ANDRETTI GLOBAL’S KYLE KIRKWOOD CAPTURES WIN AT THE ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH – INDYCAR PHOTO
LONG BEACH, Calif. (Sunday, April 13, 2025) – Kyle Kirkwood used a
superhuman drive Sunday on the streets of Long Beach to prove that Alex
Palou is human, after all.
Kirkwood mastered an intriguing contest of tire strategy and speed to
win the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach under sunny Southern
California skies, ending Palou’s two-race win streak to start the NTT
INDYCAR SERIES season.
Florida native Kirkwood earned his second Long Beach win from the pole
in the last three years, driving the No. 27 PreFab Honda of Andretti
Global to a 2.6859-second victory over runner-up Palou in the No. 10 DHL
Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Kirkwood also won this race in 2023, his
first NTT P1 Award and series victory.
“We controlled the race, even from practice,” Kirkwood said.
“Really good qualifying, amazing race, amazing strategy. It was just
execution all across the board that won us that race today because if
Palou was in front, he would have beat us, for sure. This was a
track-position race here today, without any yellows.”
Kirkwood led 46 of 90 laps in the second consecutive caution-free race
this season, the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES race without a yellow flag on
the iconic 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit and its
formidable and close concrete walls since 2016.
Christian Lundgaard finished third in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet
after passing Felix Rosenqvist’s No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank
Racing in Turn 1 for the final podium position with five laps remaining.
Rosenqvist placed fourth, as the top four finishers in the race also
hold the same spots in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings.
Two-time Long Beach winner Will Power rounded out the top five finishers
in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
Reigning series champion Palou, who started third, fell short of
becoming the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver to win the first three
races of the season since fellow series title winner and Chip Ganassi
Racing teammate Scott Dixon in 2020. But Palou’s metronomic, fast
consistency helped him keep the championship lead, by 34 points over
Kirkwood in second.
“You never feel amazing when you finish second, but honestly, the 27
car and Kyle, they were amazing all weekend,” Palou said. “Super
fast.
“I tried my chances, but we couldn’t really make it work. I had a
really bad start on my side, and that kind of put us on the back foot.
But we did the best we could. Amazing to be here second, but hopefully
next year we can just improve one step.”
The race quickly became a contest of dueling strategies between the
Firestone Firehawk primary and alternate tires. INDYCAR rules require
teams to use both tire compounds for at least two laps per race, and
many drivers who started on the grippier but less durable alternate
tires shed them within the first 10 laps for the more durable primary
compound.
Kirkwood and Palou were on the dominant strategy of the race, as Palou
pitted after Lap 6 and Kirkwood Lap 7 to get on the black-sidewall
tires. It became clear through the next fuel and tire cycles that
Kirkwood and Palou were the two fastest drivers on track, as the
strategists from each team kept close tabs on each other, ensuring no
missed chances to pounce due to changing tactics.
The true flashpoint of the race came on Lap 66. Palou made his final pit
stop at the end of Lap 64, taking a final set of Firestone Firehawk
primary tires. Kirkwood did the same at the end of Lap 65, and Palou was
right on his gearbox on hotter, grippier tires when Kirkwood exited the
pits at the start of Lap 66.
But Kirkwood stared down intense pressure on his out lap from Palou, who
never got close enough to make a move for the lead.
Kirkwood then took the lead for good on Lap 69 when Kyffin Simpson, one
of only six drivers to start the race on primary tires, pitted from the
lead in the No. 8 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda as he was
off-sequence on pit strategy from the drivers who started on the
alternate tire. That was the last of nine lead changes today, the most
for the INDYCAR SERIES at Long Beach since 2012.
Lundgaard led 26 laps – second to only Kirkwood – despite starting
12th and using the less-popular strategy of starting on primary tires.
His strong result came after Arrow McLaren mechanics worked overtime to
rebuild his car after Lundgaard crashed Saturday in qualifying.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Children’s of Alabama Indy
Grand Prix on Sunday, May 4 on the natural-terrain road course at Barber
Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.