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Pagenaud Scores Controversial Win At Long Beach

Simon Pagenaud celebrates in Long Beach after his first victory with Team Penske. [Joe Jennings Photo]

Simon Pagenaud celebrates in Long Beach after his first victory with Team Penske. [Joe Jennings Photo]

By Joe Jennings

Long Beach, Calif. – In the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Simon Pagenaud scored his first win driving for Team Penske, which took a load off his back but it came with controversy.

While exiting the pits on lap 55, Pagenaud seemingly was in violation of the blend line, which triggered a review by the officials. They could have put leader Pagenaud to the end of the line, a drive-through, a stop-and-go penalty or a warning and they opted for a warning, much to the chagrin of the other front-runners and in particular to second place runner Scott Dixon.

“IndyCar sent a manual to all the drivers discussing what was going to be a penalty and what was going to be a penalty,” commented Pagenaud. “Going into the race, I know the rule book and I know you can take risks. It is just racing. Another inch to the right could have changed the outcome of the race.

“No one told me there was a controversy until after the race. I didn’t even know it was that close. IndyCar has made it very clear this year as to what you can and cannot do. It was on the verge of a stronger penalty, but I did get a warning and I only did it once in the race.”

Said Dixon, “Team Target did a great job. The pit stops were clean and we had a good pace. Personally, I think we should have won the race. (Regarding the blend line) This one was very clear. It was addressed at the two drivers’ meetings over the weekend. At any time, you could not put more than two wheels over the line. I thought we were done with warnings and the wishy-washy stuff and thought we were going to stick with hard rules.”

Dixon admitted he was mad about the warning for 10 or 15 laps and he wanted it known, he was not upset with Pagenaud but with the officials.

Commenting on the race, Pagenaud said, “It was a fantastic day and a great team effort. We made an interesting call on the aerodynamic set-up before the race, and it worked. We were able to be aggressive and managed to get some passes done. Also, we managed to get two more laps in than Helio (Castroneves) and Scott (Dixon), ran some fast laps and had a fantastic pit stop, which enabled me to win the race. My hat is off to the 22 team; they are just on it this year.”

Pagenaud came into the race as the point leader and he exited Long Beach with a 14 point advantage over Dixon.
Pole winner Helio Castroneves, who led the first 51 laps, ended up third and he expressed frustration with the operation of his car in the closing laps.

And he opted not to get into the controversy with Pagenaud.

Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth and previous winner Takuma Sato took fifth.

Sixth through 10th were Tony Kanaan, Will Power, James Hinchcliffe, Sebastien Bourdais and Josef Newgarden.

Without a caution flag, the 80-lap race was run off rapidly, which raised the question about lengthening the event in the future.

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