Will Power Overcomes Penalty to win Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
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[/media-credit]Following a Chevrolet mandated engine change, Will Power was going to have to start 12th in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach despite qualifying second on Saturday. Power didn’t let them hold him back as he led the last 15 laps on his way to his second straight win of the season.
“You tell him what he needs to do and he does,” team strategist Tim Cedric says. “This team never quits and this race wasn’t over till it was over.”
Power was able to save fuel from when he pitted with 31 to go to make it to the end of the race.
“After last week, you can never say never, but I thought it’d be very tough to win the race,” Power says. “The end there, I had to save so much fuel to get there but so happy for the Verizon and Chevy guys. We got a penalty and overcome it. I’ve been trying to win here for four years now.”
When Simon Pagenaud headed down pit road with 16 to go, Power would take over the top spot and lead the whole way home for his 17th career win.
“I actually used some fuel to get around some, but Tim was telling me that I had to save some fuel,” Power continues. “So I was trying to save as much fuel as I could while staying in front.”
The win marked the third consecutive win this season for Team Penske as they won St. Petersburg with Helio Castroneves, followed by Barber and now Long Beach by Power. It marks Penske’s fifth win at Long Beach and their first since 2001.
Pagenaud would come second for a career best finish after leading the most laps – 26.
“It was great,” he says. “The car was fanstastic. The guys did such a good job. It’s a one-car team operation and we’re fighting against Penske and (Chip) Ganassi so hats off to the team.”
James Hinchcliffe would round out the podium for his first IZOD IndyCar Series podium finish.
“I feel really bad for Ryan (Hunter-Reay) because he drove a really good race,” Hinchcliffe. “I was following him through a lot of those passes he made, so I hate to have it at the expense to him. great job by the team with all the strategies today.”
Ryan Hunter-Reay crossed the line third, but was given a 30-second penalty for avoidable contact after he spun Takumo Sato on the final lap. Hunter-Reay was credited with a sixth place finish, behind Tony Kanaan and JR Hildebrand.
“I was told he was saving fuel and it looked like he was,” Hunter-Reay explains the incident with Sato. “He braked so early and I went to the inside there, I thought he’d give me a little room and he shut the door. I guess it was my fault. I’ll have to see where the penalty puts us. The team did a great job today. I love racing here. Anytime we don’t win here, we feel disappointed. Lots of side-by-side racing today, fun racing.”
Pole qualifier Ryan Briscoe, who started 11th due to the engine change penalty, finished seventh while Sato was credited with a eighth finish after the spin.
“On the last stint we had to work on the fuel mileage and on the very last lap Ryan Hunter-Reay basically took me out,” Sato says. “There was not enough depth on his overtaking maneuver. He had a chance for the last few corners so it’s very disappointing to finish the race this way.”
While the first two races of the season had run fairly clean, the race at Long Beach saw its fair share of incidents. On lap one, front row starters Dario Franchitti and Josef Newgarden made contact, causing Newgarden to get into the wall. Newgarden was credited with a 26th place finish.
“I saw one replay and I had a feeling that was going happen,” Newgarden says. “I got alongside him, gave him the inside and make slight contact, getting into the wall. It’s one of those tough breaks. Maybe I could’ve acted differently, I’ll review it and learn from it.”
Franchitti came home 15th after complaining the car was lacking horsepower the majority of the race.
On lap 25, the scariest wreck of the day happened when Marco Andretti catapulted over the right rear of Graham Rahal.
“I’m good,” Andretti, who was credited with finishing 25th, says. “I’m sore. I feel for the guys. They put so much into the RC car and I just feel bad. We were about to work on making some ground. There’s a difference between blocking and chopping and that’s chopping. I was lucky I didn’t get upside down; I could’ve been killed.”
Rahal wasn’t penalized by the officials for the incident, but was also out of the race, finishing 24th.
