Dixon Leads Honda 1-2-3 Result in Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Practice

• Scott Dixon tops time charts in opening-day IndyCar Series action at Long Beach
• Ryan Hunter-Reay and rookie Felix Rosenqvist round out top three for Honda
• Previous Long Beach winners Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe post top-10 times

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 12, 2019) – The Honda-powered trio of Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Felix Rosenqvist led the way Friday at opening day NTT IndyCar Series practice in preparation for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.  It was the second year in a row that Dixon, a winner here in 2015, has led first day practice activities on the Southern California street circuit.

Hunter-Reay, the winner here in 2010, and Rosenqvist, Dixon’s rookie teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing, rounded out the top three as Honda drivers claimed seven of the top ten times in the debut of Acura as title sponsor for the 47^th running of the classic event.  Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal, and Circuit of the America’s race winner Colton Herta ended the day sixth through eighth, respectively.  James Hinchcliffe rounded out the top 10 for Honda.

Activities on the temporary street circuit continue tomorrow with final practice and qualifying.  Sunday’s 85-lap race starts at 4 p.m. EDT, with live television coverage on the NBC Sports Network.

Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) quickest in opening-day practice: “I think it was only an average run. I think I missed the timing line when I went to get the fast lap out of it. We ran long, and the grip felt high, but I made a pretty big mistake in the first two laps. But the PNC Bank car was strong and it was good this morning. I think the Hondas look strong. As you can tell, every weekend it’s super tight and the mix is quite heavy, so we will have to see what we can do to try to create a bit of a gap there.”