As soon as Kyle Kirkwodd and Andretti Autosport announced their deal for 2023, I knew Kirkwood would win a pole and possibly a race this season. The first two races gave me pause, but so far this weekend has restored my faith.
Kirkwood won the pole for tomorrow’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, beating Marcus Ericsson by 0.0375 seconds.he took the lead on his final lap. Kirkwood led the first qualifying group and was third in Round 2. . .
Kirkwood has now won at least one pole on every level of American open wheel racing., beginning with F1600. He is also the first driver to win championships on each level of the Road to Indy. Is his first Indycar victory in the cards for tomorrow? He has stiff competition just in the fast Six, let alone Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin who didn’t advance.
Notes
Why did Pato O’Ward not save his tires as his crew requestedon the final hot lap of Round 2? he was secure in the Fast Six. O’Ward was the fastest a;; weeken, but will start sixth.
Andretti Autosport has won the pole at both street races in 2023.
Do not dismiss the chances of the Chip Ganassi racing cars tomorrow. They were in the top 10 all weekend, and Scott Dixon, Marcus ericsson, and Alex palou all made the Fast Six. Ericsson starts second.
If today and esterday are precursors of how the race will go, we could see another yellow filled race.
Pato O’Ward retained first place in practice two at long Beach this morning. O’Ward turned the only lap under1:06 of the the weekend with a 1;05.9982 late in the session.
Three minutes into todays practice Callum Ilott hit a new curb and sailed into the tires. Three minutes after practice resumed, Rinus Veekay had the same thing happen to him. The extra curb was not in place during prctice yesterday. It was removed for the IMSA practice and qualifying. The curb was in place for Indycars in 2022. Drivers were not informed of the curb’s placement before the session began.
Andretti Autosport continues to show speed, with Kyle Kirkwood second, Romain Grosjean third, and Colton Herta fourth.
TScott Dixon led the Ganassi cars in seventh, followed by Marcus Ericsson in eightth and Alex Palou in tenth.
There were several wall brushes and some traffic issues during the practice round, which is not surprising with n27 cars on track. The best moment was Kyle kirkwood giving David malukas the tumbs up for ruining his lap.
Pato O’Ward posted the quickest lap in Friday’s first prcatice for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The session saw a lot of slidin, especiay in the bewly paved areaHel;io Castrnv=eves and Agustin canapino brought out the only red fla when they each stalled in different areas the track at nearly the same time.
Andretti Autosport showed its expected streng with Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta leading at various times. Kyle Kirkwood also had some time in the top five.
In addition to O’ward, Arrow McLaren placed Alexander Rossi seventh and Felix rosenqvist ninth.
Chip Ganassi Racing also had a strong day with Scott Dixon second, Marcus Ericsson fourth, and Alex Palou sixth.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing demonstrated sopme improvement with Christian Lundgaard 10th and Jack harvey 12th. Graham Rahal finished 16th.
If I could only go to one race a year besides the Indianpolis 500, it would be the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The city embraces the race, the event oozes history and prestige, and I always have a great time there,
The 48th Grand Prix of Long Beach will be a pivotal early season test for a couple of teams in the Indycar series. Will the Newgarden-O’Ward duel continue? Can Andretti get their act tofether? Will Rahal have a breakthrough weekend?
I am on the way back to summer headquarters so my coverage will be on a bit of a delyed basis today and possibly tomorrow. But back to this weekend’s questions.
Newgarden vs. O’Ward- More Please
After their stirring battle for the win at Texas, their seventh such duel over the past three years, I would not mind seieing this type of fight all year. Newgarden is the defending race winner. O’Ward showed a strong street course package at St. Pete. It will be funb to follow these two through qualifying and the race. The one who comes out ahead may set the tone for the championship.
Andretti Blues
Colton Herta won Long Beach in 2021and won the pole last year. Alexander Rossi won Long Beach twice for Andretti. The team knows how to win here, Could this be the weekend the team gets back on track? Seven wrecked cars in two races is about as bad a start as they could have.
There is hope, however. Romain Grosjean finished second in 2022 and Kyle Kirkwood had his best 2022 finish, 10th, at Long Beach. Rossi was quick, but got stuck in traffic in the middle of the race.
I look for a strong weekend from the entire team.
A Rahal Turnaround?
If there’s a team more frustrated than Andretti, it has to be Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Poor qualifying, struggling to find the answer aqt Texas, and just one top ten for 2023, the team g=has started the season behind and needs a good weekend just for their iwn oeace of mind.
