2024 IndyCar Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Preview

Finally, the first of two four-week gaps this season is over, and the NTT IndyCar Series returns to action on Sunday (April 21) for 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’s a tough 1.9-mile road circuit, with a variety of layers of new asphalt mixed with aging asphalt that make entries for all 11 turns the most challenging of the year.

It’s one of the most scenic and spectacular tracks the series has visited, with a spectacular view down Shoreline Boulevard followed by funneling through Aquarium Fountain the second major event of the year, seconded only by the first turn at Indianapolis.

The historic theater is being reimagined.

The streets of Long Beach bring lots of speed and action. Find all the narratives that lead to @GPLongBeach this sunday pic.twitter.com/FaTzvtP9nO

– NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 19, 2024

Last year

Kyle Kirkwood made the most of his new opportunity with Andretti Global and new strategist Bryan Herta, taking his first IndyCar win in just his third race with the outfit. It was a dominating performance, as he took his first pole and then overtook his rivals during the final round of green flag stops to maintain his lead.

Is he doing it again?

Andretti has shown great setup skills on road courses, and Long Beach is the best example of that. Since 2018 and the era of universal aero equipment, the team has won four of the five editions run. In the race they did not win in 2022, one of their drivers – Romain Grosjean – finished second.

If not for Kirkwood, there is no doubt that the other three Andretti players could easily have won. Their longest-serving driver Colton Herta won in 2021 and led the field from the pole in 2022, but is on a 30-race summer since his last win.

The only local competitor that Kirkwood should worry about is newcomer Marcus Ericsson. During his tenure with Chip Ganassi Racing, three of his four wins were on the road circuit. So it’s not certain that Kirkwood will lead the charge at Andretti when the green flag flies on Sunday.

Output vs. Dixon

Will we see a 2nd round of the Pato O’Ward and Scott Dixon tie that knocked out the six-time champion in 2023?

Last year, O’Ward was coming off two disappointing ‘near-wins’ in St. Pete and Texas to start his season, so he was struggling to put himself in victory lane. A dive at turn 8 by the young Mexican driver put Dixon in the tire barrier and he subsequently retired from the race. While the move was ambitious, no penalty awarded seemed to anger Dixon more than the move itself.

Looking at how the rest of the year played out, Dixon had the last laugh from the engagement. O’Ward had never visited victory lane, and like Herta, is snapping a long win streak, 23 runs and counting. Meanwhile, Dixon continued to do typical Dixon things, scoring top-10 finishes in every race since and adding three more wins to his career tally. For those keeping track, that’s Dixon, 55 – O’Ward, four.

Both drivers eventually shrugged off the incident, Dixon even more so later when he finished behind O’Ward at Road America in the summer. In a series that needs stage competition to strengthen the competition, for a while it looked like a six-time champion against a young, hungry (and more famous) driver was in the pipeline.

O’Ward hasn’t had a good run in his career in Long Beach, so he’ll focus on trying to keep the momentum going after his runner-up finish. ~~213~~ 40 days ago in St.

Palou Launch Pad

Defending champion Alex Palou dominated the brutal Thermal Club $1 Million Challenge. Although the structure could have played into his hands, giving him victory, it must be of little concern to the paddock that the Spaniard has already found a way to victory in 2024.

Flash back to a year ago, when Palou shook off the rust that settled in after a disastrous 2022 campaign and took the GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, launching his second championship season by winning four of the next five. race. If it weren’t for the crash with Rinus Veekay in the pit at the Indianapolis 500 that ruined his great performance up to that point, he would be looking at five straight wins (not to mention his smiley mug at Borg-Warner).

The rest of the field should be on the edge. Although he is winless in Long Beach, it is only a matter of time. In his three attempts, he has finished fifth or better. The clouds of victory in Long Beach are looming for Palou, and the thunder could strike this weekend.

The Remaining Fields

With a long break since St. Pete, it’s like the season is starting for the second time, and everything is new again. It is difficult to know who hit the road, and burned the ball better than anyone else. But let’s try to figure that out.

Winner of St. Pete Josef Newgarden blew away the field with his performance, leaving no doubt that the race would be his. He’s the only non-Andretti car to win at Long Beach with this current car, and he may show up with another big entry. Entering the season, he is focused on one thing – to win the third championship.

Felix Rosenqvist has qualified on the front row in both races this year, but needs to nail down a good result to prove he can complete the package.

Juncos Hollinger’s Grosjean finished second last year at Long Beach and qualified in his first race with his new team at St. Ring He has excelled in street racing since moving to IndyCar, but it seems his story ends up being more negative than positive towards the end of the race.

Two-time Long Beach winner Alexander Rossi is making his 19th race start with Arrow McLaren Racing but has a best finish of third to his name. With many drivers testing the No. 6 while interim driver David Malukas continues to rehabilitate his hand injury, McLaren may be evaluating the possibility of taking Rossi’s seat next year, if they want to.

This is a team that expects to win, and they are not afraid of jet drivers after one year, let alone many years like Rossi. I’m not saying he’s on the hot seat, but getting a good result to show the suits that they have two top dogs would be a good thing.

Arrow McLaren announced that Théo Pourchaire will race the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevy at this weekend’s Long Beach Grand Prix.

– Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team (@ArrowMcLaren) April 18, 2024

Frontstretch Race Predictions

What? do I even want to look at my Thermal Club predictions? Oh, I did. And they were ‘angry’ as the kids say.

The two drivers I chose (Grosjean and Will Power) did not make the final heat, and the latter, Newgarden, was never in contention. Let’s analyze that to get a picture of the event and there is no historical data to back it up. Well, that sounds good.

This week it’s all about street course packages.

Palou – as I mentioned above, the Spaniard has his torch on and will be a problem. He takes his first win in Long Beach.
Kirkwood – backs up a strong qualifying effort with his second career win.
Newgarden – Astor Cup or bust for this two-time champion. So he continues to be fast and finish on the podium.

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Last year

Output vs. Dixon

Palou Launch Pad

The Remaining Fields

Frontstretch Race Predictions

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