After three weekends off following the photo-finish at Texas Motor Speedway, IndyCar is ready to hit the track once again. Drivers are taking to the historic streets of Long Beach as they try to add their name to the list of winners for this iconic event. Sunday’s race will be the 47th running of the Grand Prix.
The first step came today with a wild, one-hour practice session around the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit.
Simon Pagenaud paced the lone practice session today with a best lap time of 67.199 seconds. The driver of the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing has always performed well here, no matter what team he is with. The Frenchman finished 2nd in his first race with SPM and won here in 2016 with Team Penske. His 6.7 average finishing position is easily the best among all of the drivers here this weekend.
“A lot of it is how the tires will suit the track and how hot the track is,” Pagenaud said. “When it’s colder, the tire doesn’t overheat and produces more grip for you. The downforce also works better. The worst cars tomorrow are going to get better, and it’s going to level up the field, basically. The fastest car is still going to be fast, but the margin will not be as much. With the temperature change, we know what aerodynamical change we need to make on the front wing versus the rear wing. Simulation programs these days really help for these conditions. It’s amazing the technology that goes into it and how much we can trust it.”
Finishing just behind Simon in today’s practice was two-time Long Beach winner Alexander Rossi. Both of his wins here came when starting from pole position, a feat that he would like to accomplish again this weekend. The Andretti Autosport driver desperately needs a good result, and this just might be the place where he finally gets back on track.
Team Penske drivers Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden were 3rd and 4th fastest. These two have won the first two races of the season,…
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