While the focus was on Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' pair of drivers being on the podium, Team Penske's Helio Castroneves finished in between them on track, crossing the finish line in the second spot. It marks his second straight top-five to start the year after finishing fourth at St. Petersburg two weeks ago.
“In the wet, the car was really good and I was able to move my way up quickly and get a good spot to contend the rest of the day. I had a couple of good restarts, picked off a couple more spots but unfortunately in the end the guys up front got lucky with the yellows and strategy. We played it right but unfortunately it just didn’t stay green. There was nothing we could do about that."
It seemed fitting that a race featuring caution after caution would end with a caution, but the final caution that ended the race featured the biggest wreck of the race. It also left Ryan Hunter-Reay and Simon Pagenaud in a disagreement.
Knowing that cautions were running rapid due to wet conditions and the race was coming within the time distance allowed, James Hinchcliffe and his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team played strategy on Sunday afternoon at NOLA Motorsports Park. That strategy would pay off as Hinchcliffe took the victory in the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana.
Faced with starting deep in the field for the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana after spinning out early during a wet Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying session, points leader Juan Pablo Montoya benefitted from a rainout that promoted him to the front of the grid.
With lightning and rain in the area, Verizon IndyCar Series officials were forced to cancel qualifying for the Grand Prix of Louisiana. As a result, the field was set by entrant points.
In the third and final practice before the Grand Prix of Louisiana, it'd be Scott Dixon topping the charts in his Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon would lap the 2.74-mile, 13-turn road course in one minute and 18.5538 seconds.
In an abbreviated session due to rain, it'd be Will Power topping the speed chart in the second practice for the Grand Prix of Lousiana. Power, who led both practices at St. Petersburg before finishing second, topped the charts with a lap of one minute and 20.1704 seconds.
On Friday, April 10, NOLA Motorsports Park unveiled the trophies that will be given to the top three finishes in the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana this weekend.
Following the Team Penske dominance at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, many people predicted that we'd see more of the same this weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park. However, so far it looks as though Chip Ganassi Racing has the upper-hand.
