Mike Conway Wins Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Completes Comeback
Last year after Mike Conway suffered a severe back and leg injury after a crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he was determined to get back in a car. He hooked up with Andretti Autosport and completed the comeback today as he won the race.
Conway took the lead from Ryan Briscoe in turn six of the 1.968-mile, 11 turn Long Beach street circuit, on lap 72 of 85.
“I made the same move on Dario (Franchitti),” Conway said. “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.”
This marked the first victory for Andretti Autosport’s first victory since June at Iowa Speedway.
“His comeback is now complete,” team owner Michael Andretti said. “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.”
Briscoe, who led practice, finished second while reigning series champion Dario Franchitti finished third.
In only his second start, James Hinchcliffe finished fourth while Alex Tagliani finished fifth.
“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.”
Orio Servia manged to finished sixth after avoiding contact on the final restart.
“We had a strong performance the whole weekend and the team keeps moving forward,” Servia said. “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.”
Danica Patrick finished seventh, followed by Tony Kanaan, Victor Meira and Will Power.
Power got caught back in the field after being bumped from behind by teammate Helio Castroneves in turn one on lap 66.
“I’m not really sure what happened on the restart,” Power said. “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.”
Castroneves, meanwhile, finished 12th.
“I’m really not sure what to say,” Castroneves said. “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.”
Last year’s winner Ryan Hunter-Reay finished 23rd after falling off the pace on lap 70 and pitting.
“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.”
Clint Bowyer Says Forget the Racing Because ‘You’re Crazy’ If You Didn’t Like Sunday’s Finish
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[/media-credit]Clint Bowyer was inches away from making it back-to-back victories at Talladega Super Speedway in Sunday’s photo finish. Thanks to the new two-car tangos though, it was Jimmie Johnson pushed by teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the finish line first.
For Bowyer there is no solace in the fact that he was apart of NASCAR history. The finish between Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet and Bowyer’s No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet ties the finish at Darlington in 2003 as the closest in history. Sunday the margin of victory was marked at 0.02 seconds, the closest finish since the sport went to electronic scoring.
“Hell, no, that sucks,” he said laughing. “It’s never very good to know you made NASCAR history by losing. Sooner or later I need to start making history by winning.”
While Bowyer wasn’t happy he didn’t win, he was apart of what helped make those watching walk away from the day a little happier. It’s hard to find anyone who is a fan of the Noah’s Ark racing as it’s been called where drivers pair up in twos. Gone are the days of the big packs and racing three or four wide.
Trying to win at Daytona or Talladega is not in the driver’s hands anymore, they don’t control their own destiny. It’s about finding a partner and sticking with them all day and hoping they don’t mess up and take both cars out. Then at the end, hope you’re being the driver pushed to the finish line.
It’s what occurred throughout Speedweeks at Daytona in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup race. It occurred again this past weekend in both races. In two of the four plate races in the 2011 season, between Nationwide and Cup, the winner was determined by a photo finish. Yesterday’s Nationwide race could have been had the caution not come out on the final lap as Kyle Busch and Joe Nemecheck ran side-by-side coming off turn four.
“Here is the thing,” said Bowyer, “It doesn’t matter what happened throughout that race or what your thought was. If you didn’t like that finish and it didn’t make you forget about the race, you’re crazy.”
He continued, “Something about that, it just makes you forget about it and makes it — if it was a problem, it ain’t a problem anymore. You know, it always seems to fix itself at the end of these restrictor plate races. It doesn’t matter who is up there. You know, whether it’s ten cars or 43 cars left, it’s always a hell of a finish at these plate races, and always comes right down to the wire for whatever reason. You know, that wasn’t a green-and-white checkered; you thought it was going to be. I thought it was going to be, and it never presented it receive. But it was still, you know, an unbelievable finish.”
Jeff Gordon, who finished third, said that when the new car was created and because of how much boxier it is the end result became this new racing. He also said that two-car drafting won’t be going away any time soon and he like Dale Earnhardt Jr. say they aren’t engineers and don’t know what could be done to change it.
