LONG BEACH, Calif. - Scott Dixon, who entered the weekend with just one top-five finish in eight Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach starts, won the 41st edition of the historic street race by 2.2221 seconds over polesitter Helio Castroneves.
Dixon’s victory was his 36th overall, breaking a tie with Bobby Unser for fifth on the all-time Indy car list. Al Unser is fourth with 39 victories. It was the 98th Indy car victory for team owner Chip Ganassi.
When Dixon beat Castroneves off pit lane on the first service stop on lap 29 to take the lead, he wasn’t to be denied in a race that had only one caution flag during its 80 laps.
During the crucial pit stop, Castroneves was held in his pit box by chief mechanic Travis Law to avoid contact with the incoming No. 10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet driven by Tony Kanaan. The extra second was critical. And though the crew of the No. 3 Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet had a blazing second and final stop on lap 55, Dixon was six-tenths of a second ahead of Castroneves on his out lap entering turn 1.
“This is huge,” Dixon said. “I love the event, but as far as coming here and doing well it hadn’t been on that list. That pit stop exchange definitely helped us get to the lead but the car was fast and all we had to do was maintain that lead.”
Castroneves forged his second consecutive runner-up finish and 37th of his career to tie Bobby Rahal for second on the all-time list (Mario Andretti with 56 is first). He closed to three points of Team Penske teammate and championship front-runner Juan Pablo Montoya as the Verizon IndyCar Series heads to Barber Motorsports Park for the April 26 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
Montoya, who won in season opener at St. Petersburg, placed third in the No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Simon Pagenaud finished fourth in the No. 22 Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet and Kanaan also earned his second top-five finish of the young season.
Dixon also tied Bobby Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi and Castroneves atop the all-time list with an Indy car victory in 11 consecutive seasons, and he has 13 seasons with at least one victory. A.J. Foyt with 18 is the leader and Mario Andretti with 16 is second.
“Long Beach is never an easy place to win and Scott Dixon did a great job today and so did his pit crew to get him out front,” said Unser, who four days earlier was honored in Long Beach by the Road Racing Drivers Club. “Racing is a team effort and both Scott and his crew earned the win, my congratulations to them.”
Verizon IndyCar Series
Streets of Long Beach – Long Beach, CA
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach – April 19, 2015
1. (3) Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, 80, Running
2. (1) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 80, Running
3. (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 80, Running
4. (5) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 80, Running
5. (7) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 80, Running
6. (9) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 80, Running
7. (6) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 80, Running
8. (10) Marco Andretti, Honda, 80, Running
9. (12) Carlos Munoz, Honda, 80, Running
10. (11) Sebastian Saavedra, Chevrolet, 80, Running
11. (8) Graham Rahal, Honda, 80, Running
12. (13) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 80, Running
13. (4) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 80, Running
14. (16) Jack Hawksworth, Honda, 80, Running
15. (15) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 80, Running
16. (17) Gabby Chaves, Honda, 80, Running
17. (21) Conor Daly, Honda, 80, Running
18. (20) Takuma Sato, Honda, 80, Running
19. (19) James Jakes, Honda, 80, Running
20. (18) Will Power, Chevrolet, 79, Running
21. (22) Francesco Dracone, Honda, 78, Running
22. (14) Luca Filippi, Chevrolet, 77, Running
23. (23) Stefano Coletti, Chevrolet, 69, Running
Winners average speed: 96.800 mph
Time of Race: 1:37:35.2353
Margin of victory: 2.2221 seconds
Cautions: 1 for 4 laps
Lead changes: 5 among 4 drivers
Lap Leaders: Castroneves 1 – 29, Hawksworth 30 – 33, Dixon 34 – 53, Castroneves 54 -55, Bourdais 56, Dixon 57 – 80
Point Standings: Montoya 119, Castroneves 116, Kanaan 93, Dixon 87, Hinchcliffe 83, Power 80, Pagenaud 73, Newgarden 66, Bourdais 66, Rahal 62.
