Long Beach race ‘one of my best’ - Pagenaud

Simon Pagenaud wore a look of satisfaction after Sunday's Verizon IndyCar Series race in Long Beach. Thirty minutes after motoring from 21st and last on the grid to fifth overall, the Frenchman stood beneath the Team Penske awning and soaked in all that took place during his epic, penalty-assisted drive.

The defending series champion set a new qualifying track record the day before while gunning for the pole, but promptly lost his two fastest times after IndyCar found him guilty of blocking teammate Helio Castroneves (who went on to earn the pole), and was sent to the back of the field for the 85-lap race.

After improving 16 spots and earning enough points to hold third in the championship, Pagenaud was understandably pleased with the work delivered by the No. 1 Team Penske Chevy crew.

"This feels like a win, like a good win, like one of my best driving days," he told RACER after coming home 3.3 seconds behind race winner James Hinchcliffe. "It didn't show; people aren't going to say 'Pagenaud did something amazing,' but for me, I know it was something special.

"It was a good day for us as a team, all our [pit] stops were amazing. It was a good day for the championship, and we salvaged the weekend in the end."

Passing at Long Beach is never easy, and after executing a nearly flawless race at a track that tends to punish desperation, Pagenaud was happy to survive with his car in one piece.

"I made some good passes, good decisions, didn't make many mistakes, there was a lot of [tire debris] on the track which made it tough and unpredictable at times, but we stayed off the walls," he said. "The car changed at the end so it wasn't as good, but we had to run so little downforce to keep up with the Hondas. I think if we'd started up front, we'd have run away with it, but it is what it is."

The meditation-loving champion is accustomed to quieting his mind to get the most from his performances inside the cockpit, but he chose a different – and ultimately successful – route to find the "zone" in Long Beach.

"I think the trigger in my brain is what makes it happen," he said. "Obviously anger is the base of everything. That little bit of anger from the penalty got me going and triggered something in my brain. I've been striving to find that place more and more, and now it's on command. Today, I was determined it was going to be like that. It was pretty cool."