“I thought that was pretty fun there at the end, whether I was pushing or being pushed,” Gordon said. “Those last ten, 15 laps are fun from a driver standpoint.”
Coming down to the finish line and determining the winner by a photograph and/or slow motion is the only thing keeping the fans watching. Unfortunately for NASCAR, rumblings have already started from some who say they won’t be renewing their tickets for the next restrictor plate race. Or after attending one race in the weekend didn’t go back for the following day’s event.
Plate racing is not as it once was and believe it or not, they actually now prefer the big pack racing. Two-by two, they say, is just not worth spending the money or the travel time on.
Throughout Sunday’s broadcast it was easy to see and hear their displeasure. Having to sit in front of the TV for three hours and watching two car hookups did not bring out the excited race fan that plate racing normally does. From the TV announcers trying to name the new racing to what some believed was very little excitement; fans weren’t having any of it and are screaming for NASCAR to do something.
Those are the fans that even bothered to continue watching. Others reported they tuned in to the start of the event then went about their business until they end when they came back to see who won. Two-by-two racing isn’t the in thing in 2011. They don’t like, don’t want it and don’t mind saying so.
They aren’t the only ones. Drivers, most notably Dale Earnhardt Jr., have been very vocal about the racing. Early this weekend the five-time Talladega winner said the racing was garbage. During the Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 radio communication between drivers included words like ‘crazy,’ ‘stupid’ and ‘idiotic’ when describing what they were going through.
In the end it was all worth it though, even if the racing wasn’t. The finish was one for the record books, already has everyone talking and gives high hopes for a repeat at Daytona in July. The race also tied the Sprint Cup Series record for number of lead changes with 88, the final lead change coming on the last lap at the finish line.
“Pretty damn good race,” said winner Johnson.
Looking at the Aaron’s 499 through the Rear View Mirror!
Wow!!! What else can anyone truly say? Today’s finish of the Aaron’s 499 from Talladega, ties the closest finish since electronic scoring came to be in 1993. This leaves us with the same “gut feeling” of the 2003 Darlington race, where Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven battled to the line (both races were separated by .002 sec). As Mike Joy said in the Television booth, “what other sport can you say, you can’t tell who won, when you’re only 100 feet away?”
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[/media-credit]More than anything, Hendrick Motorsports needed this performance today. All 4 cars were there as they crossed the line, more so than any other race team. Not to mention, to start the Aaron’s 499, all 4 Hendrick car’s were in the top 4 as well.
What surprised me were the lack of cautions. Granted we did have some today, and 2 that come to mind took out some really good cars, but we didn’t see the “Big One” that we typically see at the Superspeedway tracks.
There wasn’t a single car that totally dominated this week, unlike last weeks shellacking Kenseth put on the field. All this does is add to the excitement of a NASCAR season where in 8 races, we have had 7 different winners. Most of the cars that ran toward the front all day, had great drafting help. I couldn’t help but be reminded of when Kenseth and Ragan hooked up for the first half of the race. They were one of the few pair-ups that seemed to stick toward the front.
Talladega was just one of those places that you really couldn’t pick a single driver to win, being that it is so unpredictable, and everyone has a shot to win. Who would have thought that out of Tommy Baldwin’s Racing team, Dave Blaney would be leading with just under 5 laps to go? Or how about David Gilliland’s P9 finish. This is what makes Talladega so great, it’s not the 2 car drafts we hate so much, but the great runs these drivers have, when they typically wouldn’t have them.
Only one more race before we close out April, and head into “All-Star Month”. There are plenty of great races, with great race cars ahead, and what NASCAR fan couldn’t be more excited about that?
Next Week: Off week for Easter (Nationwide Series at Nashville Saturday)
As we enjoy a week off, let’s get prepared for what is before us: Richmond, Darlington, Dover, All-Star race, and Charlotte to close out May!
Until next time~ “Let’s go racin’ boys!” -DW