“It’s a cluster back there,” Rahal says. “We were just trying to stay clean and by that time, he’d already hit me. I was just trying to stay underneath (Scott) Dixon and obviously I surprised Marco. He wasn’t going to make the corner no matter what. If he stayed beside me, he was going to overshoot it. It’s just frustrating. The car felt really strong.”
On the same lap, Alex Tagliani suffered a flat tire and finished 21st.
“As soon as it goes green, you can pass,” Tagliani says. “With being back in the pack like that, I passed (EJ) Viso and he pushed me into the wall. It’s hard to get disconnected.”
EJ Viso served a penalty for avoidable contact and finished 12th.
“The main problem occurred when Alex Tagliani made a very dangerous move passing two or three cars heading into the hairpin turn which is a very awkward place to overtake,” Viso says of his day. “I saw what he was doing and moved out of the way, but he was sideways coming out of the hairpin and when I attempted to pass he blocked me and I hit his tire and he spun. Because of the contact I was given a drive through penalty, which I feel was very unfair.”
On the last lap, an incident happened in the final corner involving Castroneves, Oriol Servia and James Jakes.
Power now leads the point standings, 24 points over teammate Castroneves heading into Brazil.
Lap by Lap: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach won by Will Power
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[/media-credit]Will Power came from 12th to 1st and conserved enough fuel in the final 30 laps to score his second consecutive win of the season.
Green Flag
Caution Lap 1 as Josef Newgarden and Dario Franchitti make contact
Restart Lap 4 as Dario Franchitti gets a good jump, but Justin Wilson makes the pass on Franchitti.
Lap 5 Helio Castroneves passes Simona De Silvestro.
Lap 6 Wilson leads Franchitti, Pagenaud, Sato, Dixon, Kimball, Rahal, Hunter-Reay, Conway and Briscoe.
Lap 8 Marco Andretti pits
Lap 12 Tony Kanaan pits
Lap 14 Wilson leads Pagenaud, Sato, Franchitti, Dixon, Kimball, Rahal, Hunter-Reay, Conway and Briscoe. Dixon passes Franchitti for fourth.
Lap 20 Sebastian Bourdais into the tires as there is a full course caution as Justin Wilson pits from the lead. Takumo Sato takes the lead. Pagenaud hits a tire that is inside somebody else’s pit stall so he will have a penalty.
Lap 21 Sato leads Franchitti and Hunter-Reay.
Restart Lap 23 as Franchitti has a terrible start; Sato gets a good jump on the start and holds the lead over Hunter-Reay. Alex Tagliani has a flat tire, going off the run-off area. Marco Andretti gets into the barrier hard, bringing out the caution as Graham Rahal gets some damage. The replay shows Andretti catapulting over the right rear of Rahal. Katherine Legge also gets in the tires. JR Hildebrand pits under the caution.
Lap 25 Mike Conway stalls on the backstretch as Sato leads Hunter-Reay, Briscoe, Franchitti, Hinchcliffe, Castroneves, Wilson, Pagenaud, Kanaan and Kimball. Bourdais returns to the race track after his early trouble.
Lap 27 Dixon has stalled. Sato pitted, handing the lead over to Hunter-Reay.
Lap 28 Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe pit, handing the lead to Briscoe.
Restart Lap 31 Briscoe gets a good start; Briscoe and Franchitti make contact as Briscoe pulls ahead. Franchitti has front wing damage.
Lap 32 Briscoe leads Castroneves, Franchitti, Pagenaud, Kanaan, Wilson, Kimball, Sato, Jakes and Power.
Lap 34 Sato passes Kimball
Lap 35 Briscoe, Franchitti, Castroneves pit to hand the lead over to Pagenaud
Lap 36 Pagenaud leads Kanaan, Wilson, Sato, Jakes, Power, Kimball, Barrichello, Hildebrand, and Hunter-Reay
Lap 38 Viso serves a penalty for avoidable contact after instant with Tagliani.
Lap 40 Pagenaud leads Kanaan, Wilson, Sato, Jakes, Power, Kimball, Barrichello, Hilderbrand, Hunter-Reay
Lap 41 Power passes Jakes fifth
Lap 42 Kanaan pits from second while Pagenaud leads.
