'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Sting Ray Robb displayed impressive skill at IndyCar's Long Beach Grand Prix on Sunday to earn his career's second Top 10 finish. After the P9 finish, the 23-year-old got vulnerable about his tough time in the series over the last three years.
Robb's qualifying performance wasn't out of the ordinary as he got knocked out in Round 1 and secured P19 for Sunday. In the race, the Juncos Hollinger Racing driver was one of only six drivers to start on the primary tires instead of the alternates, a strategy that turned out to be a masterclass for all six.
Sting Ray Robb gained 10 positions in the 90-lap Long Beach race and also led 12 laps. After the race, he spoke his heart out.
Trending
"Man, I am so happy. All I can say is all the glory goes to God. It's been a long three years at this point," he said via FrontStretch on YouTube [0:11 onwards]. "I don't think that this is the floodgates opening. I don't think this is our max potential yet, but my faith was challenged through the last three years and to say the least, it's been a rollercoaster. That's kind of why we love IndyCar, right? We love it because of the challenge, the passion that goes into it."
"I can't thank everyone here at Juncos Hollinger Racing enough. It's nice to come back to a team I've won a championship with before, with leaders like Ricardo Juncos and Dave O'Neil. Those guys put the hard work in," Robb added.
This result at the 50th Long Beach Grand Prix was Sting Ray Robb's first Top 10 with Juncos Hollinger Racing. He matched his career-best P9 that he secured at Gateway in 2024 with AJ Foyt Racing.
Sting Ray Robb reveals the Will Power inspiration behind his tire strategy at Long Beach
As mentioned before, Sting Ray Robb was one of six drivers on the better tire strategy at Long Beach, on which Santino Ferrucci also became the biggest mover of the race, going from dead last in P27 to P11. The 21 drivers who started on the alternate tires either did so to defend their position in case of an early caution or to get the short-lasting alternates out of the way at the earliest.
After the race, Robb explained why starting the race on the primary tires seemed like the better option. He cited one of the reasons as two-time IndyCar champ Will Power doing something similar at the Detroit GP a few years ago.
"I'm thinking back to Will Power, I think it was 2021, 2022, somewhere in there, when he put the green tires on in the last stint at Belle Isle, Detroit, and just drove away from the teams there. Not drove away, but he did a good enough job to win that race," the No. 77 Chevy driver said via FrontStretch.
After two disappointing performances at St. Petersburg and the Thermal Club, where he finished P21 and P23, the P9 at Long Beach promoted him to 20th in the IndyCar championship standings.
