Andretti Autosport – Verizon IndyCar Series. Practice Report. Grand Prix of Long Beach

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The Verizon IndyCar Series kicked off the race weekend on the streets of Long Beach today with two practice sessions under the California sun. The field of 21 will again take to the streets tomorrow for morning practice followed by an afternoon qualifying session.

Catch the live broadcast of the Grand Prix of Long Beach starting on NBC Sports Network at 4:30 p.m. ET. Additionally, the IndyCar Radio Network will air the race on Sirius 212, XM 209, IndyCar.com and via the INDYCAR Mobile App, available internationally.

Carlos Muñoz
No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda

  • Has a best finish of third (2014) on the streets of Long Beach
  • Finished day one in Long Beach in the 10th position after two practice sessions

“I finished both practices top 10. We have to get a little bit of work done. In the car everyone is really close to each other, one-tenth would have put me top five. It’s just practice though, qualifying is another thing and the race is another thing. We’re looking a little bit better than last year. We’re making good progress as a team. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay
No. 28 DHL Honda

  • 2010 Grand Prix of Long Beach race winner is competiting in both IndyCar and IMSA races this weekend
  • Finished the morning practice session in the seventh position

“The day started out okay. I was P3 in the morning IMSA outing and then P7 in the morning IndyCar session. We made some big changes for the afternoon run and went the wrong way. We lost the car – I was just doing everything I could not to crash. We need to reinvent the wheel for tomorrow, but we’ll work at it and we’ll get there for the DHL car.”

Marco Andretti
No. 27 United Fiber & Data / Snapple Honda

  • Has a best finish of seventh (2013) on the 1.968-mile street circuit
  • Ran 14th in today’s Practice 1

“It seems like it’s taking a lot of laps for the tires to come in and we weren’t really able to put a run together with enough laps without a yellow or traffic. I was on a lap good enough for maybe eighth, but we need to improve it from there before we go out on track again tomorrow.”
Alexander Rossi
No. 98 Castrol Edge/Curb Honda

  • Had a shorted Practice 1 after making contact with the tires in Turn 8
  • Will make his first career Long Beach start with Sunday’s 80-lap race

“First of all its amazing to be in California and race in Long Beach. I love the track. It’s a really really great track, it’s probably in my top-3 street circuits I’ve ever been to. This morning was unfortunate, we had the session which ended in the tire barrier. I think the team did a great job getting the car prepared for this afternoon’s practice. Were in an okay position, it’s not great. We seem to be missing a little bit of pace, we’ll have to go back and understand why that is. I feel much more comfortable here than I did in St. Pete, so that’s a positive sign for the weekend ahead.”