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Hunter-Reay Has Smooth Sailing At Long Beach

Long Beach, Calif. – Ryan Hunter-Reay watched the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach from the spectator area as a kid several years ago, and Sunday he worked his way into victory lane as the winner of the 36th annual race through the streets.

It marked the second time the IZOD IndyCar Series has raced on the historic street course.

Driving the Team IZOD car owned by Andretti Autosport, the one-time California resident led the 85-lap race three times for 64 laps. He made the victory run look easy as he smoothly negotiated the 11-turn, 1.968-mile street course.

Hunter-Reay won for the second time in IZOD IndyCar Series action — his first win came 28 races ago at Watkins Glen in 2008. For Andretti Autosport, the team won for the first time with Michael Andretti as sole owner.

The winner became the first American driver to win since doing so two years ago. The last American driver to win at Long Beach was Michael Andretti in 2002.

“I came here as a kid and watched (owner) Michael Andretti win a race,” the victor said. “This is the track where I drove my first Atlantic and my first Champ Car race.” He went on to say this was his mother’s favorite track, and he dedicated the win to her memory. “This win is definitely for her.”

Said Michael Andretti about the win, “Long Beach continues to be special for me and my family. I won my first and last race here as a driver, and I am so excited to win it again. Also, I am happy that Ryan (Hunter-Reay) was the one who won for us and series sponsor IZOD.”

About the race, Hunter-Reay said, “I think we were the fastest car on the track, and we were pulling away at one point. This was our race (to win).”

One caution flag slowed the race, and it came out on the 60th lap.

Said the winner about the slowdown, “I was in such a good rhythm and was having so much fun, I wasn’t going to let the yellow flag bother me. This was our race, and I got back to work after that.”

Justin Wilson bounced back from a tangle with Alex Lloyd to finish second, five seconds behind the winner. The incident occurred on the 53rd lap and forced Wilson to pit for a wing replacement.

“We had a great day, as the Z-Line Designs car was fantastic,” he said. “To have a front wing change and to come back and finish second is an amazing day.”

Addressing the incident, he stated, “Alex (Lloyd) was a lap down and he nearly took Ryan (Hunter-Reay) out a couple of times. I tried to dive under him, but I got the door slammed in my face. It’s just a shame that it happened.”

Lloyd said he never felt any contact and thought he had a flat tire.

Will Power started from the pole and led twice for 19 laps, but his quest for victory was thwarted early-on when he accidentally struck the pit-limiter, which slowed him considerably and allowed Hunter-Reay and Wilson to get by him.

“Once Justin (Wilson) passed me, I tried for a couple of laps, but there was no point in putting the car in the wall,” he said. “We are still leading in points and the team has a goal of winning the championship. Overall it was a good day, but I have no idea how I got stuck in first gear on that one lap.”

For Power, he has finished fourth or better in all four races in 2010. And he continues to lead in points with 172 with Helio Castroneves second with 140 and Hunter-Reay third with 139.

Scott Dixon started eighth and finished fourth in the Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry. “It was a tough day, and I think I messed our gears up a bit,” he said. “We had plenty of good speed, but we just couldn’t get close to Will (Power), so we just decided to cruise around in fourth gear.”

Tony Kanaan put another Andretti Autosport entry into fifth place for his season-best finish.

Sixth through 10th were Mario Moraes, Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, Dan Wheldon and Mike Conway.

Seventeen cars finished the race distance and all but five finished.

In the one accident, Mario Romancini collided with Graham Rahal, but no injuries were sustained.

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 on May 1 at the Kansas Speedway.

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