The NTT IndyCar Series is back on track this weekend for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach, California. After one of the most entertaining races in recent memory in Texas, drivers are ready for another grueling race on the streets of Long Beach.
Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, last season’s race winner, headlines the list of seven former winners in the field for the 85-lap, 167-mile race on Sunday. Winning at Long Beach is no easy task with bumpy high-speed corners mixed with narrow walls; Team Penske’s Will Power and Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi are the only drivers in the field to have won consecutive races on the street circuit.
Entering the weekend, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward leads the championship standings with a seven-point gap between himself and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson, but Ericsson has yet to finish better than 20th at Long Beach, with finishes of 20th, 22nd and 28th.
Heading into race day, I am predicting that a two-stop strategy will be the preferred strategy, just as it was in St. Petersburg, Florida. There are three drivers that I am keeping an eye on that I believe could be standing on the top step of the podium come Sunday evening.
Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta
In three prior starts on the streets of Long Beach, it has either been first or worst for Herta. Herta won 2021’s edition of the Grand Prix of Long Beach but finished last in 2022 and 2019.
In this season’s only other street course race in St. Petersburg on March 4, Herta had one of the fastest cars but was taken out by Power halfway through the race. Herta finished third in the first Long Beach practice on Friday, so there is speed in his No. 27 Gainbridge Honda. If he can stay out of trouble on Sunday, I think Colton Herta could find himself in victory lane.
Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward
In the season’s first two rounds, O’Ward finished second in both races, but a breakthrough could be in the cards for Sunday. In three prior starts on the streets of Long Beach, O’Ward has an average finish of 14.6, but a race win is not unrealistic.
O’Ward finished first in the first practice on Friday, which could be telling for who will be at the front on Sunday. After finishing fifth last year and finishing second at St. Petersburg’s street course, Pato O’Ward might be standing on the top step of the podium on Sunday.
Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean
Grosjean looked destined to win his first IndyCar Series race in St. Petersburg, but a collision with Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin ended any hope of doing so. After starting sixth and finishing second last year on the streets of Long Beach, Grosjean finished fifth in the first practice on Friday. I would not be surprised if Romain Grosjean is in the front and mixing it up at the end of the race on Sunday.
Who I predict will win: Colton Herta
IndyCar drivers will take to the track Saturday for the second practice beginning at 11:45 a.m. on Peacock. Qualifications will begin at 3:05 p.m. Saturday and will also air on Peacock, with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday on NBC.