38 to go Pagenaud leads Sato, Wilson, Power, Jakes, Kimball, Barrichello, Hildebrand, Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe; Mike Conway has a problem as the car stalls; Simona De Silvestro pits
37 to go Pagenaud pits to hand the lead over to Sato; James Jakes pits
36 to go Power passes Wilson for second as Sato leads
35 to go Sato leads Power, Wilson, Kimball and Barrichello
33 to go Castroneves has damage on the front wing, needing a new one under the pit stop.
32 to go Charlie Kimball pits as Sato continues to lead Power
31 to go Power pits
30 to go Sato leads Hildebrand, Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe, Pagenaud, Kanaan, Power, Wilson, Jakes and Barrichello
29 to go Sato and Hildebrand pit, handing the lead over to Hunter-Reay. Hunter-Reay leads over Hinchcliffe, Pagenaud, Kanaan, Sato, Power, Wilson, Jakes, Barrichello and Hildebrand.
28 to go Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe pit, handing the lead over to Pagenaud.
27 to go Briscoe pits as Pagenaud leads Kanaan, Sato, Power, Wilson, Jakes, Barrichello, Hildebrand, Kimball and Castroneves.
26 to go Power passes Sato for third.
25 to go Viso pits as Jakes passes Wilson
22 to go Pagenaud leads Power, Sato, Jakes, Wilson, Barrichello, Hildebrand, Kimball, Hunter-Reay and Hinchcliffe
16 to go Pagenaud goes down pit road as Power takes the lead.
15 to go Power leads Sato, Barrichello, Pagenaud, Hildebrand, Jakes, Kimball, Hunter-Reay, Wilson and Hinchcliffe
10 to go Power leads Sato, Pagenaud, Barrichello, Hildebrand, Hunter-Reay, Kimball, Wilson, Hinchcliffe and Kanaan. Simona de Silvestro on pit road with more problems.
7 to go Barrichello pits for fuel only out of the fourth position. So now it is Power leading Sato, Pagenaud, Hildebrand, Hunter-Reay, Kimball, Wilson, Hinchcliffe, Kanaan and Barrichello.
6 to go Pagenaud passes Sato for second
5 to go Charlie Kimball comes down the pits as he has issues.
4 to go Wilson dives to pit road
3 to go Power leads Pagenaud, Sato, Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe, Hildebrand, Kanaan, Barrichello, Castroneves and Briscoe. / Kanaan passes Hildebrand for sixth
Last Lap – Sato spins after contact from Hunter-Reay.
Will Power wins over Pagenaud, Hunter-Reay, Hinchcliffe, Kanaan, Hildebrand as a wreck happens in the last lap involving Castroneves, Oriol Servia and James Jakes. Hunter-Reay given a 30 second penalty, therefore resulting in him being moved back to sixth.
Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500
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[/media-credit]Deep in the heart of Texas Motor Speedway, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 16th running of the Samsung Mobile 500.
Surprising: In spite of Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tool Chevrolet, leading over 150 laps, it was surprising that his team owner will have to wait yet another race to secure the 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports.
Johnson, who finished second, was the highest ranking HMS driver for the night. This was Johnson’s 13th top-10 finish in 18 races at Texas and his fifth top-10 finish for the year.
“I’m definitely disappointed, but we had a great race car and there’s a lot to be proud of here today,” Johnson said. “Certainly wish we were there in Victory Lane but everybody knows we’re here.”
“We’re awfully close to it with this KOBALT Tools Chevrolet.”
Although still at the 199 win mark, all of the Hendrick drivers had surprisingly good nights, even Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne, who finished fourth and seventh respectively. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the final HMS pilot, finished tenth.
This was the first time since the 2011 spring race at Talladega that Hendrick Motorsports had all four of its cars in the top-10 at the finish.
Not Surprising: At a track where Roush Fenway Racing traditionally dominates, it was not surprising to see one Roushketeer, Greg Biffle, in the winner’s circle with his cowboy hat and guns. This was Biff’s first win of the 2012 season and ended a 49 race winless streak.
