Polesitter Paul Tracy was still looking for his first finish of the season. He scored his second pole of the year (and thus his second championship point) and planned to convert his speed into a victory. On Lap 21 while lapping Mike Groff, Tracy spun using too much rear brake, and ended Groff's day. Later on, Jacques Villeneuve passed Toronto's Scott Goodyear on the outside of Turn 1. ABC's Bobby Unser chuckled in disbelief as he commented, "That was an impossible pass!" Villeneuve later braked too late in Turn 7 (the end of the backstraight) and slammed the tire barrier. Three seconds later, he re-fired the car and continued on without significant damage. He would finish five laps down in 15th. Tracy would spin again in Turn 1, this time while passing Maurício Gugelmin. Gugelmin was more fortunate than Groff and continued without contact. Both Tracy and Fittipaldi would retire with separate transmission failures. Up front, Al Unser Jr. reclaimed his throne as the "King of the Beach" by winning his 5th Long Beach event by 39 seconds over Nigel Mansell and 46 seconds up on Robby Gordon. The Californian became the 10th different leader in IndyCar's Long Beach history, such was the domination of Unser Jr. and the Andrettis in the first decade of the race. Raul Boesel and Mario Andretti capped the Top 5, as the championship battle was on. Fittipaldi and Unser were tied at 37 points each (both with a win and a second place), Mansell in third at 35 points, Michael Andretti with 29 points, Stefan Johansson (finishing 10th after running out of fuel) at 25 points, and Mario in sixth at 24 points as the teams prepared for the month of May.