chevrolet earned in the Manufacturers’ Championship standings by placing three cars in the top-five at Long Beach. Chevrolet leads Honda 247-142.
3. Texas test up next for drivers, teams: As a rookie in the Verizon IndyCar Series, Jack Hawksworth knows that he has to learn a lot on the fly.
The 23-year-old Englishman will get his newest lessons when he joins several of the series’ cars and teams visit Texas Motor Speedway on April 16-17. Nineteen car/driver combinations representing every team on the grid are expected to participate in the test, which will help set the aerodynamic options available to teams during the Firestone 600 in June.
But Hawksworth, whose superspeedway experience consists of races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Auto Club Speedway in Indy Lights, will be learning the 1.5-mile d-shaped oval’s layout in his first oval experience in an Indy car.
“I am looking forward to the test at Texas to see what one of these things is like on an oval,” he said. “I’ve never been to Texas before, so it will be interesting to see the layout. It looks unique for an oval, especially the ones I’ve been on.”
Fellow rookies Carlos Munoz and Mikhail Aleshin will also get their first laps at Texas Motor Speedway in the test, but will be joined by experienced teammates to compare notes with. Hawksworth has to go it alone, relaying on the experience of team co-owner Bryan Herta, but says that suits his style.
“There’s a really good bunch of guys on the team,” he said. “Bryan (Herta) has a bunch of experience as a driver, and he’s available to give me advice about all kinds of circuits. The engineers and everybody is really helpful in getting me up to speed and help me as much as they can. The other part is just me getting on with it myself.
“To be honest, it is a little bit of an unknown for me. I’ve watched a bit of video and seen where the line is. Once I get out there, just build up to it and get a feel for what the car does. Hopefully I can get down to it pretty quick.”
***
The next Verizon IndyCar Series race is the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 27 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. The race will be televised live by NBCSN at 2:30 p.m. (ET) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including Sirius and XM Channels 211 and the INDYCAR 14 app for most smartphones and tablets.
