Conway Makes A Power Move to Win 40th Grand Prix

Mike Conway had the courage to walk away from oval races following a couple of scary crashes in the Indianapolis 500 and wicked fast practice at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana at the end of 2012. He was hoping to find a situation in which he could race road and street courses only. It seemed a longshot at the time. Sure, maybe there would be a few one-offs, but a full-time part-time gig?

Then owner/driver Ed Carpenter looked in the mirror. He excelled on oval courses but was no match for the rest of the field on twisty tracks.

So he called on Conway and made a deal. Carpenter will race ovals, Conway the other events. Sunday, in the 40th running of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, Conway delivered Ed Carpenter Racing’s second victory.

The 11-turn, 1.968-mile Long Beach street course layout is IndyCar’s second-biggest race—to the Indianapolis 500—and it has been conquered by Conway twice in the last four years. He won in 2011 driving for Andretti Autosport. It’s his third career IndyCar win, including a drive last year at Detroit for Dale Coyne Racing. It was one of only seven starts for Conway after making his decision to no longer race on ovals.

“I’ve got to say a big thanks to Ed for making this happen,” Conway said after his victory by 9/10th of a second. “I think it’s a great combination. I think everyone’s quite excited about it. It’s great to repay them this soon with a win.”

To read more about the race, click here.