It takes a special set of skills to navigate the downtown street course at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. That’s why there’s only 11 drivers to win the race multiple times, and that’s why a technically sound driver like Kyle Kirkwood can take the historic checkered flag after going more than a year without a win.
“This is a good one, it’s been a long time,” Kirkwood said. “This is a historic race, and I don’t think it’s set in yet for me. I know how special it is coming in to win the 50th anniversary, and to be a multi-time winner here is absolutely massive. It’s turning into a shorter and shorter list for me that my name’s on. And (Mario) Andretti has a huge history here, to add to that, is big for me.”
Kirkwood brought home the seventh Long Beach title for Andretti Autosport and became just the seventh racer to win two Long Beach titles in three years including Andretti.
It’s fair to say that Long Beach has been a major factor in Kirkwood staying relevant in the NTT IndyCar Series. He won here in 2023 and his only other win was in Nashville two years ago.
“The Long Beach wins mean the most,” said Kirkwood, who now sits second in the IndyCar championship standings, the highest he’s been in his career.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou is on top of the series standings after finishing second on Sunday, while Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard finished third as both watched Kirkwood keep them at a distance throughout the uneventful race that didn’t have any caution flags.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach staff and CEO/President Jim Michaelian are predicting that the 2024 record setting attendance of 194,000 will be beaten.
“This year was by far the most complex event that we’ve run here as a company,” Michaelian said. “Not only did we run all of the normal activities that we have, the racing and the off-track stuff, but on top of that we threw in six different 50th anniversary-designated events. … Our people took on a pretty heroic task.”
Kirkwood, 26, qualified in the pole position and drove a new perfect race while the pit strategy worked out perfectly. The Florida native led 45 of 90 laps while his average speed of 103.59 miles per hour clocked in as the second fastest average speed in the history of IndyCar in Long Beach.
“We controlled the race, even from practice,” said Kirkwood after the Winner’s Circle celebration. “We had a really good qualifying, it was an amazing race and strategy. It was just execution all across the board.”
“I maybe saw two other cars (during the race),” joked Lundgaard at the press conference.
Palou had the best chance to catch Kirkwood but was derailed by a slow exit out of the pits. He won the first two races of this season, and three of the last four IndyCar Series season titles.
“We didn’t have that ultimate speed that (Kirkwood) did,” Palou said. “It’s a shame that we couldn’t make it more interesting for the fans, but I’m super happy to be here.”
“This was a track position race today without any yellows,” Kirkwood said. “Execution across the board (from our team) is why we won. I told (the team) before the weekend, ‘This is where we turn it all around.’”
Andretti Autosport, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske all have seven Long Beach wins.
