Report
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, April 8, 2017. For the third consecutive year, Hélio Castroneves qualified on pole for the event, setting a new track record in the process with a lap of 1:06.2254, at an average speed of 106.98 mph (172.17 km/h). Scott Dixon qualified in second, while Ryan Hunter-Reay qualified third. Finishing the Fast Six were James Hinchcliffe, Alexander Rossi, and Graham Rahal. Defending race winner Simon Pagenaud was penalized for interfering with one of his teammate Castroneves' laps and was stripped of his two fastest laps in the session, relegating him to last place on the grid.[3][4]
Race
The race was held on Sunday, April 9. At the start of the race, pole sitter Hélio Castroneves timed the start poorly and immediately dropped five positions.[5] Scott Dixon led the race into turn one, with James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay behind. As the field worked the first turns of the race, Charlie Kimball and Will Power came together in turn four, sending both cars into the wall and bringing out the race's first caution period. Kimball was forced to retire from the race from the damage, while Power was able to continue on after a front wing change.[5]
When racing resumed, Dixon continued to hold the lead, while Hunter-Reay managed to slip past Hinchcliffe for second position. By lap 10, pit stops began to occur amongst drivers further back, including Mikhail Aleshin, Tony Kanaan, and the Andretti Autosport teammates Takuma Sato and Marco Andretti. Shortly after the stops, however, Andretti began to slow and eventually pulled off course and retired from the race. Race leader Dixon would make his pit stop shortly after this on lap 16, handing the lead to Hunter-Reay. The remaining front runners, committed to a two-stop strategy, remained on course longer, with Hinchcliffe and Alexander Rossi being the first to peel off on lap 28. By the time the pit sequence ended on lap 31, Dixon regained the lead, with Hunter-Reay following in second.[5]
Dixon, on his three-stop strategy, pitted again on lap 41, once again handing the lead to Hunter-Reay. Dixon was able to make significant ground on the leaders on his new tires and, as they came into the pits around lap 55, he resumed the lead with ease. After the cycle, Hinchcliffe managed to get ahead of Hunter-Reay. However, up front, a battle for the lead began brewing as Josef Newgarden managed to move into second place and put pressure on Dixon. On lap 60, however, he and his teammate Castroneves pitted, with Dixon following them in a lap latter, elevating Hinchcliffe to the race lead. During the sequence, Newgarden managed to get around Dixon. On lap 64, the complexion of the race suddenly changed, as Rossi suddenly ground to a halt on course, bringing out the race's second caution period with 21 laps remaining.[5]
At the restart, the running order was Hinchcliffe, Hunter-Reay, Sébastien Bourdais, Newgarden, and Dixon. Hinchcliffe was able to manage to pull out a lead on Hunter-Reay, but shortly thereafter, Hunter-Reay began to pull him back. Further back, a clash between Mikhail Aleshin and Tony Kanaan resulted in a puncture for Kanaan, dropping him down the order. Also in this time frame, Takuma Sato suddenly slowed on course and brought his car to a halt on an access lane.[5]
With five laps to go, second place Hunter-Reay suddenly slowed and stopped on course, bringing out the race's third and final caution period. Hunter-Reay's retirement meant that all four Andretti Autosport cars would fail to reach the end due to mechanical or electrical issues.[6] Sébastien Bourdais, running a quiet but steady race, suddenly moved into second, while Newgarden was boosted into third. On the restart Hinchcliffe was able to pull out a sizable lead on the front straight, securing his position for the short run to the end, and crossed the line 1.5 seconds ahead of Bourdais to take his first victory since the 2015 season and his first since his near fatal crash during practice for the 2015 Indianapolis 500.[7] Third place went to Newgarden, fourth to Dixon, and fifth Simon Pagenaud, who quietly moved his way up from the rear of the field to take a respectable finish. Rookie Ed Jones finished in sixth. As a result of the finish, Bourdais was able to extend his points lead in the championship, while Hinchcliffe moved into second place.[5][8][9]
Following a last lap incident with Mikhail Aleshin, J. R. Hildebrand was found to have broken a bone in his left hand.[10] He was not cleared to resume driving for the following race at Barber Motorsports Park.[11][12]
