Mike Conway surpises with IndyCar win at Long Beach

LONG BEACH, CA - Long Beach could have a new king.

Mike Conway won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for the second time in four years, becoming the unexpected winner of the 40th annual race.

Ryan Hunter-Reay dominated most of the race, but he triggered a seven-car accident 24 laps from the finish when he tried to overtake Josef Newgarden. The incident eliminated both Hunter-Reay and Andretti Autosport driver James Hinchcliffe - who were running 1-2 - as well as Newgarden, rookie Jack Hawksworth and Tony Kanaan.

The accident opened the door for Scott Dixon to win at Long Beach for the first time. But he was short on fuel by roughly half a lap and stopped for a splash of E85 with two laps to go. That gave Conway the lead, and the British driver cruised to his third career victory.

"I can't believe it. I can't believe I'm actually here (in victory lane)," Conway said. "Just an awesome job by the team. I can't believe it. Two times a Long Beach winner. It's unbelievable. It's good to be back here. My face is somewhere over there. Now there will be two of them."

Will Power finished less than a second behind Conway with rookie Carlos Munoz third and Juan Pablo Montoya fourth. Simon Pagenaud finished fifth after rebounding from an early race spin after contact by Power.

Power has a sizable points lead (93-66 over Conway) heading to the April 27 race at Barber Motorsports Park, where he has won twice and started on the pole twice. Hunter-Reay is the defending race winner.

Verizon IndyCar Series
Streets of Long Beach - Long Beach, CA
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach - April 13, 2014

1. (17) Mike Conway, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
2. (14) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
3. (11) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
4. (16) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
5. (6) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
6. (20) Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
7. (12) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
8. (8) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
9. (22) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
10. (21) Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
11. (9) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
12. (7) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
13. (23) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 79, Running
14. (3) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 77, Running
15. (5) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 77, Running
16. (10) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 64, Contact
17. (18) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 60, Running
18. (13) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 55, Contact
19. (4) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 55, Contact
20. (1) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 55, Contact
21. (2) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 55, Contact
22. (15) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 55, Contact
23. (19) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 41, Off Course

Race Statistics

Winners average speed: 82.362

Time of Race: 01:54:41.6418

Margin of victory: 0.9005 of a second

Cautions: 4 for 18 laps

Lead changes: 6 among 5 drivers

Lap Leaders: Hunter-Reay 1-26, Dixon 27-28, Hunter-Reay 29-53, Newgarden 54, Saavedra 55-57, Dixon 58-77, Conway 78-80.

Point Standings: Power 93, Conway 66, Pagenaud 60, Castroneves 55, Hunter-Reay 53, Dixon 51, Munoz 48, Montoya 47, Aleshin 46, Saavedra 42.