LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Seventy-six of the 80 laps of the 41st Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach were run under green. The lone yellow flag flew for debris early in the race.
"Everybody did a hell of a job. Who is benefiting from it is the fans. We want the fans to be happy and hopefully they liked this one," said Tony Kanaan, head of the drivers' association that interacts with INDYCAR to address short- and long-term issues and improve safety and the racing.
There were five cautions for 22 laps in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on a 1.8-mile street circuit in the debut of the aerodynamic bodywork packages supplied by Chevrolet and Honda. Components were fortified for the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana on the 2.74-mile NOLA Motorsports Park, though there six cautions for 26 laps on the rain-soaked road course.
Additional stabilization of the Honda rear-wing component and the Chevrolet winglets on the front-wing assembly were mandated by INDYCAR for the race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn Long Beach street course. Race Control called for the yellow flag on Lap 5 to retrieve the left-front wing endplate from the No. 98 Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian car because of contact in Turn 9.
"It's amazing what happens when guys maybe up their game or pay attention," race winner Scott Dixon said. "Obviously, the conditions were pretty difficult at NOLA. St. Pete was first race of the year, people were trying to make big moves, and I think in the past we've had some really robust cars. So I think Honda and Chevy have done a good job with trying to make the aero kids a little stronger, but in hindsight we shouldn't be hitting each other.
"I heard there was some good racing action going on, a little bit back there. But to have one caution at Long Beach, you know, is pretty good."
The Long Beach race has run caution-free on three occasions, the last time in 1989.
Fernandez: 'IndyCar ... it's in my blood'
Eleven-time Indy car race winner and former team owner Adrian Fernandez was catching up with longtime friends in the paddock over the weekend.
“It’s always fantastic to come here and see everybody,” said Fernandez, who was promoting Mexican beer Tecate at the event.
Fernandez made his open-wheel racing debut on the Long Beach circuit in 1993. In 11 appearances, he had a best finish of second in the 2003 Indy car race. Fernandez also co-drove with Luiz Diaz to victory in the LMP2 class in the American Le Mans Series race in 2009. He was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame in 2013.
“The competition in IndyCar is great and I think it’s one of the key things to win the fans,” he said. “I wish the best for IndyCar; it’s in my blood.”
HPD plans to support 17 entries for Indy 500
Honda Performance Development COO and vice president Steve Eriksen said the Santa Clarita, Calif.-based company plans to supply engines to support 17 entries for the 99th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 24.
“Our plan from the very beginning has always been for 17 cars at Indy,” he said. “We always planned to support more than half the field. At 17 cars, that’s a good number for us from a resource standpoint. Based on what I’m hearing from each of our teams, I fully expect we’ll be at 17 cars for the Month of May.
“I’ve also heard Chevy’s at 17. So, if that’s true, that gives us at least one car for Bump Day.”
A May 3 Promoter Test with the new speedway aerodynamic packages supplied by Honda and Chevrolet will be conducted on the 2.5-mile oval.
Of note
Acclaimed stage and screen actor Sir Patrick Stewart was the grand marshal and gave the command to start engines. The question in the media center was why didn't Capt. Picard say, "Gentlemen, engage your engines." ... Jack Hawksworth, driver of the No. 41 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda, led four laps. He's led laps in two of the three races. ... Helio Castroneves is the only driver to lead laps in all three races. ... Scott Dixon is the third winner in as many races. There were an Indy car record-tying 11 different winners in 18 races in 2014.
'Today' broadcast live from the track
NBC’s “Today” was telecast live on race day from the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing workspace in the paddock.
Correspondent Kerry Sanders took a ride in an Indy Racing Experience two-seat race car driven by Mario Andretti and chatted with actor Alfonso Ribeiro, winner of the Grand Prix’s charity celebrity race and a longtime IndyCar fan.
“We have been here experiencing the IndyCar experience probably better than most people could,” said Brian Cohen, NBC Sports and Today producer. “What we tried to do is give the viewers a personal view of what it is like at IndyCar because a lot of (them) obviously won’t make it down here.”