IndyCar Results and Highlights From the Streets of Long Beach

The Grand Prix of Long Beach has a rich racing history and didn't even begin as the IndyCar staple we know it as today. It debuted in 1975 and spent a brief stretch on the Formula 1 calendar until 1983 before making a switch to American open-wheel racing in 1984.

The move ultimately shaped its identity, as the race grew into one of the crown jewels of not just IndyCar racing but American racing. The circuit winds through downtown Long Beach and along the harbor, often referred to as the 'Monaco' of the IndyCar Calendar.

During the last time out at Barber Motorsports Park, Alex Palou took home a dominant victory, but at Long Beach, Palou has never stood on the top step. That honor has belonged to Kyle Kirkwood two out of the last three years, and Palou's Chip Ganassi teammate, Scott Dixon, in the third.

Felix Rosenqvist - Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | Via Penske Entertainment, Chris Jones

It was Meyer Shank's Felix Rosenqvist who started on pole after a difficult start to his season at the lead of a formidable: O'Ward, Palou, Kirkwood, Malukas, and Dixon. After 90 laps, though, it was Alex Palou, yet again, who took home a victory – his first at Long Beach.

Difficult Day for Andretti

While Kyle Kirkwood, a two-time race winner on the Streets of Long Beach, finished in P4. This was not the story for his other two teammates on the Andretti Team, or even for Kyle before the race.

First, the team was forced to replace a water pump and the hybrid system on Kirkwood's #27 after the crew spotted issues during the morning warmup. Alas, this was not the only hybrid issue that the Andretti Team faced throughout the day.

Marcus Ericsson, Andretti #28 | Via Penske Entertainment, Chris Owens

Marcus Ericsson, who has had an extremely strong start to the IndyCar season, was forced to retire from the race just before lap 40. It appeared that his hybrid system was unable to deploy energy above 25%, causing the car to slow dramatically.

Their difficult day was not over, though. During the pit cycle triggered by the caution for debris on the track, every car entered the pits simultaneously. Long Beach features the most difficult pit lane of the season, which is not only narrow but also banked and curved.

Will Power in the #26 exited his pit in a flurry of other cars and ran over what appeared to be the legs of the rear left tire changer on the AJ Foyt #4 Car of Caio Collet, Ryan Marzec. This triggered a penalty for Power, dropping him from the top five to P24 after a drive through penalty. He finished the race in 18th.

IndyCar Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Results

Position	Driver/ Team	Time Diff from Lead
1.	Palou/ Chip Ganassi	-
2.	Rosenqvist/ Meyer Shank	+3.966
3.	Dixon/ Chip Ganassi	+5.446
4.	Kirkwood/ Andretti	+5.973
5.	O'Ward/ McLaren	+11.871
6.	McLaughlin/ Penske	+12.906
7.	Malukas/ Penske	+13.484
8.	Rahal/ RLL	+27.567
9.	Rossi/ ECR	+27.635
10.	Simpson/ Chip Ganassi	+28.992
11.	Hauger/ Dale Coyne	+28.992
12.	Siegel/ McLaren	+29.913
13.	Veekay/ Juncos	+30.587
14.	Newgarden/ Penske	+30.841
15.	Rasmussen/ ECR	+31.166
16.	Foster/ RLL	+36.164
17.	Schumacher/ RLL	+36.967
18.	Ferucci/ AJ Foyt	+40.866
19.	Power/ Andretti	+41.184
20.	Lundgaard/ McLaren	+42.175
21.	Grosjean/ Dale Coyne	+42.842
22.	Collet/ AJ Foyt	+43.665
23.	Robb/ Juncos	+44.704
24.	Armstrong/ Meyer Shank	+ 1 lap
25.	Ericsson/ Andretti	DNF

Race Off Pit Road Wins Race for Palou

Alex Palou and the Chip Ganassi #10 Crew came into the weekend with expectations of a P2 or P3, but not a win. The team acknowledged several times that this is not their best track. That almost held true with Palou sitting in P2 behind Meyer Shank Racing's Felix Rosenqvist until the late race caution.

When all cars pit during the caution for their final tire change and refuel of the race, Palou and Rosenqvist both exited the pits on hard tires, but the #10 car was simply faster. With that clean air, as Rosenqvist displayed throughout much of the race, it was not difficult for Palou to rocket ahead of the #60 car.

Rosenqvist commented that he had mixed feelings about the race overall, and even Palou's teammate, Scott Dixon, said he felt bad for Rosenqvist.

"At the end of the day it's great. Little bit of a bittersweet race. Alex is obviously going to be 10/10 every pit stop. It wasn't that ours was slow, but they probably had a great one, as well."
Felix Rosenqvist, P2

This marks off one of the final tracks that Palou has not yet won at on the current IndyCar calendar, with only a few ovals and the new Arlington Race left on that list. Palou now leads the IndyCar Championship, but only by 17 points over Kirkwood.

Unlikely Cars Round Out the Top Ten

The most exciting story of the day drops down the order to positions 8, 9, and 10 with the cars of RLL's Graham Rahal, ECR's Alexander Rossi, and Chip Ganassi's Kyffin Simpson, respectively.

Kyffin Simpson - Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | Via Penske Entertainment, Paul Hurley

Rahal is on what we can consider a 'hot streak'. After his podium last time out in Barber, finishing in the top 10 again marks a significant milestone. It is his first back-to-back top 10 since August of 2024. Similarly, for Alexander Rossi, the start to the 2026 season is measurably stronger than that of 2025, with three top 10 finishes in five races.

Kyffin Simpson has also had a strong start to the season compared to his 2025 run with the Chip Ganassi Team. As he continues to learn from his IndyCar Champion teammates, Palou and Dixon, this marks his second top 10 finish of the season, and Chip Ganassi's first all-team top 10 finish.

IndyCar returns to kick off the one and only Month of May at the Sonsio Grand Prix (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course) on Saturday, May 9th at 4:40 PM ET.

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