The 2017 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the second round of the
2017 IndyCar Series
The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series was the 22nd season of the Verizon IndyCar Series and the 106th official championship season of American open wheel racing. The premier event was the 101st Indianapolis 500 won by Takuma Sato. Josef Newgarden, t ...
and the 43rd annual running of the
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
. The race was contested over 85 laps on a temporary street circuit in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
on April 9, 2017.
Hélio Castroneves won the pole, while
James Hinchcliffe won the race.
Report
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, April 8, 2017. For the third consecutive year,
Hélio Castroneves qualified on pole for the event, setting a new track record in the process with a lap of 1:06.2254, at an average speed of 106.98 mph (172.17 km/h).
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
qualified in second, while
Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified third. Finishing the Fast Six were
James Hinchcliffe,
Alexander Rossi, and
Graham Rahal. Defending race winner
Simon Pagenaud
Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
was penalized for interfering with one of his teammate Castroneves' laps and was stripped of his two fastest laps in the session, relegating him to last place on the grid.
Race
The race was held on Sunday, April 9. At the start of the race, pole sitter
Hélio Castroneves timed the start poorly and immediately dropped five positions.
Scott Dixon
Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...
led the race into turn one, with
James Hinchcliffe and
Ryan Hunter-Reay behind. As the field worked the first turns of the race,
Charlie Kimball
Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...
and
Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
came together in turn four, sending both cars into the wall and bringing out the race's first caution period. Kimball was forced to retire from the race from the damage, while Power was able to continue on after a front wing change.
When racing resumed, Dixon continued to hold the lead, while Hunter-Reay managed to slip past Hinchcliffe for second position. By lap 10, pit stops began to occur amongst drivers further back, including
Mikhail Aleshin
Mikhail Petrovich Aleshin ( rus, Михаи́л Петро́вич Алёшин, p=mʲɪxɐˈil pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲɵʂɨn, born 22 May 1987 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional racing driver and the 2010 champion of the For ...
,
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
, and the
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
teammates
Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
and
Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
. Shortly after the stops, however, Andretti began to slow and eventually pulled off course and retired from the race. Race leader Dixon would make his pit stop shortly after this on lap 16, handing the lead to Hunter-Reay. The remaining front runners, committed to a two-stop strategy, remained on course longer, with Hinchcliffe and
Alexander Rossi being the first to peel off on lap 28. By the time the pit sequence ended on lap 31, Dixon regained the lead, with Hunter-Reay following in second.
Dixon, on his three-stop strategy, pitted again on lap 41, once again handing the lead to Hunter-Reay. Dixon was able to make significant ground on the leaders on his new tires and, as they came into the pits around lap 55, he resumed the lead with ease. After the cycle, Hinchcliffe managed to get ahead of Hunter-Reay. However, up front, a battle for the lead began brewing as
Josef Newgarden
Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion.
Career
Karting
Newga ...
managed to move into second place and put pressure on Dixon. On lap 60, however, he and his teammate Castroneves pitted, with Dixon following them in a lap latter, elevating Hinchcliffe to the race lead. During the sequence, Newgarden managed to get around Dixon. On lap 64, the complexion of the race suddenly changed, as Rossi suddenly ground to a halt on course, bringing out the race's second caution period with 21 laps remaining.
At the restart, the running order was Hinchcliffe, Hunter-Reay,
Sébastien Bourdais, Newgarden, and Dixon. Hinchcliffe was able to manage to pull out a lead on Hunter-Reay, but shortly thereafter, Hunter-Reay began to pull him back. Further back, a clash between
Mikhail Aleshin
Mikhail Petrovich Aleshin ( rus, Михаи́л Петро́вич Алёшин, p=mʲɪxɐˈil pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲɵʂɨn, born 22 May 1987 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional racing driver and the 2010 champion of the For ...
and
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
resulted in a puncture for Kanaan, dropping him down the order. Also in this time frame,
Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
suddenly slowed on course and brought his car to a halt on an access lane.
With five laps to go, second place Hunter-Reay suddenly slowed and stopped on course, bringing out the race's third and final caution period. Hunter-Reay's retirement meant that all four
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
cars would fail to reach the end due to mechanical or electrical issues.
Sébastien Bourdais, running a quiet but steady race, suddenly moved into second, while Newgarden was boosted into third. On the restart Hinchcliffe was able to pull out a sizable lead on the front straight, securing his position for the short run to the end, and crossed the line 1.5 seconds ahead of Bourdais to take his first victory since the
2015 season and his first since his near fatal crash during practice for the
2015 Indianapolis 500
The 2015 Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 24, 2015. It was the premier event of the 2015 season of the Verizon IndyCar Series. Juan Pablo Montoya won his second Indianapolis 500, f ...
. Third place went to Newgarden, fourth to Dixon, and fifth
Simon Pagenaud
Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
, who quietly moved his way up from the rear of the field to take a respectable finish. Rookie
Ed Jones finished in sixth. As a result of the finish, Bourdais was able to extend his points lead in the championship, while Hinchcliffe moved into second place.
Following a last lap incident with
Mikhail Aleshin
Mikhail Petrovich Aleshin ( rus, Михаи́л Петро́вич Алёшин, p=mʲɪxɐˈil pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ɐˈlʲɵʂɨn, born 22 May 1987 in Moscow, Soviet Union) is a Russian professional racing driver and the 2010 champion of the For ...
,
J. R. Hildebrand
John Randal Hildebrand Jr. (born January 3, 1988) is an American race car driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series driving part-time in the No. 11 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Enterprises. Hildebrand won the 2009 Indy Lights championship and ...
was found to have broken a bone in his left hand. He was not cleared to resume driving for the following race at
Barber Motorsports Park.
Results
Qualifying
Source for individual rounds:
Race
Notes:
Points include 1 point for leading at least 1 lap during a race, an additional 2 points for leading the most race laps, and 1 point for Pole Position.
Source for time gaps:
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Manufacturer standings
*
Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References
{{IndyCar Series race report
, Name_of_race =
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
, Year_of_race = 2017
, Previous_race_in_season =
2017 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The 2017 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first round of the 2017 IndyCar Series. The race was held on March 12, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the city's temporary street circuit. The race was won by Sébastien Bourdais, comin ...
, Next_race_in_season =
2017 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
The 2017 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama was the third round of the 2017 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on April 23, 2017 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Australian Will Power qualified on pole for the event, while Am ...
, Previous_year's_race =
2016 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The 2016 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third round of the 2016 IndyCar Series and the 42nd annual running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race was contested over 80 laps on a temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California ...
, Next_year's_race =
2018 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The 2018 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third round of the 2018 IndyCar Series and the 44th annual running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race was contested over 85 laps on a temporary street circuit in Long Beach, California ...
External links
Official Pit Stop DataOfficial Broadcast
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
Grand Prix of Long Beach
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...