Team Penske’s Hélio Castroneves led the field to the green flag in the No. 3 Auto Club of Southern California Chevrolet, but was quickly swallowed up as the three-time Indy 500 champion sank to sixth on the first lap, while Scott Dixon assumed the early lead in the No. 9 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
The often-chaotic turn one at Long Beach went without issue, but shortly thereafter, Will Power (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) and Charlie Kimball (No. 83 Tresiba Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) made contact in turn four, ending Kimball’s day and relegating Power to the rear of the field.
Dixon led the field to the follow restart before pitting on lap 16, when Ryan Hunter-Reay (No. 28 DHL Andretti Autosport Honda) took the lead as the field ran through relatively routine pit cycles.
On their second round of stops, Hinchcliffe went one lap farther than Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi (No. 98 NAPA Auto Parts/Curb Honda), allowing the Canadian to cycle to the front of the group. After Dixon and Newgarden (No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet) pitted on lap 62, Hinchcliffe was in front to stay.
The second caution of the day came at the expense of Rossi, whose Andretti Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian entry suffered a mechanical problem, eliminating the California native from the running for his second career podium.
With the lead, Hinchcliffe rocketed to extend it on the restart and looked poised to claim victory as the laps clicked off. But with seven laps to go, Hunter-Reay, who was chasing the Mayor of Hinchtown, saw his hopes for a win go up in smoke as he suffered electrical problems and was forced to retire in 17th. None of the four Andretti entries finished Sunday’s race.
Restarting with three laps to go, Hinchcliffe was not to be denied. He ran off to a comfortable cushion on Bourdais (No. 18 Trench Shoring Honda) and held on. The victory is Hinchcliffe’s first on a temporary street course since his maiden win at St. Petersburg in 2013. It was the sixth win for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and its first at the famed Long Beach track.
The Verizon IndyCar Series is back at it April 21-23 with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. Coverage for the race can be found on NBCSN and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network at 3 p.m. ET on April 23.