I would like to see what Graham Rahal could do if ge qualified well and didn’t have to spend the first half of the race passing cars.
Other Teams to Watch
Can Juncos Hollinger Racing keep their great start going? Callim Ilott has two top tens and rookie Augustin Canapino has finished twelfth in bothe races this year.
Is Ed Carpenter Racing as good as they are going to be? The team has been underwhelming so far.
I would not be surprised to see Scott Dixon on the podium Sunday.
The race is on NBC and Peacock Sunday, Green flag is 3:30 Eastern.
Race weekend: Friday, April 14 – Sunday, April 16T rack: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course (clockwise) in Long Beach, California Race distance: 85 laps / 167.28 miles Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, five sets alternate. Rookie drivers are allowed one extra primary set for Practice 1. Twitter: @GPLongBeach, @INDYCAR, #AGPLB, #INDYCARInstagram: @GPLongBeach, @INDYCAR, #AGPLB, #INDYCARFacebook: @GrandPrixLB, @INDYCAR, #INDYCARTikTok: @grandprixlongbeach, @INDYCAR, #INDYCARYouTube: @INDYCAR\\ Event website: www.gplb.com INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com 2022 race winner: Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet )2022 NTT P1 Award: Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda), 1:05.3095, 108.480 mph Qualifying lap record: Colton Herta, 1:05.3095, 108.480 mph, April 9, 2022 NBC Sports race telecast: 3 p.m. ET Sunday, April 16, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Marty Snider, Dave Burns and Kevin Lee are the pit reporters .Peacock Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions, qualifying and races will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product. INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton and turn announcers Nick Yeoman, Jake Query and Michael Young. Ryan Myrehn, Alex Wollf and Georgia Henneberry are the pit reporters. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 160 and SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio 85 (Race only), racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.\At-track schedule (all times local): , April 143-4:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1 (75-minute session), Peacock (live)\ Saturday, April 158:45-9:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 (45-minute session), Peacock (live)12:05 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of knockout qualifying), Peacock (live) Sunday, April 169-9:30 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, Peacock (live)Noon – Driver introductionsNoon – NBC on air12:38 p.m. – Start engines command12:45 p.m. – Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (85 laps/167.28 miles), NBC and Peacock (live) “3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR” AT LONG BEACH: 1. Newgarden on repeat?: Since 2008 only Alexander Rossi has ever been able to back up one Long Beach win with another – he did it in 2018-19. Josef Newgarden has the potential to double down after scoring his first victory at Long Beach last season. Newgarden won that race coming off a thrilling win at Texas Motor Speedway.He enters 2023 looking in the same situation after his win at Texas on April 2. Can the Team Penske star score back-to-back races at Texas and Long Beach for the second year in a row? 2. It’s not where you start…: With the exception of Rossi’s wins in 2018-19, the pole has not been the place to start at Long Beach. Just five drivers have ever won Long Beach from the top spot, and while pole sitters have scored podium finishes in recent races – Newgarden was second in 2021 –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: Pato O’Ward and Scott Dixon are the only drivers so far this season to sweep the top five this season. O’Ward has back-to-back second-place finishes at St. Petersburg and Texas, while Dixon has finishes of third (St. Pete) and fifth (Texas).Keeping that mark could be a challenge for both. O’Ward has only one top-five at Long Beach (third in 2022) in three previous starts while Dixon has six top-five finishes in 15 previous races at Long Beach. Race Notes:This weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will mark the 39th INDYCAR SERIES event on the historic Long Beach street circuit. Mario Andretti won the first INDYCAR SERIES race there in 1984. Josef Newgarden won the race in 2022.There have been two winners in as many races in 2023 – Marcus Ericsson (St. Petersburg) and Josef Newgarden (Texas). Since 2012, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES has averaged just under nine different race winners per season, including a record-tying 11 winners in 2014. There were nine different winners in the 17 races in 2022, with equally tight competition projected for this season. Two California natives are entered: 2021 Long Beach race winner Colton Herta of Andretti Autosport hails from Valencia while 2018 and 2019 Long Beach race winner Alexander Rossi of Arrow McLaren is a native of Nevada City. Herta has won three of the last five INDYCAR SERIES races held in the Golden State (Laguna Seca 2019, Laguna Seca 2021 and Long Beach 2021). Al Unser Jr. has won the most times at Long Beach (six). Will Power and Alexander Rossi are the only entered drivers with multiple wins. Power won in 2008 and 2012, and Rossi won in 2018 and 2019. Other former race winners scheduled to compete are Helio Castroneves (2001), Takuma Sato (2013), Scott Dixon (2015), Simon Pagenaud (2016), Colton Herta (2021) and Josef Newgarden (2022). Five 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) and Alexander Rossi (2018-19). Twenty-three of the 27 drivers entered have competed in INDYCAR SERIES races at Long Beach. Will Power has 16 starts, the most among all entered drivers. Eleven entered drivers have led laps: Helio Castroneves 194, Power 172, Alexander Rossi 151, Scott Dixon 104, Colton Herta 71, Josef Newgarden 54, Simon Pagenaud 54, Alex Palou 22, Graham Rahal 4, Devlin DeFrancesco 1 and Jack Harvey 1. Four NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookies – Marcus Armstrong, Agustin Canapino, Benjamin Pedersen and Sting Ray Robb – are expected to compete. All will be making their first Long Beach INDYCAR SERIES start.Milestones – Conor Daly will attempt to make his 100th INDYCAR SERIES start at Long Beach… Alex Palou will attempt to make his 50th INDYCAR SERIES start at Long Beach…Scott Dixon will look to extend his consecutive starts streak to 308 – the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history.
Andretti Autosport added to their extensive racing portfolio by partnering with Wayne Taylor Racing in the IMSA Weather tech Championship. The multi year deal begins withthe Rolex 24 hour at Daytona when the GTP Acura debuts. I will have some thoughts on this partnership tiomorrow.
The release from Andretti this morning:
INDIANAPOLIS(Dec. 28, 2022) – Andretti Autosport and Wayne Taylor Racing announced a new, long-term partnership today that will see the championship-caliber teams combine resources to compete in IMSA’s top classes. Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Autosport’s No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 and its No. 93 Harrison Contracting Company Acura NSX Evo22 will make their official debut at the 2023 Roar Before the Rolex 24 and will be on the grid for the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA. The newly formed team will also compete in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series.
During the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, day-to-day operations and leadership remain as they have currently operated with the long- term goal of moving the programs into Andretti Global’s recently announced 575,000-square-foot headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, due to be operational in 2025.
Wayne Taylor’s global motorsports enterprise boasts two IMSA driver championships (2013, 2017) and back-to-back IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup Championships (2021, 2020), which have contributed to nine IMSA manufacturer championships for Acura, Pontiac, Corvette and Cadillac as well as multiple victories in sportscar racing’s most iconic events – the Rolex 24 At DAYTONA (a total of six Rolex 24 At Daytona titles, two as driver and four of the past six years as team owner), Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International. Wayne Taylor Racing claims eight Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America Championship titles and a Lamborghini World Finals title.
For 2023, Andretti will continue to operate in IMSA’s LMP3 category with Jarett Andretti. The five-time Indianapolis 500 champions Andretti Autosport competes in six additional racing championships worldwide, including the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, INDY NXT by Firestone, ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, Extreme E, Australia’s Repco Supercars Championship and Mexico’s SuperCopa series.
Michael Andretti, Chairman & CEO, Andretti Autosport:
“This is an exciting time for us. We’re proud to be returning to the IMSA paddock in this way and the opportunity to be part of the launch of the GTP program alongside Wayne Taylor Racing and our friends at Honda Performance Development. Re-entering IMSA full time, and at this level, has been a goal of mine. I wanted it to be the right opportunity and at the right time – and we’ve found that. I’m looking forward to working closer with the team at WTR and meeting all the team’s strong supporters. I want to personally thank Wayne (Taylor) and Travis (Houge) for already being such great partners as we plan for a successful future.”
Wayne Taylor, Team Owner, Wayne Taylor Racing:
“It’s an honor to be partnering with a name like Andretti as we enter a new era of racing. I was approached by Michael a year ago and, as we all know, timing is everything, especially as our GTP and GTD programs continue to grow with Acura |HPD. Having worked with Michael on this for nearly a year, I’m very excited to see it come together. While our 2023 program won’t look much different, there is a lot that Andretti Autosport can offer to us as we continue to build and expand. I’m looking forward to working closer with Michael (Andretti), J-F (Thormann), Rob (Edwards) and the entire Andretti team.”
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 