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After taking the lead on the first round of pit stops, Scott Dixon didn’t look back as he led the rest of the way, scoring the victory in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. It marks the first victory of the season for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver.

“I like coming here, I love the event,” he said. “But as far as an event and coming and doing well and looking forward to it, it was never really on that list. To finally conquer it- a lot of credit goes to a lot of people. That pit stop exchange there definitely helped us get to the lead, but the car was fast and we needed to maintain it. All in all, this is huge. Long Beach, I finally get to crack this one and I’m really happy.

“Firestone did a fantastic job. We even started on used (alternate) reds for the opening stint and were able to maintain pace. They are always good and we were able to maintain and look after them. For this weekend, our car was just dynamite on the (primary) blacks.”

Pole sitter Helio Castroneves led the opening laps and ran second for the second half of the event, never able to close the gap on Dixon.

“It was actually nice, the weather,” he commented. “Obviously Southern California is nice. Certainly the track was constantly changing. Every time it gets new tires, reds versus blacks and things like that, it’s about two hours of racing and the track changed quite a lot. For us, we kept constantly changing a little but of the driving style because one lap is good and another was different. The Firestone tires were actually holding pretty good for me. My AAA car was awesome and we were pretty good all the way.”

Castroneves’ loss of time in the pits was due to having to wait for Tony Kanaan to get into his stall, out of the way.

“The guys did a great job in the pits and especially the incident between me and Ganassi,” Castroneves said. “It was just perfect. It was better to be safe than sorry, but it was a great job overall for Team Penske. At the end of the day, second place is not bad.”

Points leader Juan Pablo Montoya ran up front throughout the race, finishing third after holding off a late charge from teammate Simon Pagenaud.

“He had a little less rear wing,” Montoya stated of Pagenaud. “To be honest with you, I was surprised my tires were going off and not his. But mine went off and I saw him coming so I just had to not make a mistake, make sure I came out of the last corner (well). He was a little quicker down the straight so just pay attention how close he was and use the button, stuff like that. He was never really that close. He got close, maybe his nose to my rear tires, but that was about it. He never got next to me or anything.”

Tony Kanaan finished fifth, followed by Sebastien Bourdais, Josef Newgarden, Marco Andretti, Carlos Munoz and Sebastian Saavedra.

Following a poor qualifying effort, defending series champion Will Power was not a threat all day after going down a lap when he stalled coming on to pit road at lap seven under caution. Power stalled when he slowed behind Lupe Filippi, who also stalled.

“I feel bad for the Verizon Chevy Team,” he stated. “They worked so hard and me finishing P20 was a result of a bad day in qualifying. I didn’t get it done and it was snowball effect from there. Today I made mistakes and I stalled the car on pit road during the first pit stop.  Was hoping for a top ten finish but it didn’t happen.  It makes me more motivated to make up for it the next couple races.”

Team Penske would continue their dominance in Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying for the Grand Prix of Long Beach with Helio Castroneves topping the charts to score the Verizon P1 Award. It marks the 42nd career pole for the driver who is coming off a solid runner-up finish at NOLA Motorsports Park.

“The team worked really hard because we changed everything in the car last night, so congratulations to them,” he said. “It was not pretty last night, but it proved that we were able to keep pushing. When you get the pole position with the teammates I have, it’s actually pretty cool. The car is awesome so we have to keep pushing.”

Castroneves will be joined at the front of the field by his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who has started off the year with a pair of top-five finishes, highlighted by a win on the streets of St. Petersburg.

“Yesterday in the first practice we were really good,” Montoya commented. “We went one direction for the second practice and went slower, tried something this morning and went even slower, so I was like, ‘Oh, let’s put it back.’ We spent two days trying to figure it out and then just put it back the way we started and things were good. Welcome to motor racing. I really thought I had it (pole) there, but I made a mistake in the last corner, but it is what it is.”

Scott Dixon continued the trend of Chip Ganassi Racing being fast by qualifying third.

“The Target car actually rolled off really well here – better than we normally do,” he said. “We came into this weekend with a different mindset and I’m really proud of everyone on the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team for getting it going. We seemed to do really good on the black tires. We were hoping for bigger improvements and more of a time difference with the reds from the blacks, but we just didn’t find it. We were still quick enough, but hopefully we can find that time tomorrow during the race. Long Beach is always a tough one and strategy is definitely going to be top-of-mind.”

