Photo by Joe Skibinski

For those who enjoy tactical races, this one was a beauty. Several pit strategies were in play, but Kyle Kirkwood’s crew made he right calls. Kirkwood won his third career race and second Long Beach Grand Prix in three years.

There was some passing and some contact, but nothing that warranted a caution. In three 2025 races, the only caution took place at the start of the season opener at St. Pete. Christian Lundgaard thinks the hybrid has contributed o the lack of cautions since the drivers can refire the cars. Plaou thinks it is just a coincidence.

Kirkwood drove a masterful race. He maintained pace and there was perfect execution in the pits.

Kirkwood said that winning the 50th Long Beach Grand Prix was “massive.” He thanked Honda for their efforts over the off season, which led to improvements.

Top Drives

Christian Lundgaard drove a great race as one the six drivers starting on primary tires. His tire choice got him to the front and he stayed in the lead group all day.

Felix Rosenqvist finished where he started in fourth. He lost third to Lundgaard near the end of the race.

Will Power had another great drive, finishing fifth from 13th onn the starting grid. If Power can qualify in the top 12 or six, he will probably win a race or two.

Notes

Kirkwood is now second in points, just 34 points behind Palou. Lundgaard, in third is slightly more than a race behind Palou.

Josef Newgarden’s seat belt issue is the second for Team Penske in the last four races. Will Power had the same problem at Nashville in the 2024 season finale. I find this concerning that one team has had this problem twice over such a brief number of races.

There were 169 passes and 9 lead changes among six drivers, the most since 2012.

Unlike many races I have attended, most ofthe fans in the stands between turns 9 and 10 stayed for the entire race. Incan think of several tracks where fans began leaving before the halfway point.

Thanks for following along this weekend. Tomorrow is a travel day. On Tuesday I will have a wrap-up of this historic weekend.