Acura Grand Prix 2024 Odds: Who Will Win at Long Beach?

The 2024 IndyCar season is back in championship action after a one-off race at the Thermal Club. Defending IndyCar champion Álex Palou won from pole position in an outstanding performance earlier in the season. This week, the IndyCar grid returns to a familiar street course: Long Beach. And Acura Grand Prix 2024 Odds give Palou a slight edge this time.

2024 Acura Grand Prix Odds: Favorites in Long Beach

Alex Palou (+400)

Palou leads the odds after that big win in Thermal. He has never won at the Long Beach GP but has a good record there. Three career races have resulted in three top-five finishes and 24 laps combined. He regularly ran well in street courses; 17 career races in that format have him ranked sixth. He has just one career IndyCar win on street courses, though, with a strong run at Detroit last year. There is no reason to think that he will not compete for victory again.

Pato O’Ward (+450)

O’Ward finished second in the season opener at St. Petersburg for the second year in a row. He did not qualify for the Thermal race, so there is only one race on his resume this season. Unfortunately, Long Beach is one of his worst songs on IndyCar schedule.

That’s his worst average finish (15th) at any track he’s raced at least twice. He has just one top-10 finish – a fifth in 2022 – and finished the cycle low last year. O’Ward needs a win sooner rather than later to keep his championship hopes alive, but it may not be this weekend.

Kyle Kirkwood (+550)

Kirkwood got his first pole position IndyCar qualifying and won in this competition last year. It preceded strong results at multiple street courses that season, including top-10 finishes at Detroit and Nashville. He started 2024 off the 12th place in St. Petersburg and will look to improve this weekend.

Even before his shock victory last year, Kirkwood had a torrid run at Long Beach in 2022, going from 12th on the grid to 10th at the checkered flag. In his short career at this level, the best IndyCar results from time to time they have come to street courses. The last driver to win back-to-back races at Long Beach was Alexander Rossi in 2018-19. Kirkwood may be the second to do it.

Josef Newgarden (+650)

The leader of the championship took a great victory from pole position in St. Petersburg followed by eighth place in Thermal. He is in good shape to start 2024 after fading from the title race last season.

Newgarden has been steady in Long Beach lately. He has finished in the top 10 in each of the last eight races there, including a win in 2022. Last year was one of his lowest-average results – ninth after starting eighth on the grid – but he already has a win of the street under him. belt in 2024. He should be highly regarded for race wins.

Colton Herta (+750)

Herta has already had one of the best starts of his IndyCar career, finishing fifth in St. Petersburg and the fourth Thermal. That marks his best average over the opening two rounds since his rookie year in 2019.

Long Beach is Herta’s home race, and the Santa Clarita native tends to be a strong performer there. He won this race in 2021 and led the most laps. Last year, his fourth-place finish at Long Beach was one of only three top-five results of the year. The potential is there, and he already looks in good shape to start the year. It would be a surprise if he wasn’t fighting for the win or at least near the front.

2024 Acura Grand Prix Odds: Sleeper Picks

Scott McLaughlin (+1200)

McLaughlin has been the top IndyCar driver on the grid in 2024. He is the only one with two podium results and a third at St. Louis. Petersburg and the second in Thermal. His track record is solid but unimpressive at Long Beach, with 11th in 2021, 14th in 2022, and 10th in 2023. This is more a bet on his recent form than his history at this event. .

Scott Dixon (+1400)

When in doubt, go to one of the most complete drives on the grid. A technical glitch last year ended a remarkable run of consistency in Long Beach. From 2015 to 2022, Dixon finished in the top 10 all but once and won the race in 2015. Dixon typically runs better on road courses than off-road courses, but it would be unwise to rule him out of contention.

Alexander Rossi (+2000)

Sleepers with multiple wins on this track are a big bet for the flyer. Rossi won this event in 2018 and 2019 but has not had a similar success since then. He finished 22nd last year, eighth in 2022, and sixth in 2021. It would be a change from that race, but he’s off to a good start in 2024. Eighth in St. Louis. Petersburg and seventh in Thermal gives confidence that he can run well this weekend.

2024 Acura Grand Prix Odds: Prediction

The Long Beach local circuit is a staple of the IndyCar racing calendar and provides fans with an exciting spectacle up close. Passing will be difficult but not impossible for drivers, and qualifying will be very important.

Among the favourites, we like Herta to be successful in his hometown race with strong IndyCar potential. Of the sleepers, we like McLaughlin but Rossi is the best option for the best payoff.

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