Felix Rosenqvist drives his Acura-liveried Honda to Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach pole position
April 19, 2026
— LONG BEACH, CA
- Meyer Shank Racing dominates Saturday with Felix Rosenqvist scoring the IndyCar pole position for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
- Acura MSR takes IMSA victory for Acura earlier today
- Honda powers four of the Firestone Fast Six, Dixon makes first appearance of 2026
Felix Rosenqvist will lead the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field to green at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach as the Swedish driver completed a Meyer Shank Racing sweep of Saturday’s track activities.
Rosenqvist, previously a Long Beach polesitter in 2024, set a blistering time in single-car qualifying for the Firestone Fast Six and was able to secure pole position for Honda and Acura’s home race in a car that features Acura branding to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary.
It was the second P1 of the day for the MSR team as their Acura Meyer Shank Racing teammates on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship side took victory aboard their Acura ARX-06.
Four time and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou qualified third as the Spaniard seeks his first Long Beach win, while ‘King of the Streets’ Kyle Kirkwood will start fourth as he looks for his third win at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in the last four years. Kirkwood currently leads the IndyCar championship by two points over Palou as the Andretti Global driver has kicked off the year in an impressive fashion—without a single finish outside the top five.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon made the Firestone Fast Six for the first time this season. The IndyCar legend and six-time series champion is looking for his third win on the streets of the beach from the sixth position on the grid.
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Honda Qualifying Results
| 1st Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
| 3rd Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 4th Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global Honda |
| 6th Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 7th Will Power | Andretti Global Honda |
| 9th Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing Honda |
| 10th Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 13th Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank Racing Honda |
| 15th Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global Honda |
| 17th Louis Foster | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 19th Dennis Hauger– R | Dale Coyne Racing Honda |
| 21st Mick Schumacher– R | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda |
| 23rd Romain Grosjean | Dale Coyne Racing Honda |
R – Rookie
Quotes
Felix Rosenqvist (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda) qualified first: “We got the pole here at Long Beach with an Acura-branded Honda! Meyer Shank Racing got the win earlier today in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and now we secured pole position on the IndyCar side. This has been a phenomenal day for us. Thank you everyone for cheering us on, let’s rip tomorrow for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.”
Kyle Kirkwood (#27 Andretti Global Honda) qualified fourth: “What a good day for Honda! Four Hondas in the Fast Six and a Honda on pole position. What an awesome day for Acura too with the win here in IMSA in the GTP class—that was great to watch. I’m hoping to repeat it again tomorrow for the 51st running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. We had a great result in the 50th edition, which was a big one for everybody here. We’re looking forward to tomorrow and using that Honda power and Honda fuel economy to get us back to victory lane again.”
Scott Dixon (#9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) qualified sixth: “It’s been a little bit of a frustrating start to the year, but I’m definitely happy for the Honda group. It’s great to see Felix on pole position, he is one of my best mates. It was a strong qualifying for us too in the #9 CGR car. I sometimes feel like it takes our car a little bit to get going, we just don’t turn the tires on as quick, especially when going second-to-last in the solo qualifying runs. Felix and Alex went a little bit earlier, and they did a really good job. This is huge for Honda with lots of us in the Fast Six. Hopefully we’re going have one of us win the race tomorrow.”
David Salters (President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): “Truly exceptional qualifying results from Honda ahead of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. To have four Hondas in the Fast Six is an outcome that we can all be very proud of today, but the job is not done yet. Everyone at Honda Racing Corporation USA will be continuing to put in the work to convert this into a win tomorrow. Congratulations to Felix and Meyer Shank Racing—what an incredible day they have had by not only securing pole position in IndyCar, but the victory with our Acura ARX-06 in IMSA competition as well. It’s been a big day for Acura on both the IMSA and IndyCar sides of the paddock which is great for the celebration of the brand’s 40th anniversary and the Acura branding on Felix’s car leading the field for tomorrow’s race. Let’s keep pushing and see what tomorrow brings for our home race.”
Where to Watch
- Television coverage of Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach starts at 5:30 PM ET/ 2:30 PM PT on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
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