Chevrolet has dominated so far this season in speed, but Honda has continued to get stronger with their new aerodynamic kits. That was shown by Ryan Hunter-Reay in qualifying as he will start fourth on Sunday. Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud rounded out the top-five.

Josef Newgarden will start sixth, followed by Tony Kanaan. Kanaan set a new track record in the first round of qualifying, recording a lap of 1 minute, 06.7442 seconds on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit.

“It’s frustrating that we didn’t make it into the Firestone Fast 6, especially after the lap times we were running in that first round,” Kanaan reflected. “We made a change between Q1 and Q2 and that, unfortunately, cost us a few tenths in the NTT DATA Chevrolet. We were less than one-tenth from sixth, so it was definitely tight. That’s what I love about INDYCAR though- the competition is so strong and I think tomorrow’s race will definitely be exciting.”

Graham Rahal will start eighth, followed by Sebastien Bourdais and Marco Andretti. Sebastian Saavedra will start 11th in his first start of the season with CGR, followed by Carlos Munoz and NOLA Motorsports Park winner James Hinchcliffe.

The biggest surprise in qualifying, though, was the effort put in by Will Power. Power has been fast all season long and led practice on Friday, but will start the event from the 18th spot.

“I’m just kicking myself for not finishing the lap that I had a bobble on,” the defending champion said. “I turned the engine down, coasted for a bit and took off again. It’s going to be tough. You know how these INDYCAR races go. Anything can happen. We have to be positive and hope a yellow falls our way. That’s kind of our only chance to make something of it.”

Ricky Moran Jr. was scheduled to drive the No. 18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing but sustained a broken left thumb during Friday’s practice. As a result, Connor Daly will be behind the wheel come Sunday. Daly has made one previous Verizon IndyCar Series start, finishing 22nd in the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

“It’s a shame to see Rocky break his (thumb) like he did, but this is why I bring my stuff to the track every week and this is why I’m here and this is why I’m ready,” Daly said. “I can’t thank Dale enough for the call, to be able to get out here and do some laps and get in the game. We’ll see what happens, but I’m excited for the opportunity.”

1.  (3) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 01:06.6294 (106.331)
2.  (2) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 01:06.6587 (106.285)
3.  (9) Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, 01:06.7870 (106.081)
4.  (28) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 01:07.0473 (105.669)
5.  (22) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 01:07.1433 (105.518)
6.  (67) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 01:07.1716 (105.473)
7.  (10) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 01:07.1090 (105.572)
8.  (15) Graham Rahal, Honda, 01:07.1290 (105.540)
9.  (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 01:07.2411 (105.364)
10.  (27) Marco Andretti, Honda, 01:07.3161 (105.247)
11.  (8) Sebastian Saavedra, Chevrolet, 01:07.3924 (105.128)
12.  (26) Carlos Munoz, Honda, 01:07.4049 (105.108)
13.  (5) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 01:07.3976 (105.119)
14.  (20) Luca Filippi, Chevrolet, 01:08.6104 (103.261)
15.  (83) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 01:07.4217 (105.082)
16.  (41) Jack Hawksworth, Honda, 01:08.6276 (103.235)
17.  (98) Gabby Chaves, Honda, 01:07.4653 (105.014)
18.  (1) Will Power, Chevrolet, 01:08.8348 (102.925)
19.  (7) James Jakes, Honda, 01:07.7702 (104.542)
20.  (14) Takuma Sato, Honda, 01:08.8732 (102.867)
21.  (18) Conor Daly, Honda, 01:08.7825 (103.003)
22.  (19) Francesco Dracone, Honda, 01:09.8815 (101.383)
23.  (4) Stefano Coletti, Chevrolet, 01:10.4644 (100.544)

In a continuing trend for the Verizon IndyCar Series this year, Team Penske swept the top-three, and four of the top-five spots in practice for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Will Power would top the charts with a lap of one minute and 7.5485 seconds.

“It was pretty good,” Power said. “A lot of cars were running and laying rubber, but with the new aero kits and everything, the cars were just faster. It’s always super tight around here when it gets to qualifying. The top six are usually separated by about a tenth and a half (of a second) or something.”

Power has been fast all season long, but found himself out of the top-five last weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park due to being caught on a different strategy when the race was called due to the time limit.

Simon Pagenaud was second quickest, four hundreths behind Power, as he tries to bounce back following a wreck on the last lap at NOLA. Helio Castroneves was third quickest, and mentioned the fact that the Chevrolet teams were thrown a curveball with the changes to the aerokits this morning. INDYCAR requested that Chevrolet add a tether to the winglet or remove it completely from the front wing assembly, while Honda was told to reinforce the rear wheel guards.

