Second, third for Honda power at Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

• Romain Grosjean scores fourth-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES podium
• Alex Palou finishes third for Chip Ganassi Racing to give Honda a double podium
• Four different Honda-powered teams score top 10 finishes

LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 10) – Romain Grosjean and Alex Palou both put their Honda-powered INDYCAR machines on the podium at today’s 47th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. 

Though the early stages of the race were dominated by Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta, the 2021 winner found himself in the third position after the first round of pit stops and unfortunately, later, made contact with the wall to end his race.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Palou would inherit the lead after jumping both Herta and Josef Newgarden on pit road during the first round of pit stops, and would maintain that position through the second stint. But in the second and final pit stop cycle, Palou would drop behind eventual-winner Newgarden. 

For Andretti Autosport #28 driver Romain Grosjean, starting from the sixth position after a crash at the end of Saturday’s qualifying, a combination of tire strategy and gusty on-track passes saw the Formula One veteran move through the field and, eventually, around Palou in the closing laps of the race for second place. 

Palou’s Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon, Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal, Andretti’s Alexander Rossi and Meyer Shank Racing’s Helio Castroneves also notched top 10 finishes today for Honda.

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Honda Race Results

• 2^nd Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
• 3^rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 6^th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
• 7^th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 8^th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
• 9^th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
• 15^th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 17^th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 18^th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda [running]
• 19^th Simon Pageaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda [running]
• 20^th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 21^st David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 22^nd Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 23^rd Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – contact]
• 25^th Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – contact]

R – Rookie

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship Standings (unofficial, after 3 of 17 rounds)

• 1. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske 118 points
• 2. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske 113
• 3. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 103
• 4. Will Power, Team Penske 102
• 5. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing 83
• 6. Roman Grosjean, Andretti Autosport 75

Quotes

Romain Grosjean (#28 Andretti Autosport Honda) Finished 2^nd: “It was a pretty good day out there! It’s a bummer we didn’t start P2, that would have made my day a lot easier. But, we had the right strategy, good pit stops, and pushed hard. The yellow [caution flag] really brought us back into the game and from there I made a couple of overtakes to get into second. Was just a little bit shy of getting the win today. Next time!” 

Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Finished 3^rd: “It was an exciting race! Started third, finished third, but a lot of things happened in that race. I think we did an amazing job with strategy on that first [pit] stop. We had to overtake Herta and Newgarden somehow, and we didn’t want to be at risk of any yellows, so we pitted early, really went for it and led some laps—that was amazing. But on the second stop, Josef got us there. It was a nice battle on track and another podium for us, so I’m feeling really confident for what’s ahead.” 

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: “The weekend started off really well with Colton getting pole. Today, it was a really tight race throughout and very exciting for the fans here at the track. We definitely have pace on street courses. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t put it all together for a win, but it was still a good result for Romain and for Alex. Thanks to everyone who came out to watch. It was a great crowd, there was a lot of excitement and we’re sorry we couldn’t deliver a victory in front of our home crowd!” 

Fast Facts

Honda-powered drivers and teams have won the Grand Prix of Long Beach 15 times in 22 appearances. This includes victories in eight of the last 13 races; and a seven-year victory streak from 1996-2002.

Launched in 1986 as the first Japanese luxury automotive brand, Acura is a leading nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance – a commitment to expressive styling, high performance and innovative engineering, all built on a foundation of quality and reliability. Both Acura and its American Honda parent have their U.S. headquarters in Torrance, California.

Next

The NTT IndyCar Series next heads to scenic Barber Motorsports Park, just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, for the May 1 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.

Honda Racing social media content and video links from the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach can be found on Instagram (www.instagram.com/hondaracing_hpd), Twitter (twitter.com/HondaRacing_HPD) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HondaRacingHPD).

Additional features and long-form videos can be found on the Honda Racing/HPD YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV).