Mike Conway took his maiden victory of the Verizon Indy Car Series around the streets of Long Beach at the weekend.
It is the second time that the Brit has triumphed around the street circuit having previously won the race in 2011.
Last weekend however Conway looked like he was going to be competing for the pole position as his times were competitive throughout free practice.
However, he had a disappointing qualifying session and only managed to take 17th place on the grid for the 40th running of the Grand Prix.
Speaking after his qualifying run, Mike said: “That is not what we were expecting today for qualifying. We just couldn’t get the tyres right where we wanted them. Things just didn’t fall our way today. We do have an extra set of tyres for the race now that could help us. We’ll have to make some adjustments overnight and be ready for the race.”
With an 80 lap race and a standing start, something at which Mike is a bit of an expert, there was always going to be the opportunity for an excellent race on Sunday afternoon. Especially given the fact that in 2011 he came from a similar position on the grid to take the chequered flag.
Whilst everyone else was going about their business on the streets of Long Beach during the race, Mike slowly but surely began to pick off the cars in front of him one by one.
A number of race cautions would also benefit Conway not least the accident 17 laps from the end that saw Ryan Hunter-Reay caused a collision that took out four cars that were in front of Conway.
When the race restarted Mike got the jump on a number of cars in front of him including Will Power, and with Scott Dixon running out of fuel in front of him, it was just a matter of time before the 30-year-old would take the lead of the race.
He did that just two laps from home to make it a first win of the season for Ed Carpenter Racing and Mike.
Speaking after the race, a delighted Conway said: “I’m still trying to take in the fact that we just won Long Beach again. After Saturday’s disappointing qualifying run, I just didn’t know what to expect today. But our team established a good game plan for the race, and it worked out perfectly in the end.
“I banged into someone on the first and second lap in the fountain turn as well as the hairpin and bent the right front wing, so I wasn’t too sure how the car would handle from that point forward, but the wing held together and I just fought as hard as possible.”
“When I won in 2011, I had to come back from 20th in the middle of the race to get up to the leaders, so I knew that starting 17th Sunday it was possible to challenge to get up front. We had a game plan with our Firestone tyres to use the black tyres (primary and hard) first and then follow up with two sets of red (softer) sticker tyres during our pit stops. The car felt good with the red tyres for our final two stints.
“It says a lot for the ECR crew that I was able to win in my second race with them, of course, I just love this circuit as well as the overall event. It’s a classic and I just can’t believe I have now won it twice in the last four years. We did get some breaks in the race as a driver usually does when he wins. We were able to pass both on the track and in the pits Sunday.
“The big crash really changed the fortunes of many drivers, and I was one of the lucky ones to get through that mess. I never knew what caused the incident but my spotter Lee Bentham saw the whole thing and told me to move to avoid it. It was a total team effort today.”
Conway has no time to rest as he is heading straight back to the UK for the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Silverstone over the Bank Holiday Easter Weekend.