INDYCAR Race Report | Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

Source: Team PR

THE TEAM

  • Kyle Kirkwood swept the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race weekend recording his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole position and race win. 
  • Toda
    y’s race win is Andretti Autosport’s sixth win on the streets of Long Beach (Hunter-Reay – 2010, Conway – 2011, Rossi – 2018 + 2019, Herta – 2021, Kirkwood – 2023) and first in the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. 
  • Kirkwood led the 27-car field to green from his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES career pole position, and Andretti Autosport’s fifth at Long Beach, with teammates Romain Grosjean, Colton Herta and Devlin DeFrancesco taking the start of the 85-lap race from third, seventh and 20th, respectively. 
  • Kirkwood, who led 53 laps of the 85-lap race, remained steadily in the top three throughout the duration of the race and reclaimed the race lead after his final pit stop. The No. 27 AutoNation Honda recorded the fastest leader lap of the race with a fast-lap time of 1:07.9714. 
  • Romain Grosjean stayed solidly in the lead pack ultimately slotting in behind teammate Kirkwood after the final pit cycle and coming away with a second-place finish. 
  • Colton Herta and the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda made up three spots throughout the race just missing out on the final step of the podium coming away with a fourth-place finish. 
  • Devlin DeFrancesco, who encountered a fuel issue during Saturday’s qualifying session, made up four positions throughout the race to score a 16th-place finish. 

THE RACE

  • The 85-lap race saw only two caution periods for a total of seven yellow-flag laps. 
  • There were seven lead changes throughout the race, one of which included Kirkwood taking the lead for the final time on Lap 56. 
STARTFINISHCHAMPIONSHIP
748 (69 pts)

“It felt like having a double-double right after the race, it just felt right. The guys are good, everyone’s happy and everyone is excited for the upcoming races. We have a strong package for the next races, too. Happy for Andretti Autosport as a whole. It was a great first win for Kyle – he drove perfectly. Andretti 1-2-4 and I’m good with that. We’re taking it one step at a time and one race at a time and we’ll focus on a good result for the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda at Barber now.”

STARTFINISHCHAMPIONSHIP
115 (74 pts)

“What an amazing day – what an amazing day for Andretti Autosport. We had first, second and fourth. We all had fast enough cars to win today, ultimately it was me because I started from the pole, and we played the strategy perfectly. We had a little bit of a mishap in the middle stint where we got caught up with some lapped traffic and nearly crashed. But we overcame that. We were able to get back to the lead and everything worked out perfectly. The AutoNation Honda was on rails and the Honda power was perfect. I’m just so happy for everyone the 27 team and the whole Andretti Autosport group.”

STARTFINISHCHAMPIONSHIP
327 (71 pts)

“I’m so happy for Kyle. He drove a hell of a race like a champ all weekend, so he deserved that win. We tried everything we could on our end, but it wasn’t easy. There were a few situations and we couldn’t really attack. The No. 28 DHL Honda could have been a touch better here and there, but it feels good to finish P2. I just stayed out of trouble and did what we had to do to get a good result. It wasn’t easy saving that much fuel for that long, but I think we did a good job and I’m happy for Honda, DHL and the whole Andretti Autosport team. I wish it was us up on the top step of the podium, but Kyle deserved it this weekend.” 

STARTFINISHCHAMPIONSHIP
201626 (26 pts)

‘We may have started the race today on the back foot due to the fuel issue in qualifying, but this weekend we proved that we’re clearly capable of fighting at the sharp end and we can be proud of that. The No. 29 Capstone Honda showed a great amount of speed, but unfortunately we just didn’t get the chance to show what we could do during qualifying or the race. Regardless, I’m happy for the team and for Kyle. Hopefully we can turn things around in Barber.’

“Kyle is the real deal and we knew it a long time ago when he won the Championship for us in the INDY NXT by Firestone Series. We knew he was something special and he’s really doing us proud. Getting your first win at a place like Long Beach is extra special. It’s a hugely, iconic event and it’ll always be meaningful to him. 

I’m just proud of the whole team really. We did a great job across the board with all the cars. I’m so happy for everyone who worked hard over the winter to get us back up front and help us crack the bad luck we had in the first two races. It was definitely a big weekend for us. I’m happy for AutoNation to get a win with us and also DHL to be right there fighting up front and coming away with a podium finish. 

It couldn’t be a better day for us. This is the medicine we needed. We knew we had quick cars and we knew if we just kept our heads down, we were going to get the results. We just need to keep it going now.”