“We are all in the same boat on that and we will make the best of it,” Castroneves shared. “The four Team Penske Chevrolets are still very fast, at the top of the speed charts. We collected a lot of information in the first practice about how the downforce changed and we made some really good changes for the second session. We are still improving it and have another session tomorrow to make the No. 3 Automobile Club of Southern California Chevy better before qualifying.”

Castroneves is coming off of a runner-up finish at NOLA Motorsports Park despite contact with a lap car during the event.

Scott Dixon broke up the Team Penske party at the front, placing his Chip Ganassi Racing entry in the fourth spot. Dixon has struggled the first two events of the season despite showing speed. St. Petersburg winner Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top-five.

“I was really happy with the No. 2 Verizon Chevy in the first practice,” he said. “It had a lot of speed. We made a few changes for the second practice and it just didn’t respond like we hoped, but we have a pretty good car and we have something we can work with. Qualifying is going to be very important for us. We’ve made a lot of strides in that area this year and I’m confident that we can get a good starting spot tomorrow afternoon.”

Josef Newgarden was sixth, followed by Graham Rahal, Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am about finally being able to drive an Indy car,” Moran Jr. said. “Dale is a dream maker and I have always dreamed of this opportunity. We just need to run a lot of miles, as I am aware of the hill I have to climb, but I love Long Beach and this truly is a dream come true for me.”

Rocky Moran Jr. was 23rd quickest as he looks to make his INDYCAR debut with Dale Coyne Racing, replacing Carlos Huertas.

Dale Coyne Racing announced on Thursday, April 16 that Pippa Mann will drive the organization in the Indianapolis 500. Mann will drive a pink car in support of Susan G. Komen, the world’s largest breast cancer organization. It marks the second consecutive year for the arranged partnership.

“It was an honor last year to be able to partner with Susan G. Komen,” the 31-year-old said. “By bringing Komen’s iconic images and colors to the Indy 500, we were able to promote its cause, while raising funds and awareness for Komen’s mission.

“The last time I strapped into a race car may have been last May, but I feel very fortunate to have had such strong support from the Dale Coyne Racing team and from team owner Dale Coyne over the past 12 months. We are all thrilled to bring this pink program back for a second year running.”

This will mark the third time that Mann will drive for DCR, and the fourth time that she’s competed in the Greatest Spectacle of Racing. Last year, she qualified 22nd for her personal-best effort, before finishing 24th due to an extra pit stop as a result of a mechanical issue.

“There is nothing that makes our team prouder than to represent Susan G. Komen and all of the hard work that goes into the organization’s efforts both in the U.S. and around the world,” Coyne said. “Pippa is extremely dedicated to her efforts as a driver at Indy and we look forward to our continued success with this partnership.”

The partnership will feature an interactive fundraiser that allows for fans to get involved to help raise funds for research.

“Pippa’s passion for our cause inspires us all,” Komen president and CEO Judy Salerno, said. “Whether on the track or out in the community, her commitment to raising awareness and funds brings us one step closer to a world without breast cancer.”

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing announced on Tuesday, April that Oriol Servia will drive a second car for the team in the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500.

“I honestly couldn’t be any happier to announce that I will be entering the 99th Indianapolis 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing,” Servia said. “There is a saying in Spanish “A la tercera va la vencida” (Third time lucky) that I feel fits our effort very well. This will be our third attempt together to cross the most famous brickyard first after 500 miles. The first two efforts were very promising and encouraged all parties to go for it again with the most ambitious aspirations.

“I have followed closely all the changes that the team has gone through over the winter and I am really excited as I have worked with most of the new hires. I believe the whole team is perhaps the strongest and most talented group in the whole Indy car paddock. I must thank the whole team and especially the bosses, Mr. Rahal, Mr. Letterman and Mr. Lanigan for their confidence and support. I can’t wait to jump in the car and team up with Graham again. This will be a great month of May.”

The Pals, Spain native has driven for RLL in the past, running the Indianapolis 500 in 2009 and four races throughout last season. In 2009, he was up to ninth at halfway when a mechanical failure took him out of the race. Last year, he ran for RLL at Long Beach, Barber Motorsports Park and both events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He led seven laps in the road course event at IMS, finishing 12th, before finishing 11th in the Indianapolis 500.

Including the pair of starts with RLL, Servia has made a total of six previous starts in the Greatest Spectacle of Racing, with a best finish of fourth coming in 2012.

