On Sunday afternoon, the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach took place on the streets of Long Beach. Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood earned his second win in Long Beach in the last three years. He beat Alex Palou by 2.6859 seconds.
Kirkwood led for 46-90 laps, which was the second caution-free race this season.
“We controlled the race, even from practice,” Kirkwood told indycar.com. “Really good qualifying, amazing race, amazing strategy. It was just execution all across the board that won us that race today because if Palou was in front, he would have beat us, for sure. This was a track-position race here today, without any yellows.”
According to indycar.com, Kirkwood and Palou were on the dominant strategy of the race, as Palou pitted after Lap 6 and Kirkwood Lap 7 to get on the black-sidewall tires. It became clear through the next fuel and tire cycles that Kirkwood and Palou were the two fastest drivers on track, as the strategists from each team kept close tabs on each other, ensuring no missed chances to pounce due to changing tactics.
The true flashpoint of the race came on Lap 66. Palou made his final pit stop at the end of Lap 64, taking a final set of Firestone Firehawk primary tires. Kirkwood did the same at the end of Lap 65, and Palou was right on his gearbox on hotter, grippier tires when Kirkwood exited the pits at the start of Lap 66. But Kirkwood stared down intense pressure on his out lap from Palou, who never got close enough to make a move for the lead.
Following Kirkwood and Palou were Christian Lundgaard, Felix Rosenqvist, and Will Power to wrap up the top five. Scott McLaughlin, Colton Herta, Scott Dixon, Sting Ray Robb, and Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top ten.
Nevada City native Alexander Rossi of Ed Carpenter Racing qualified to start in the 8th position and quickly moved into the 6th position following the start of the race. After just a few laps, Rossi had cycled up to 4th, and then into 2nd position just four seconds behind race leader Kirkwood.
Unfortunately, Rossi finished 15th in the race.
“Tough day today, wasn’t meant to be,” Rossi said via social media.
With his 15 points earned in Long Beach, Rossi now has 58 points and is 11th in the IndyCar standings. Palou is the leader with 142 points, and Kirkwood is second with 108. Lundgaard (96), Rosenqvist (88), and Dixon (86) round out the top five.
The IndyCar Series returns Sunday May 4 for the Children’s of Alabama Grand Prix.
To contact Sports Reporter LaMarr Fields email lfields@theunion.com.
