Santoroski: Five takeaways from the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

By Frank Santoroski, Staff Writer

The 42nd annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach for the Verizon IndyCar Series is now in the books. Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud took the win, followed closely by Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon. He are five takeaways from the latest edition of one of IndyCar’s crown-jewel events.

1 ) Simon sez

After a decidedly lackluster first season with Team Penske, that left him 11th in the final standings, Simon Pagenaud is off to a ferocious start in 2016. His two second-place finishes, combined with today’s victory, is the best start to a season for a Penske driver since 2012 when Will Power finished 7th in the opener and followed it up with three straight wins.

With that being said, it remains to be seen how the rest of his season will play out with three teammates with title aspirations of their own. Roger Penske has had a long standing policy of allowing his drivers race one another, and never using team orders.

While it is indeed good policy to let racers race, a quick look into the record books will show that Team Penske has captured only two driver’s titles since moving to the IRL in 2002. During that same time frame, Chip Ganassi drivers have taken seven.

In the 2015 season-finale at Sonoma, we saw Will Power and Juan Pablo Montoya, both with a title on their mind, collide with one another, opening the door for Ganassi’s Scott Dixon to snatch the championship right out of their hands.

Ganassi has a much more team-centric approach, built around a spirit of collaboration with the larger goal on mind. And, it has worked. Don’t get me wrong, Ganassi drivers do race one another, and I am NOT advocating team orders.

Through all of the championships we’ve seen from Dixon and the now-retired Dario Franchitti, not once did we see one of them pull a Reubens Barricello, and hand the lead to their teammate. At the same time, you won’t see one Ganassi driver race another hard enough to put him off the track when the title is at stake.

What you will see, however is Scott Dixon, Charlie Kimball or Tony Kanaan racing hard to take points away from their competitors, and not one another.

Certainly it is much too early for the coronation of Pagenaud as team leader, especially considering the illustrious careers of his teammates. However, if Simon continues this streak, taking a page or two out of Chip Ganassi’s playbook may be a worthwhile venture.

2 ) New steward system is a miserable fail

IndyCar’s new three steward system, comprising Arie Luyendyk, Max Papis, and Dan Davis, had its first big test of the year. In my mind, they failed miserably.

And, this is not because I thought that they blew the call with Pagenaud, but rather due to the ambiguities in the rules and procedures that allowed the controversy.

Exiting the pit lane on his final stop, intent on getting ahead of Scott Dixon, race-winner Simon Pagenaud clearly crossed the blend line when rejoining the track. Six to eight laps ticked off before Race Control announced that the Penske driver had been issued a warning.

IndyCar issued the following statement in explanation:

Simon Pagenaud’s actions during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach were deemed an infraction per Rule 7.10.1.1. “Lane Usage” of the INDYCAR Penalty Guidelines: Failing to follow designated procedures entering or exiting the pit area, including the proper use of the acceleration and deceleration lanes. The penalty for this infraction ranges from a warning (minimum), putting the driver to the back of the field (mid) and drive-through or stop and go/hold (maximum). INDYCAR race stewards determined his actions were not severe enough to warrant a harsher penalty than the warning that was issued.

Now, here is the issue. Both Ganassi driver Scott Dixon, and team manager, Mike Hull stated that they were under the impression that, under the new system, there would be no more ‘warnings.’  This was a common belief through the paddock, and among the media. Supposedly all the grey area was to be removed, and if an infraction was deemed to have taken place, then a penalty would be issued.

So, if this is not the case, and the ‘warning’ still exists, then, why was misinformation communicated to the teams regarding the new system?

And furthermore, defining the severity of a blend-line violation seems like a slippery slope. An infraction like ‘avoidable contact’ could certainly have room for discussion or debate, whereas in this case, a car is either over the line, or it is not.

3 ) Life after Toyota

Highly successful race events have a few things in common. One of those is the unwavering support of a wonderful title sponsor. The Long Beach Grand Prix has been blessed with Toyota as a fantastic partner for 40 years. Even though Toyota no longer has a presence in IndyCar as an engine manufacturer, they have continued with this event, largely due to the close proximity of their headquarters in Torrance, CA.

With Toyota packing up their operation, and moving it to Texas, the first shoe to drop was the Toyota Pro/Celebrity race. The popular event that pits professional race drivers against Hollywood celebrities has raised millions of dollars for the charity “Racing for Kids” over the years. 2016 was announced as the last with Toyota unable to provide support going forward.

The title sponsorship for the Grand Prix is secured through 2017, and it is uncertain at this time of Toyota would have any interest in continuing once they are fully moved out.

A high profile event like Long Beach should not have difficulty finding a title sponsor in years to come. However, if Toyota does pull the plug, whoever comes in will have enormous shoes to fill.

4 ) Begging for the yellow that never came 

The nature of a street or road race will sometimes produce a surprise winner.  This is largely due to the track position that can be gained with an off-cycle pit strategy. To pull this off, one needs to find the caution periods fall at the most opportune time to capitalize.  There are occasions when it plays out to perfection, and others where it blows up in your face.

Here’s how in works: Make your first stop early. Then lay down the fastest laps you are capable of, and hope it stays green. Once the leaders pit, you cycle to the lead, and then pray for a yellow before your pit window expires.

The yellow comes out, stop with everyone else, and BAM! you’re back on the same pit cycle, and hopefully still out front.

If you don’t get that yellow, then you are doomed to make one more pit stop than the others.

Most street races can guarantee at least one yellow, and Ganassi Drivers Charlie Kimball and Max Chilton, along with A.J. Foyt Racing’s Jack Hawksworth were counting on that when they all made an early stop.

Kimball, although he qualified poorly, realistically had a car that was capable of contending for the win. Kimball actually set fast lap of the race clocking a 104.702 mph in the early going.

As it turned out, the race ran without caution setting a Long Beach record for the quickest race run in its history. The average speed of the race was 100.592 mph. Without a caution, Kimball’s strategy went in the toilet.