LONG BEACH, Calif. – Six-plus hours in a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car during the mid-March Open Test at Barber Motorsports Park “was all good” as initial preparation for the 39th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, according to Mike Conway.
The race, which Conway won in 2011 with Andretti Autosport, will be his first in the IZOD IndyCar Series this season. Conway, 29, will drive the Honda-powered No. 17 Blue eCigs car as a teammate to Graham Rahal and James Jakes.
“There will obviously be people who are race ready having competed in the first two events, but I have been thinking about Long Beach since the start of the year,” said Conway, who competed last weekend in a World Endurance Championship race at Silverstone. “I don’t feel like I am rusty. I felt at home straight away in the car (at Barber) and that was the main thing. I felt comfortable.
“I have been doing laps of Long Beach in my head for the last few months so I feel like I am in tune that way.”
He’ll have two practice sessions April 19 (1:30 and 5:30 p.m. ET with real-time Timing & Scoring and the IMS Radio Network broadcast on indycar.com and INDYCAR 13) plus a third 45-minute session April 20 (1:40 p.m. ET) to dial in the car on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit before the three rounds of qualifications (5 p.m. ET).
“Long Beach has got its own unique corners to it so it’s not the same setup you would run at St. Pete,” added Conway, who will make his fifth start at Long Beach. “Even though it looks similar, the corners are quite different. You have different surfaces there as well. It’s quite a unique place but similar characteristics in terms of other street courses with big curbs, bumps and walls everywhere.
“Getting used to the new tires Firestone is using this year and getting myself up to speed as soon as possible shouldn’t take long. With all the little things you miss with setups here and there and key areas, I just have to quickly make changes to get up to speed as quick as possible. But l feel ready.”
Blue rims again on the racetrack
Chip Ganassi Racing Teams and Novo Nordisk are supporting driver Charlie Kimball in their Race With Insulin Unites campaign again in Long Beach to promote diabetes awareness.
The cars of Kimball, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon will compete with blue wheels to simulate the blue circle that is the global symbol for the International Diabetes Federation.
Honda drivers to visit local facilities
The 12 Honda-powered IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and several American Le Mans Series drivers on April 22 will visit Honda Performance Development in Santa Clarita, Calif., followed by a visit to American Honda corporate headquarters in Torrance.
Drivers will greet associates and tour the facilities. HPD is celebrating is 20th anniversary.
Maybe you could be in the 'Fastest Seat in Sports'
Honda's "Fastest Seat in Sports" sweepstakes continues at Long Beach, with two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Arie Luyendyk at the wheel of the two-seat IndyCar. He will take Annie Kouba of West Chicago, Ill., on the ride of a lifetime around the challenging Long Beach street circuit in advance of the green flag.
Fans can enter to win a ride at www.shophonda.com.
Did you know?
E.J. Viso attended high school at Rolling Hills Prep in San Pedro, Calif. – about a 15-minute drive from the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach circuit.
Also did you know?
The three rounds of qualifications April 20 will be broadcast at 6 p.m. (ET) on NBC Sports Network and re-aired at 9:30 p.m. Race coverage begins at 4 p.m. (ET) April 21, preceded by the Long Beach 100 Firestone Indy Lights race.
Of note
Fifteen of the 27 drivers entered have led laps at Long Beach, led by Bourdais with 168. … Sebastien Bourdais and Will Power are the only entered drivers with multiple wins at Long Beach. Bourdais won three in a row (2005-07) and Power won in 2008 and 2012. Other former Long Beach winners competing are Helio Castroneves (2001), Dario Franchitti (2009), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2010) and Mike Conway (2011). Castroneves and Bourdais (2006, ’07) won from the pole. ... Al Unser Jr. has the most victories at Long Beach (six). ... Brian Till fills in for Leigh Diffey on NBC Sports Network's qualifying and race broadcast from Long Beach. ... t Klipsch, a leading global speaker manufacturer, will serve as the Official Audio & Headphone Partner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and be an associate sponsor of the No. 15 car driven by Graham Rahal.