James Hinchcliffe and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports used a strategic gamble and sequence of cautions to cycle into the lead late in the race. As cautions continued to fly due to contact and spins, Hinchcliffe managed to nurse his fuel and coast home to take his first win since 2013. Helio Castroneves rebounded from a broken front wing to finish second, while James Jakes made it an SPM 1-3 by finishing third. Simona de Silvestro finished fourth and Juan Montoya, who the lead the first half of the race finished fifth after strategy pushed him down the order.

The race began on a wet, but drying track. Montoya took off into the lead off the initial start, leading a Penske 1-2-3-4 from Power, Castroneves, and Pagenaud after Tony Kanaan briefly went off course between turns two and three. He rejoined and continued though.

The track dried significantly during the first ten laps and Kanaan and Hunter-Reay were the first to dive into the pits for slick tires. Everyone followed suit shortly after, though the track remained slick in some spots. Kanaan spun off into the grass, but was able to rejoin. Rookie Gabby Chaves was not so lucky, as he beached himself on a curb trying to rejoin the track, bringing out a caution on lap 15.

Chaves' spin sparked a flurry of spins and contact in the second half of the race. A lap 21 restart saw the caution immediately fly when James Jakes spun entering the front straight away, forcing Jack Hawksworth to nose into a tire barrier in the process. Up front, Castroneves tried to pass the lapped Francesco Dracone, but tipped the Italian into a spin instead, breaking his front wing in the process and forcing an unscheduled pit stop.

A lap 28 restart saw Stefano Coletti aquaplane over a puddle on the front straight and slide backward into the inside wall. Despite the heavy contact, he suffered no suspension damage and continued on. Kanaan and Castroneves took advantage of the caution to pit and go off strategy.

With the race now at a timed distance, a lap 31 restart saw rookie Sage Karam spin into a gravel trap, bringing out another caution. This one saw most of the field pit. But, Hinchcliffe, Huertas, Castroneves, Jakes, Kanaan, and de Silvestro all stayed out, gambling the race would finish before they would have stop again.

Huertas' gamble failed when he spun on a lap 35 restart, bringing out a another caution, and a lap 38 restart was halted when Karam spun and stalled again, this time coming onto the front straight away.

Lap 43 saw the final restart, with Hinchcliffe still leading Castroneves and Jakes. But, after about half a lap, Pagenaud slid onto the grass exiting turn three and spun across the track into Hunter-Reay and Bourdais. The violent collision sent Hunter-Reay airborne briefly and class slid off into a tire barrier. No one was injured, but Pagenaud and Hunter-Reay were very unhappy with each other. "It was some good racing. Then we got down to Turn 3," Hunter-Reay explained. "I'm pedaling the car all the way out, it's loose, there's just no more room for (Pagenaud) to be out there. (Sebastien) Bourdais, is on my left, I don't know where to go at that point. I'm using my regular racing line - (Pagenaud) stuck his nose out there, and just cleans us all out. I'm happy all three of us are uninjured. (Pagenaud) said I ran him out of room, but there just was no room in the first place."

Pagenaud had a different view. "I'm not sure what Hunter-Reay was thinking there. He just drove us off the track and I'm just glad everyone is OK. I want to thank the fans for staying with us this weekend despite the weather. I think the No. 22 Chevy team will be able to come back strong at Long Beach."

The green flag was never flown again after that final incident, allowing Hinchcliffe to cruise home the winner. "When we first decided to stay out, I thought, 'Wouldn't it be funny if we could make this a one-stopper?'" said the Canadian driver. "I just never thought it (would happen). On one hand, I feel badly that we didn't have more green-flag laps for the fans and everybody here at NOLA, but on the other hand, those guys (on his crew) called it awesome."

Castroneves was grateful to come back to second after his early trouble. "We had a little bit of a misunderstanding because (Dracone), I thought he was two laps down," he explained. "I knew he wasn't battling for the lead and unfortunately, when I got the nose chopped, the information was a little bit iffy. But at the end of the day, Roger, Jonathan and everybody never gave up. I never gave up and at the end of the day to be taking second place - it's a very happy day."

Jakes explained that his third place, while aided with luck, reflected the overall pace he showed during the weekend." We had the pace this weekend, it was just being patient," said Jakes, who notched his first podium since Belle Isle in 2013. "Yesterday, we had the speed to get in the (Firestone) Fast Six, but qualifying was canceled. It was frustrating, but it paid off today. We needed that after St. Pete. We haven't had the pace from the start of the year. It's not all our fault, but hopefully this is the first of many."

The Verizon IndyCar now heads west for next weekend's Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

NOLA Motorsports Park