Finally, the first of this season’s two four-week gaps is over, and the NTT IndyCar Series is back on track Sunday (April 21) with the 40th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. This is the second most prestigious race on the calendar, and every driver wants to add this trophy to their collection. It is a tough, 1.9-mile street circuit, with various stretches of new asphalt mixed with aging pavement that make the entries for all 11 turns some of the most challenging all year.
It’s one of the most scenic and captivating tracks the series visits, with the iconic run down Shoreline Boulevard followed by the funneling through the Aquarium Fountain the second greatest moment of the year, only bested by the first turn at Indianapolis.
Last Year
Kyle Kirkwood took advantage of his new opportunity with Andretti Global and new strategist Bryan Herta, winning for the first time in IndyCar in just his third race with the outfit. It was a dominating performance, as he took his first pole and then later beat out his competitors during the last round green flag stops to maintain his lead.
Does he do it again?
Andretti has shown a great knack for nailing the setup on street courses, and Long Beach is the greatest example of that. Since 2018 and the universal aero kit era, the team has won four of the five editions run. In the race they didn’t win in 2022, one of their drivers – Romain Grosjean – finished runner-up.
If not Kirkwood, no doubt the rest of the Andretti trio could easily pick up the win. Their longest-tenured driver Colton Herta won in 2021 and led the field from the pole in 2022, but is on a 30-race dry spell since his last victory.
The in-house competitor that Kirkwood should worry about is newcomer Marcus Ericsson. During his tenure with Chip Ganassi Racing, three of his four wins were on street circuits. So it’s not a certainty that Kirkwood will be the one leading the charge for Andretti when the green flag flies on Sunday.
Pato vs. Dixon
Will we see round 2 of the Pato O’Ward and Scott Dixon contact that took out the six-time champion in 2023?
Last year, O’Ward was coming off two frustrating ‘almost-wins’…
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