At the end of a hubcap-flying car chase during an episode of “The Rockford Files,” Jim Rockford pulls a gun and confronts the shady characters who somehow managed to keep up with his gold Firebird in a raggedy Monte Carlo.

“You know, I’ve been in this business a long time,” Rockford tells the Monte Carlo driver in the 1970s TV detective show. “I’ve run into a couple of guys who could stay with me. They got a little sloppy doing it. Nobody ever made it look easy. Just like to say it’s an honor to be tailed by somebody who can drive as good as you do.”

The late James Garner, who drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 three times in the ‘70s and ‘80s, did his own stunts while playing Rockford. With this scene, though, he could’ve been speaking for Alexander Rossi after winning Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Because the hubcaps were flying behind him.

Rossi had more than his share of pursuers, and all were fierce. Here’s a closer look:

• Will Power. He chased Rossi relentlessly during the final laps but couldn’t catch him. Afterward, Power noted what others are seeing in the early stages of the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season – this field is thick and deep. “I would say right now is the most competitive, talented group of drivers that the series has seen,” he said. “When you look at how Rossi has come on and the rookies that are here this year, guys like (Robert) Wickens and so on, it just gets harder. It gets harder and harder.”
• Ed Jones. He recorded his best finish since his podium last year at Indy, then observed that the new universal aero kit has tightened the field by loosening the car. “There's kind of one way you have to drive it,” he said. “It has to be pretty loose, and that's the only way to be quick.”
• Zach Veach. The rookie finished fourth in just his fifth race in the series, his best finish so far. “Felt like a win to us,” he tweeted.
• Ryan Hunter-Reay, Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden. All three had solid races going before circumstances got in the way. Newgarden stayed in the thick of the early championship battle with Rossi and Sebastien Bourdais by holding on for seventh. “We had a good day working – certainly at least a podium – but we kept getting bit by yellows a couple times and had to fight our way back from them,” Newgarden said. “It didn't work in our favor.  
• Graham Rahal. It’s not often that a driver recovers from a penalty after a crash in the first turn and five trips to the pits – Rossi, Power, Veach and Marco Andretti each had only two stops – to finish fifth. “I passed more cars here today than I have passed in a long time,” Rahal said. “We had a lot of fun, but we want to win.”
• Bourdais. He gave us the move of the race – perhaps the season – before a painted line took it away. He was penalized for crossing the pit exit lane line while making a brilliant pass, which began to unravel his day. “Drove the wheels off it,” Bourdais said after a disappointing 13th-place finish. “Passed a bunch of guys and we have nothing to show for it.”

The chase scene in that particular Rockford episode featured Garner’s signature move, a reverse J-turn we known better as “pulling a Rockford.” Garner was a longtime friend of racing and a racer himself. He did his own driving during the filming of “Grand Prix” in 1966 and returned to Monza years later for a tribute to the film with Jacques Villeneuve.

He was friends with Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart. He competed at Baja. He owned a race team. Three years ago, a crazy 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Banshee he once drove was featured on “Jay Leno’s Garage.” Garner wasn’t just a car guy. He was a racer.

Jim would’ve loved this race. He would’ve acknowledged the competitors who tried to run down the winner, then he would’ve congratulated Rossi and his Andretti Autosport crew for a drive worthy of a ‘70s-era Firebird.

Then, as he did with the Monte Carlo driver, he would’ve demanded his keys, slashed a tire and driven away.