Race Three - This IS Long Beach

Race one - St. Petersburg, Fla., Juan Pablo Montoya took the checkered flag. After five changes in race leaders, including the rookie Conor Daly who took it for laps 49-63, there were some challenges and surprises.

Several cars had to pit to clear debris from their cooling intakes, including Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan. These pit stops cost race favorites to give up position to keep their cars from overheating. Then there was the collision caused by Carlos Muñoz into Graham Rahal, causing him to lose position after staying close to the leaders.

Race two - Phoenix, Az, current champion Scott Dixon lead the race for one hundred fifty four laps, without ever having to regain the lead. Having made two adjustments to the front airflow, it seems that the second adjustment and clean air were a factor. However, many fans have mixed feelings regarding the race finishing under a yellow flag.

Fellow team member and rookie Max Chilton also improved from starting a very respectable eighth, to holding fifth, but finally taking seventh place after being passed by fellow Ganassi Team member, Tony Kanaan late in the race, who took fourth just behind Will Power for third, and Simon Pagenaud in second.

The first thirty nine laps had Helio Castroneves up front from the Pole, but finished eleventh. This was due to an early pit caused by track debris cutting a front tire, which was a concern to other drivers later in the race and ended under yellow for the same reason.

This year, the 11-turn street track of Long Beach awaits its twenty two drivers, three rookies, nineteen veterans, one defending champion and winner of the 2015 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Can Scott Dixon pull off another flawless win like at Phoenix International Raceway last night? Or are we going to see the ever improving Graham Rahal take the checkered?

Maybe Conor Daly, Alexander Rossi, or Max Chilton will score a rookie victory under the blue skies of Southern California.

Each driver and team brings skill, talent, experience, and sometimes even fate helps a little. When Scott Dixon was forced to pit with seven laps to go in 2014, it allowed Mike Conway to take the win. So fate, or timing, can be for or against you.

But the eleven turns through the streets of Long Beach are unlike any oval or street track. These streets see thousands of cars every day. There are divots, dips, bumps and slopes which need to be assessed by the driver during two rounds of practice Friday, then the qualifying runs on Saturday.

And as we saw in Phoenix, either of those events are not without incident. Takumo Sato and James Hinchcliffe both ran into trouble and the wall. Hinche, just coming back from a devastating crash last year, and remains committed to bringing home a win. Takumo Sato, winner of 2013 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, ran very well, coming from P20 to P15 in Phoenix, and P10 to P6 in St. Petersburg.

Each team, each driver, will face their own challenges in two more weeks. Whether it be fuel, contact around a turn, mechanical or airflow. This is race three, the charmer.

This IS Long Beach!