The Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis was won by Simon Pagenaud. This was the speedster’s third straight Verizon Indy Car Series win in a row. The race winner led 57 of the 82 laps ran on the 2.439 mile race course. Pagenaud really won the Angie’s List Grand Prix on Lap 63 with a quick 6.7 second four-tire and fuel pit stop that put him back in front of fellow competitor Helio Castroneves. After the stunning pit stop, the Frenchman drove away to a 4.4748 second victory.
Simon Pagenaud started the event on the pole position and it was obvious that the Penske owned rocket ships were the ones to beat. Pagenaud pitted under the green flag on lap 22 of the contest, giving the lead to Charlie Kimball, but Pagenaud wasted no time and retook the lead on Lap 26 to complete the cycle of green flag stops. The leaders pitted under caution on lap 40 and Pagenaud came out behind third place finisher James Hinchcliffe when the cars left pit lane.
Helio Castroneves and his team decided to stay on the track during the caution period and took the lead. On the Lap 45 restart, The #22 Menards IndyCar moved from fourth to third by Turn 1 as he passed fellow racer James Hinchcliffe. After a strong final stop by the No. 22 team on Lap 63, Pagenaud was back out in front and he led the rest of the way for his third straight win.
“The car was fantastic once again,” Pagenaud said. “The balance was perfect all race. When we were in the lead, we were cruising, doing what we could to save the tires. But the car was just fantastic to drive. What a day. Three races! It’s incredible to win three in a row like this and here in Indy for me, it’s very special. I lived here for nine years so this place is very special in my heart.”
Second place finisher Hellio Castroneves took his hum by Verizon hot-rod to the front for seven of the 82 circuits turned. After struggling with his car’s setup before the weekend’s race, Helio Castroneves used an early pit strategy to move up from a challenging starting position. The Brazilian then climbed his way through the field and finished second behind teammate Simon Pagenaud.
Helio Castroneves started 13th in the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and pitted early to gain some track position. When the first round of pit stops had cycled through, Castroneves had improved to seventh by Lap 24.
Pitting early again on his second pit stop, the Roger Penske owned machine claimed the race lead when the front-runners headed to pit lane under the yellow flag on Lap 40. Helio Castroneves then battled Conor Daly and Simon Pagenaud for the race lead but trailed Pagenaud the rest of the way to claim his best finish of the Verizon IndyCar Series season.
“Great teamwork. Never give up,” Helio Castroneves said. “The hum Verizon boys, everybody was really in sync. We never gave up because we knew we had issues and knew we didn’t have the fastest car, but we had the heart, man. We had the passion. We put it out there and had a little bit of luck, obviously, but it all blends together.”
Montoya started sixth in the No. 2 Verizon Chevy and raced up to fourth by Lap five. Montoya was then caught speeding on pit lane and had to complete a drive through penalty on Lap 22. Montoya recovered from a pit lane speeding violation early in the race and finished eighth Saturday in the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
The #2 Verizon fought his way back to 12th place and continued to gain ground as the race continued into the later stages. Montoya was not able to work his way back up to the leaders when he crossed the finish line in eighth place. Montoya received his fifth consecutive top ten result to start the 2016 Verizon IndyCar season.
The Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis took one hour and 55 minutes to complete. There were seven lead changes between five different drivers. The average speed of the field was 127.863 miles per hour and there were only two cautions for ten laps.
The Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis Finishing Order:
1. (1) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 82, Running
2. (13) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 82, Running
3. (3) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 82, Running
4. (24) Graham Rahal, Honda, 82, Running
5. (2) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 82, Running
