The Margin of Victory of 0.3032 seconds by Verizon IndyCar Series race winner Simon Pagenaud/No.22 PPG Automotive Finishes Team Penske Chevrolet ahead of Scott Dixon/No.9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was THE closest ever for an IndyCar race at Long Beach – in the 33 years history of the open-wheel series at the 42-year old granddaddy of all street races.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and these photographs show how close was the racing not just at the finish of the race, but the beginning and throughout.
By all estimations, the weekend attendance exceeded the 181,000 from last year, which was then the best-ever crowd in the previous 12 years. Jim Michaelian, president of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, said Sunday night that he didn’t yet have all the figures for the weekend, but he was very happy.
The series has a quick turnaround. It next races this upcoming weekend in Birmingham for the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday 24 April, 2016. Pagenaud, who was leading the standings going into Long Beach, extended his lead to 134 points, ahead of Scott Dixon with 120 points. Juan Pablo Montoya is third with 108, followed by Castroneves with 92 and Tony Kanaan with 82.
All photos courtesy of LAT USA for Chevy Racing.