“Oriol is a very talented driver,” Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan, said.  “He’s a smart driver and he’s got a lot of experience so we’re looking forward to bringing him back to run the Indy 500 with us for the third time.  Having teamed with Graham before at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing and again last year, their setups seem to be quite similar so you can really take advantage of having a multi-car team.  When we looked at who the best driver was to join us for the Indy 500, Oriol was our first choice. He’s competitive; he’s smart, has good race craft and brings it home.”

While the focus was on Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ pair of drivers being on the podium, Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves finished in between them on track, crossing the finish line in the second spot. It marks his second straight top-five to start the year after finishing fourth at St. Petersburg two weeks ago.

“It was a tough weekend for us.  We definitely did everything we could,” he commented. “The conditions were very difficult, but I have to give a big thumb’s up for the entire Verizon IndyCar Series, the track workers to push to make this race happen.  I mean, if you would have said in the beginning of the morning, there was no way we’d be racing.  So for the amount of water that was out there, it turned out to be great.”

It wasn’t without issue, though, as Castroneves sustained front wing damage after contact with Francesco Dracone. The contact put Castroneves in the right position, though, as he pitted on the caution before the leaders pitted, allowing him to take advantage and gain valuable track position when the leaders pitted a caution later.

“Roger (Penske) is very good in math, if you know that, and he was able to put it together with Jonathan, and I guess understand what might happen,” Castroneves said of their strategy. “I don’t know about if it was a time race laps and things like that, and I guess they figured it out and put us back in the game.”

Restarting in the second spot, Castroneves battled hard with James Jakes over the final laps, holding off the SPM driver to keep hold of the runner-up spot.

“It was a good, fun fight with James Jakes,” he expressed. “We were pushing each other, and unfortunately, there was a big accident, which I don’t know what happened, but obviously we take the points.  We take the opportunity, and move on to Long Beach. ”

Looking back on the day, Castroneves says that it was “better to be lucky than good” due to all the variables that played apart with the multiple cautions, the race coming down to a time limit rather than the scheduled laps, and the track being wet due to heavy rains in the morning. The amount of cautions and wet track though left many fans frustrated, taking to social media to complain about the event. However, Castroneves says that unfortunately, it’s the weather situation that they were dealt.

“The track was dry, but in two areas it was a river,” he commented. “It was water running in those areas.  For us, when we’re passing around those areas, even on the straightaway, you don’t have to do anything.  Just not even turn.  The car was about to take off.  It was like ice. So for those people that don’t understand, we’re trying our best, obviously, to keep the car on the pavement.  But our cars are not supposed to be in those conditions, you know, and that’s why I give the credit for the series for pushing.  We all want it.  Don’t get me wrong.  We want to race.  We don’t want the yellow because it takes the rhythm away.”

The two spots that stood out for Castroneves to be the trouble spots were the final turn – 13 – and the backstraightaway between turns nine and 10. As a result of the conditions , it made for tough conditions for all the drivers as Castroneves states it’s very hard when you have slick tires to keep the car underneath you in those areas.

“Even I got caught in one of those restarts and I’m spinning out out there because, again, it was damp,” he added. “Sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish where it’s wet because of the color of the asphalt. You know, it was hard.  There was no question it was a great testament for everyone to keep under control in those conditions.  But, again, for us to be able to be here, it’s just a great testimony of never give up and pushing everybody to the limit.”

Despite the issues with the event, Castroneves would like to see the series return to NOLA Motorsports Park once again, based on what how physical and technical the track was during testing and practice under dry conditions.

“Every first event you have some ‑‑ and they went through a very ‑‑ a great test,” he commented. “Meaning the worst conditions is the wet, and it was raining like no other day to be honest, and to pass this test, to move on, it was a great credit for the entire people in New Orleans. Yes, for sure, we want to go back, and hopefully it will be a drier day, sunshine out there, so everybody, not only ourselves, but all the fans can have a better time.”

Knowing that cautions were running rapid due to wet conditions and the race was coming within the time distance allowed, James Hinchcliffe and his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team played strategy on Sunday afternoon at NOLA Motorsports Park. That strategy would pay off as Hinchcliffe took the victory in the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana.

“When we first decided to stay out, I thought, wouldn’t it be funny if we could make this a one-stopper. I just never thought it (would happen),” Hinchcliffe said. “On one hand, I feel badly that we didn’t have more green-flag laps for the fans and everybody here at NOLA, but on the other hand, those guys called it awesome. The car was unbelievable on the (Firestone) reds. We pulled away from a couple of Penskes on those restarts. If we had gone green, I think we could’ve held them off at the end as long as we had the fuel. I’m just so happy.”

