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IndyCar is back on a road course this week for Round 3 of the 2022 season and it’s not just any road course, but a very tight, tricky track in Long Beach, California. After missing the 2020 race because of the COVID-19 pandemic and having last year’s edition run as the final event of the season, the Long Beach Grand Prix regains its position early on the calendar. That will allow drivers to take a few added risks.
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Team With Most Top-10 Finishers
Chip Ganassi Racing gained a statistical advantage last week after placing four of their drivers in the top 10 including Jimmie Johnson, who started racing ovals this year. While Team Penske now has five top-10s compared to Ganassi’s five, they made the most of their Texas effort by winning and taking three of the top four positions. Moreover, it’s unlikely Johnson will get a second consecutive top-10 given his difficulty in switching to open wheel racing.
Advantage: Team Penske
Owner | 2022 Top-10s |
Chip Ganassi | 7 |
Roger Penske | 5 |
Ed Carpenter | 2 |
Andretti / Green | 2 |
Bobby Rahal | 2 |
Michael Shank | 1 |
Dale Coyne | 1 |
Starting Position of Winning Driver
Before Colton Herta won last year’s Long Beach Grand Prix from 14th, the five most recent editions of this race were won from fourth or better. In fact, only three of these races have been won from further back than Row 2.
Advantage: 1st-4th.
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Drivers Leading Laps
Track position is critical on street courses, so when a driver gets the lead, he tries to hang onto it. Herta led 43 laps last year, but six others managed to spend some time at the front. Rossi’s two wins in 2018 and 2019 came after greater dominance and fewer leaders.
Advantage: 4
Time Lapse 1st – 5th (in seconds)
Recent races at Long Beach have shown close battles for the lead with two of the last five decided by about a half second or less. This week, we recommend going low and hoping for a late-race caution to bunch the field.
Advantage: 5.0001 – 6.5 seconds
Lead Lap Finishers
The field was stacked last September and 20 drivers finish on the lead lap, which was in sharp contrast to 2019 when there were only 11. In the past six Long Beach races, three have shown 10-14 lead lap finishers while the other three had 18-20. Split the difference and go with the average of 15.
Advantage: 12-15
Best Rookie
Except for Christian Lundgaard and his 11th-place result, none of the rookies ran particularly well in the season opener at St Petersburg. David Malukas was our pick for that race, but he crashed on Lap 23 of 100 and did not get a chance to show his potential. We’re doubling down this week.
Advantage: David Malukas
Best Finish, Former Winner
Herta is the defending winner of this race, but he was not very strong in his first attempt in 2019. On the other hand, Scott Dixon followed up his 2015 victory with four top-fives in the next five attempts, including back-to-back, third-place efforts in the two most recent races.
Advantage: Scott Dixon
Race Winner
With three wins on road and street courses last year, Alex Palou tied with Herta for the most on this track type. We’ll give the advantage to Palou this week because he finished better at St Petersburg and has a current four-race, top-five streak on twisty tracks.
Advantage: Alex Palou
2022 Round 2: Xpel 375 (Texas)
Round 1: St Petersburg (St. Petersburg)