The win was the company’s ninth win at Texas, the most of any other racing entity.
“I just dug deep,” Biffle said about his hard fought win. “I knew I had to do it and I kept trying and trying and trying.”
“I knew the team would forgive me if I wrecked it trying to beat him,” Biffle continued. “So, I just gave it all I had.”
Surprising: It was surprising that the fire was extinguished and there was no smoke at Texas this weekend. Tony Stewart, reigning past champion, finished 24th, two laps down.
“We just couldn’t get the handle on this thing tonight,” Stewart said. “We chased it all night.”
“We’ll go back to the shop, tear it apart, and see what the deal is.”
Surprisingly, his teammate Ryan Newman was right there with him, finishing a bit better at 21st, yet also two laps down.
“Things didn’t go our way today,” the driver of the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet said. “But we’ll be back stronger next week to complete the mission, which is winning the race.”
Not Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr., to no one’s surprise, continued tearing up the track for Michael Waltrip Racing. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota started from the pole position and finished top ten, in sixth place to be exact.
Truex, Jr. has finished top-10 in nine of the last twelve races.
“It was a lot of fun out there running up front with the NAPA Toyota,” Truex, Jr. said. “I can’t say enough about everybody on this NAPA team and everybody at MWR.”
“Hopefully we can keep this thing going.”
His MWR teammate Mark Martin also had a great run at Texas, a track where he was rated 12th in the driver rankings. Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s 2000 Best of the Best Toyota, finished third.
This was Martin’s 13th top-10 finish in 23 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
“Mark Martin is so enthusiastic,” team owner Michael Waltrip said. “He has pumped all of the drivers up.”
“We are very happy with our team’s performance.”
Surprising: It was most surprising that at a race where there are on average eight to nine restarts, there were only two caution flags thrown, one for debris and one for Trevor Bayne’s encounter with the wall.
The yellow flag flew just twice within the first 100 laps of the race, leaving the rest of the race to be run under green flag conditions. This was the first time in history that a superspeedway race had that many green flag laps without a caution.
Not Surprising: Unfortunately but not surprisingly, there was no Bubba Watson moment for Denny Hamlin at Texas, a track at which he traditionally runs well. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota had a decent day, finishing 12th, but was the last car on the lead lap at race end.
Surprising: At a track where he sat out last year’s fall race because of the Truck race incident with Ron Hornaday and where this year he had an issue in the pits with his air hose getting stuck under the car, Kyle Busch had a surprising good day after all.
The driver brought his No. 18 Toyota Interstate Batteries Toyota to the checkered flag in the 11th spot.
Not Surprising: Since Chassis No. 665 scored a good finish for Landon Cassill at Michigan last year, it was not surprising that new driver Kurt Busch gave it a whirl for a good run at Texas. The driver of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet finished 13th.
“It was a good night and finish for us,” Busch said. “We had little struggles but were able to overcome those.”
“This was a good night and a nice top-15 finish for us.”
Surprising: The struggles of the Penske Dodge teams surprisingly continued and both drivers ended up just plain frustrated.
AJ Allmendinger, in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, finished 15th but his teammate Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce, had all kinds of problems that sent him off to the garage, finishing in the frustratingly low position of 36th spot.
“The race tonight was frustrating,” Dinger said. “We had a fast Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and we just didn’t make it happen tonight.”
“This has been a very frustrating weekend to say the least,” Keselowski said. “We just need to clean some things up so that the potential of this team can shine.”
“Right now, we aren’t doing that.”
Not Surprising: As predicted, especially given the wicked weather in the area, the wind most certainly did wreak havoc throughout the race. And while it affected most drivers equally, there were still some drivers that felt the high wind added to the frustrations of their day.
“Between the wind, the changing race track and the handling, it was a long night for the Target team,” Juan Pablo Montoya said. “We didn’t have much of a chance to work on the car like we had hoped to.”
JPM finished 16th in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, one lap down at race end.