While his competitors made their way to pit road for fuel and tires in the span of five laps around lap 32, race strategist Robert Gue made the decision to leave Hinchcliffe on the track with the tires and fuel that he took back at lap 13. Hinchcliffe then held off Helio Castroneves and teammate James Jakes in the ensuing restarts, while saving enough fuel to take the win.

For the Canadian, this marks his fourth career victory and his first with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Hinchcliffe left Andretti Autosport at season’s end to race for SPM this season.

Castroneves kept up his positive momentum from his top-five finish at St. Petersburg to cross the line in second behind Hinchcliffe. It wasn’t without issue, though, as Castroneves sustained front wing damage after contact with Francesco Dracone. The contact put Castroneves in the right position, though, as he pitted on the caution before the leaders, getting him up to the front.

“First of all, I have to give congratulations to the entire track, and the entire Verizon IndyCar Series to keep pushing to have another round here,” he commented. “And congrats to the fans.  I want to thank all the fans for the first race here at NOLA and we have to keep going. The track conditions were really difficult because there were areas where there was a stream of water on the race track and it was very difficult for us to keep the cars on there.

“Now talking about the Hitachi boys, man, you guys are awesome. We had a little bit of a misunderstanding because the guy I hit, I thought he was two laps down. I knew he wasn’t battling for the lead and unfortunately, when I got the nose chopped, the information was a little bit iffy.  But at the end of the day, Roger, Jonathan and everybody never gave up. I never gave up and at the end of the day to be taking second place – it’s a very happy day.”

Hinchcliffe’s SPM teammate Jakes crossed the line in third spot for his second career podium finish in Verizon IndyCar Series competition. He played the same strategy as Castroneves after getting involved in an incident with Jack Hawksworth at lap 20.

“We had the pace this weekend, it was just being patient,” he said. “Yesterday, we had the speed to get in the (Firestone) Fast Six, but qualifying was canceled. It was frustrating, but it paid off today. We needed that after St. Pete. We haven’t had the pace from the start of the year. It’s not all our fault, but hopefully this is the first of many.”

Simona de Silvestro used strategy, as well, to get herself a fourth place finish after struggling for the majority of the weekend. St. Petersburg winner Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top-five after dominating the first half of the event before the various pit strategies took center stage. Montoya now leads by 10 points over Castroneves.

Tony Kanaan finished sixth, followed by Will Power, Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden and Lupe Filippi.

The race ended under caution following an incident involving Ryan Hunter-Reay, Simon Pagenaud and Sebastien Bourdais. The three drivers were three-wide and trying to give Bourdais room, Hunter-Reay went wide, resulting in Pagenaud going off of the track. Pagenaud would then go through the grass, before returning to the surface and hitting Hunter-Reay and Bourdais, taking them to the tire barrier with him.

“We had a great race going, had some good clean racing there with (Graham) Rahal, (Will) Power – even (Simon) Pagenaud, we went side by side through Turn 10 there. It was some good racing,” Hunter-Reay said. “Then we got down to Turn 3… I’m pedaling the car all the way out, it’s loose, there’s just no more room for (Pagenaud) to be out there.  (Sebastien) Bourdais, is on my left, I don’t know where to go at that point. I’m using my regular racing line – (Pagenaud) stuck his nose out there (and was off the racing line)… And just cleans us all out. I’m happy all three of us are uninjured. (Pagenaud) said I ran him out of room, but there just was no room in the first place. I don’t know what to say to that – it’s certainly a racing incident but there wasn’t a whole lot of room there to begin with. Disappointing way to end the day, we were looking for a strong finish with the DHL Honda.”

Afterwards, Pagenaud exchanged words with both drivers involved.

“Really too bad about the finish because the Penske Truck Rental Chevy was really fast,” Pagenaud commented. “It handled great in traffic and we looked like we were heading toward a good result. I’m not sure what Hunter-Reay was thinking there. He just drove us off the track and I’m just glad everyone is OK. I want to thank the fans for staying with us this weekend despite the weather. I think the No. 22 Chevy team will be able to come back strong at Long Beach.”

There was also a serious incident on pit road when Dracone spun, hitting one of his crew members – Todd Phillips. Phillips received stitches in his lower right leg at the track medical center and was released.

The Verizon IndyCar Series will head west next weekend, tackling the streets of Long Beach, California.