Race weekend: Friday, April 11 – Sunday, April 13
Track: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course (clockwise) in Long Beach, California
Race distance: 90 laps / 177.12 miles
Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time, with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation, with a maximum deployment of 415 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: Five sets primary (hard) and five sets alternate (soft) to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
X: @GPLongBeach, @INDYCAR, #AGPLB, #INDYCAR
Instagram: @GPLongBeach, @INDYCAR, #AGPLB, #INDYCAR
Facebook: @GrandPrixLB, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
TikTok: @grandprixlongbeach, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @INDYCAR
Event website: www.gplb.com
INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com
2024 race winner: Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
2024 NTT P1 Award: Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda), 1:06.0172, 107.317 mph
Qualifying lap record: Colton Herta, 1:05.3095, 108.480 mph, April 9, 2022
FOX Sports telecast: Practice 1, 6 p.m. ET, Friday, FS1 (live); Practice 2, 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Warmup, Noon ET Sunday, FS1 (live); Race, 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be available on FOX Deportes.
INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn, Jonathan Grace and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race (4 p.m. ET on April 13) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.
At-track schedule (all local times):
Friday, April 11
3:05-4:25 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1 (split group format), FS1 (live)
Saturday, April 12
8:30-9:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 (limited green flag guarantee of 45 minutes), FS1 (live)
11:35 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), FS2 (live)
Sunday, April 13
9:02-9:27 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, FS1 (live)
12:59 p.m. – Driver introductions
1:30 p.m. – FOX on air
1:45 p.m. – Start engines command
1:52 p.m. – Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (90 laps/177.12 miles), FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network (live). Spanish telecast on FOX Deportes (live)
WHAT TO LOOK FOR AT LONG BEACH:
1. Palou on repeat: After scoring wins in the first two races of the season, Alex Palou looks to continue his winning streak and become just the fourth driver since 1979 to open the season with three or more wins.
Scott Dixon was the last driver to start the season with three wins, when he captured the first three races of the 2020 season. Dixon, Sebastien Bourdais (first four races of the 2006 Champ Car season) and Paul Tracy (first three wins of 2003 CART season) all won INDYCAR SERIES titles after starting the season with a win streak.
2. It’s not where you start…: Except for Alexander Rossi’s wins in 2018-19 and Kyle Kirkwood’s win from pole in 2023, the pole position has not been the place to start at Long Beach.
Just six drivers have won Long Beach from the top spot. While pole winners have scored podium finishes in recent races, they’ve also finished 15th or worse just as often (Colton Herta – 23rd in 2022, Ryan Hunter-Reay – 20th in 2014, Dario Franchitti – 15th in 2012, and Justin Wilson – 19th in 2008).
3. …It’s where you finish: Alex Palou is the only driver to finish in the top five in both of this season’s events. Palou, who won at St. Petersburg and Thermal, is one of six drivers to finish in the top 10 in each race, so far. The other drivers are Scott Dixon, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi.
Race Notes:
- This weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will mark the 50th auto racing event and the 41st INDYCAR SERIES event on the historic Long Beach street circuit. Mario Andretti won the first INDYCAR SERIES race in 1984. Scott Dixon won the race in 2024.
- Three California natives are entered: 2018 and 2019 race winner Alexander Rossi is a native of Nevada City, while Andretti Global’s Colton Herta, the 2021 race winner, hails from Valencia. Nolan Siegel, who made his INDYCAR SERIES debut at Long Beach in 2024, hails from Palo Alto.
- Al Unser Jr. has won the most times at Long Beach (six), while Scott Dixon, Will Power and Alexander Rossi are the only entered drivers with multiple wins. Dixon won in 2015 and 2020 Power won in 2008 and 2012, and Rossi won in 2018 and 2019. Other former race winners scheduled to compete are Colton Herta (2021), Josef Newgarden (2022) and Kyle Kirkwood (2023).
- Six drivers have won the race from the pole – Mario Andretti (1984, 1985 and 1987), Al Unser Jr. (1989-90), Helio Castroneves (2001), Sebastien Bourdais (2006-07), Alexander Rossi (2018-19) and Kyle Kirkwood (2023).
- Twenty-four of the 27 drivers entered have competed in INDYCAR SERIES races at Long Beach. Will Power has 18 starts, the most among all entered drivers. Nine entered drivers have led laps: Power 187, Alexander Rossi 151, Scott Dixon 146, Josef Newgarden 100, Colton Herta 78, Kyle Kirkwood 54, Alex Palou 24, Graham Rahal 4 and Felix Rosenqvist 1.
- Milestones: Alexander Rossi will attempt to make his 150th INDYCAR SERIES start at Long Beach … Marcus Ericsson will attempt to make his 100th INDYCAR SERIES start at Long Beach…Scott Dixon will look to extend his consecutive starts streak to 342 – the longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Dixon’s next top-10 finish will be the 300th of his career.
