Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – Almost as quickly as the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach began, the championship hopes for Pato O’Ward vanished just as fast. Starting the day with high hopes that he would be able to put up a challenge for the Astor Challenge Cup, it took just one lap on the Southern California street course for everything to go awry. As the field stormed into Turn 11 on that first lap, O’Ward found himself in the middle of a hornet’s nest, when EdRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. – A lot has changed in the world since 2019. The three NTT IndyCar Series title contenders are no exception as their racing careers have also undergone change over the course of the past two years. When the checkered flag dropped at Laguna Seca that year, Josef Newgarden was celebrating his second INDYCAR title, which lifted a tremendous amount of stress off him. Current championship leader Alex Palou was racing in Japan’s Super Formula, along with Pato O’Ward, who was also racing inRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – Qualifying has been the bane of Josef Newgarden’s existence in recent weeks, but Saturday, the tide turned in his favor with a lap fast enough to score the pole for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Still mathematically eligible for the NTT IndyCar Series championship, the elation among the No. 1 team was palpable, with Newgarden emerging from his Team Penske Chevrolet following his pole-winning run with arms stretched upwards, yelling “F*** yeah!” to his team, knowing he was still inRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. – NTT IndyCar Series championship leader Alex Palou will have some work to do for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. He not only failed to make the Firestone Fast Six, but his 10th starting position was also the worst among the title contenders. Josef Newgarden ended up winning the NTT P1 Pole Award, cutting his gap on Palou to 47 points. Pato O’Ward, who also missed the Fast Six, will start two spots ahead of the Spaniard in eighth. During RoundRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – For Colton Herta, it’s déjà vu all over again. In a repeat of Friday’s first practice, Herta was fast again during the second practice of the weekend for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, topping the board with a scorching lap of one minute, 7.978 seconds. “We tried to find that happy medium between drivability and comfort and it looks like we’re pretty close,” Herta said. “We feel really good. I think there’s still some work to do to make theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. – Charlie Kimball was one of two drivers who failed to qualify for the 105th Indianapolis 500. He hasn’t been back in an Indy car since, but that’ll change this Sunday at Long Beach, Kimball’s home circuit. Driving the third AJ Foyt Racing entry, the Camarillo native told Motorsports Tribune Thursday this weekend will symbolize a proper end of a crushing Month of May. “It’ll be nice to close the loop a little bit on the Month of May because not qualifying forRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – Coming off his win one week ago, Colton Herta found himself in familiar territory on Friday’s opening practice for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with his Andretti Autosport Honda at the top of the board. Reminiscent of his run on the Streets of Nashville back in August, Herta’s car looked to be out of control around the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course, but the clock doesn’t lie as the 21-year-old put up a lap of one minute, 9.268 seconds toRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LONG BEACH, Calif. – Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is both a homecoming and a dream realized for NTT IndyCar Series rookie Jimmie Johnson. The Southern California native, who grew up attending races in Long Beach in his younger days before moving over to the stock car ranks and eventually winning seven NASCAR Cup Series championship, had long dreamed of being able to climb behind the wheel of an open-wheel car to compete in the annual IndyCar race on the streets of Long Beach.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. – A new chapter will begin for Andretti Autosport’s No. 28 team in 2022, announcing Friday that Romain Grosjean will compete in the entire 17-race schedule for the organization next season. Grosjean will replace Ryan Hunter-Reay in one of the sport’s most recognizable cars. DHL will also stay with the team as it’ll be their 12th straight year sponsoring the No. 28 Honda-powered entry. In his first 12 NTT IndyCar Series starts, Grosjean has won a pole and reached the podium three times,Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer LONG BEACH, Calif. – Road to Indy will look different on the Indy Lights side of things next season. Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles confirmed Friday that Penske Entertainment will take over sanctioning body and promotional operations. This role that was previously run by Andersen Promotions. Dan Andersen’s entity will continue running the other two RTI divisions (Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000) beyond 2021. “It has been our pleasure and honor to oversee the promotion and organization of Indy Lights for these past eightRead More