Long Beach Grand Prix 2015 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

IndyCar racer Scott Dixon’s bucket list is one item shorter. 

Dixon won the 2015 Long Beach Grand Prix Sunday after overtaking pole-sitter Helio Castroneves in the middle of the race and never looking back. Dixon held off late challenges from Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya and recorded his first career win at Long Beach.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram and Gazette Sports noted just how meaningful Sunday’s performance was for Dixon:

Dixon now has 36 IndyCar race victories in his career, although he only had one top-10 finish at Long Beach in eight prior starts before Sunday’s win. Dixon discussed his stretch of bad luck there before the race, per Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times: “I’ve really got to sort my act out at that place. Long Beach is one of the most iconic tracks we run on. But I've never won there."  

He certainly sorted his act out Sunday with an impressive showing, as the Long Beach Press-Telegram and Gazette Sports acknowledged:

Here is a look at the top-10 finishers at the 2015 Long Beach Grand Prix as well as the updated IndyCar standings. The complete race results and standings can be found here and here, courtesy of IndyCar.com.

Place	Driver	Elapsed Time	Average Speed
1	Scott Dixon	1:37:35.2353	96.800
2	Helio Castroneves	1:37:37.4574	96.763
3	Juan Pablo Montoya	1:37:48.7215	96.577
4	Simon Pagenaud	1:37:48.9735	96.573
5	Tony Kanaan	1:37:49.8602	96.558
6	Sebastien Bourdais	1:37:50.3182	96.551
7	Josef Newgarden	1:37:54.0751	96.489
8	Marco Andretti	1:38:09.1829	96.242
9	Carlos Munoz	1:38:10.1952	96.225
10	Sebastian Saavedra	1:38:10.7712	96.216

Place	Driver	Points
1	Juan Pablo Montoya	119
2	Helio Castroneves	116
3	Tony Kanaan	93
4	Scott Dixon	87
5	James Hinchcliffe	83
6	Will Power	80
7	Simon Pagenaud	73
8	Sebastien Bourdais	66
9	Josef Newgarden	66
10	Graham Rahal	62

Castroneves took advantage of his pole victory and controlled the early going, but Dixon took the lead with 46 laps to go during the first pit-stop sequence. Dixon maintained his lead for the rest of the race and even stayed out in front during the final pit-stop sequence to finally shake the Long Beach monkey from his back.

Perhaps the best showdown of the entire race came between Montoya and Simon Pagenaud for third place behind Dixon and Castroneves. Pagenaud made a number of late attempts to sneak into third place, but Montoya demonstrated impressive veteran guile to hold him off across the finish line. 

JJ Fiddler of the Long Beach Press-Telegram and Gazette newspapers noted that Montoya looked primed to make a late charge but ultimately had to settle for that third-place battle with Pagenaud:

Dixon wasn’t the only winner Sunday, as Fiddler pointed out:

While Dixon turned in an incredible performance and Castroneves was formidable throughout the race, it wasn’t the most exciting IndyCar battle that fans have seen this year. Tyler Hendrickson of the Long Beach Press-Telegram suggested as much:

In all, Dixon led 44 laps, and Castroneves led 31. And all the other drivers led a combined five early laps. Part of the issue from an entertainment standpoint for the crowd was a disappointing showing from Will Power, as Mike Guardabascio of the Long Beach Press-Telegram shared:

It wasn’t a great showing for the American racers on their home turf either, which is nothing new at the Long Beach Grand Prix. Hendrickson pointed out just how difficult racing has been for the Americans in Long Beach:

It is still early in the season for Dixon and the rest of the racers, but Sunday’s result was critical for the victor. He is still looking up at Castroneves and Montoya in the standings and needed some momentum with his first victory of the year.

Ideally for Dixon, he will be able to carry this victory into upcoming races at Indianapolis and Detroit and make a move up the standings. He overcame and held off Castroneves and survived a potential late charge from Montoya, and those are the exact drivers he will find himself battling in the future if he wants to make a charge for the top spot in the standings.

While Dixon is now in a much more favorable position, Sunday was all about removing Long Beach from the bucket list.