IndyCar: Pagenaud Dominates, Honda Improves

So far, the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season may just as well be called “The Year of Simon Pagenaud”. After winning the two previous races and taking the pole position for the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Pagenaud put on a clinic and dared the rest of the field to beat him. Only relinquishing the lead on pit stops and a poorly timed caution flag, Pagenaud earned his third straight win in the young Verizon IndyCar Series season.

The Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis turned out to be a race of pit strategy and tidy driving. Drivers who stayed out of trouble, built gaps on in and out laps, and outdrove their opponents ended up at the front of the field. Though they were all chasing Team Penske’s Pagenaud, drivers including Graham Rahal, Conor Daly, and Charlie Kimball pushed their way to the front of the field.

At the start, Pagenaud led the field down into Turn One at the north end of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and two cars, Tony Kanaan and Sebastien Bourdais, came together and brought out the first caution of the day. On the ensuing restart, Pagenaud built a gap on the field while Kimball and James Hinchcliffe gave chase. After green flag pit stops and a few short lead stints by Kimball, Hinchcliffe, and Rahal, Pagenaud cycled back to the front.

It was green flag racing from then on until a repaired Bourdais ended up stalled inside Turn One. That’s when pit strategy and a little bit of luck landed Dale Coyne Racing’s Conor Daly and Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves, and Hinchcliffe ahead of Pagenaud. Daly built a three second lead before ducking into the pits and handing the lead to Castroneves. After Castroneves followed suit, Pagenaud used open track to lay down a blazing in-lap heading into the pits and he was able to jump out in front to take the lead and never look back.

While Pagenaud landed Chevrolet in the winner’s circle yet again this season, the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis may have turned out to be resurgence for Honda. Teams like Rahal Letterman Lanigan, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Dale Coyne Racing, and even the beleaguered Andretti Autosport were able to put together much improved performances in comparison to the first few events of the season. Now the question is whether or not Honda can put together an improved power plant and a workable aero kit to find speed for the 100^th running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

Here are the full results from the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis:

Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, Team Penske
Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, Team Penske
James Hinchcliffe, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Conor Daly, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Team Penske
Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, Andretti Autosport
Alexander Rossi, Honda, Herta-Andretti Autosport
Spencer Pigot, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Carlos Munoz, Honda, Andretti Autosport
Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Max Chilton, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Autosport
Matt Brabham, Chevrolet, Pirtek Team Murray
Gabby Chaves, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
Takuma Sato, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
Will Power, Chevrolet, Team Penske
Jack Hawksworth, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
Alex Tagliani, Honda, A.J. Foyt Racing
Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, KV Racing Technology
Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams

Next: IndyCar Returns to Watkins Glen

The next race for the Verizon IndyCar Series is the 100^th Running of the Indianapolis 500. It is scheduled for Sunday, May 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race broadcast begins at 11:00 a.m. ET and will air on the ABC Network.