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Team Penske's Will Power may have been among the drivers who had been sanctioned by a 10-place grid penalty but, still, he overcame the odds to win IndyCar classic race in Long Beach.
Because of some swift moves on the track and some great strategy, the Australian, who was starting 12th, maintained the pace and fended-off a late charge from Schmidt's Simon Pagenaud to take his second victory of the 2012 season.
Power had chosen to make his last pitstop early and therefore had to conserve his fuel to last thru the end while his closest pursuant Pagenaud was exactly on an opposite strategy and was forced to stop later; losing some positions in the process.
With 30 laps remaining, the Schmidt Motorsport ace was back in fourth and with plenty of fuel to spare. The Frenchman started his way back to the front by moving around Rubens Barrichello (KV Racing) for third.
Then, with 11 laps to go he did the same to Rahal Letterman's Takuma Sato before starting closing the gap between him and the leader Power. From 7 seconds out, Pagenaud gained ground with each lap but, still, Power was able to cross the finish line with only 0.8 seconds to spare.
Sato was looking for a podium finish but was spun from behind by Andretti's Ryan Hunter-Reay on the final lap. Hunter-Reay was handed a 30 seconds penalty for his part in the incident, promoting his team-mate James Hinchcliffe onto the podium.
Results - 85 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Will Power Penske DW12-Chevy
2. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt DW12-Honda + 0.8675s
3. James Hinchcliffe Andretti DW12-Chevy + 13.2719s
4. Tony Kanaan KV DW12-Chevy + 18.1951s
5. JR Hildebrand Panther DW12-Chevy + 22.9947s
6. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti DW12-Chevy + 42.5631
7. Ryan Briscoe Penske DW12-Chevy + 1m40.1271s
8. Takuma Sato Rahal DW12-Honda + 1 lap
9. Rubens Barrichello KV DW12-Chevy + 1 lap
10. Justin Wilson Coyne DW12-Honda + 1 lap
11. James Jakes Coyne DW12-Honda + 1 lap
12. EJ Viso KV DW12-Chevy + 1 lap
13. Helio Castroneves Penske DW12-Chevy + 1 lap
14. Ed Carpenter Carpenter DW12-Chevy + 2 laps
15. Dario Franchitti Ganassi DW12-Honda + 3 laps
16. Oriol Servia Dreyer & Reinbold DW12-Lotus + 3 laps
17. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon DW12-Lotus + 3 laps
18. Charlie Kimball Ganassi DW12-Honda + 5 laps
19. Katherine Legge Dragon DW12-Lotus + 5 laps
Retirements:
Simona de Silvestro HVM DW12-Lotus 74 laps
Alex Tagliani BHA DW12-Lotus 46 laps
Mike Conway Foyt DW12-Honda 41 laps
Scott Dixon Ganassi DW12-Honda 27 laps
Graham Rahal Ganassi DW12-Honda 23 laps
Marco Andretti Andretti DW12-Chevy 22 laps
Josef Newgarden Fisher DW12-Honda 0 laps
Because of some swift moves on the track and some great strategy, the Australian, who was starting 12th, maintained the pace and fended-off a late charge from Schmidt's Simon Pagenaud to take his second victory of the 2012 season.
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| Photo: LAT for IndyCar |
Power had chosen to make his last pitstop early and therefore had to conserve his fuel to last thru the end while his closest pursuant Pagenaud was exactly on an opposite strategy and was forced to stop later; losing some positions in the process.
With 30 laps remaining, the Schmidt Motorsport ace was back in fourth and with plenty of fuel to spare. The Frenchman started his way back to the front by moving around Rubens Barrichello (KV Racing) for third.
Then, with 11 laps to go he did the same to Rahal Letterman's Takuma Sato before starting closing the gap between him and the leader Power. From 7 seconds out, Pagenaud gained ground with each lap but, still, Power was able to cross the finish line with only 0.8 seconds to spare.
Sato was looking for a podium finish but was spun from behind by Andretti's Ryan Hunter-Reay on the final lap. Hunter-Reay was handed a 30 seconds penalty for his part in the incident, promoting his team-mate James Hinchcliffe onto the podium.
Results - 85 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Will Power Penske DW12-Chevy
2. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt DW12-Honda + 0.8675s
3. James Hinchcliffe Andretti DW12-Chevy + 13.2719s
4. Tony Kanaan KV DW12-Chevy + 18.1951s
5. JR Hildebrand Panther DW12-Chevy + 22.9947s
6. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti DW12-Chevy + 42.5631
7. Ryan Briscoe Penske DW12-Chevy + 1m40.1271s
8. Takuma Sato Rahal DW12-Honda + 1 lap
9. Rubens Barrichello KV DW12-Chevy + 1 lap
10. Justin Wilson Coyne DW12-Honda + 1 lap
11. James Jakes Coyne DW12-Honda + 1 lap
12. EJ Viso KV DW12-Chevy + 1 lap
13. Helio Castroneves Penske DW12-Chevy + 1 lap
14. Ed Carpenter Carpenter DW12-Chevy + 2 laps
15. Dario Franchitti Ganassi DW12-Honda + 3 laps
16. Oriol Servia Dreyer & Reinbold DW12-Lotus + 3 laps
17. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon DW12-Lotus + 3 laps
18. Charlie Kimball Ganassi DW12-Honda + 5 laps
19. Katherine Legge Dragon DW12-Lotus + 5 laps
Retirements:
Simona de Silvestro HVM DW12-Lotus 74 laps
Alex Tagliani BHA DW12-Lotus 46 laps
Mike Conway Foyt DW12-Honda 41 laps
Scott Dixon Ganassi DW12-Honda 27 laps
Graham Rahal Ganassi DW12-Honda 23 laps
Marco Andretti Andretti DW12-Chevy 22 laps
Josef Newgarden Fisher DW12-Honda 0 laps