No. 1 Bourdais looks to carry momentum into second race
The Verizon IndyCar Series heads to Southern California this weekend for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network). Here are story lines to watch in the second race of the season.
CAN THE LITTLE GUY STAY ON TOP? Sure it’s only one race into the season, but David stands above Goliath. For the first time in Dale Coyne Racing ’s history, one of its drivers is leading the points race after Sebastien Bourdais stormed from the back of the pack to win the seasonopening race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
The victory was undoubtedly a monumental one for Bourdais and Co., but the question heading to Long Beach is whether the win was a fluke or a sign of things to come. After all, Bourdais has won at least one race in each of the last four seasons yet has never finished better than 10th in the standings. So can the four-time CART champion build on his lead and become a serious title contender for the first time since returning to IndyCar in 2011? Bourdais thinks so.
“We have a great little group,” Bourdais said after his win. “And we’re sure not going to stop (here). We’re just going to keep on trying.”
BRAKES STILL CAUSE FOR CONCERN “We have a little bit of an issue on our hands,” James Hinchcliffe told The Indianapolis Star after testing at Barber (Ala.) Motorsports Park last month.
The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver added: “The state of my brakes by the end (at St. Petersburg) was appalling. I know that IndyCar is obviously doing everything that they can to make sure it’s not a problem by Long Beach, but our vendors really have to step up to the plate and (give) us a product that can do the job.”
It’s not just Hinchcliffe. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal and others have expressed concern about the state of IndyCar’s new Performance Friction brakes after St. Petersburg. The issue, as it was before the season-opener, is overheating. That issue will be exacerbated in Long Beach, the drivers said. The streets of Long Beach are harder on brakes than any other race in the series, and the potential for race-wrecking problems will be at its peak.
“Down into Turn 1, into Turn 6, Turn 8, Turn 9, we have some pretty big moments there,” Hinchcliffe said. “St. Pete is not light on them, certainly, but it is a cause for concern (heading to Long Beach).”
PAGENAUD’S REIGN BEGINS ANEW? Last season, Simon Pagenaud seized control of the points in the second race of the season (Phoenix) and never ceded it, cruising to his first IndyCar championship. The Team Penske driver is in perfect position to repeat the feat this year, as he stands second to Bourdais and enters the Long Beach race as its reigning champion.
Pagenaud’s track record on the streets of Long Beach is stellar. In his five IndyCar races there, Pagenaud has four topfive finishes, including last year’s win. That victory propelled him to three consecutive victories and a commanding points lead.
Pagenaud, whose worst finish in Long Beach was eighth in 2013, enters the weekend as a strong favorite to stand atop the podium Sunday evening.