Mike Shank would have left IndyCar qualifying happy regardless of the outcome after one of his entries won the IMSA race at: Long Beach this afternoon. It was MSR’s first win at the prestigious track. But Felix Rosenqvist wasn’t ready to end the celebration there.
“That was nerve-wracking to watch,” Rosenqvist said. “My old buddy Pato there at end, that was close. That was a good lap.”
Rosenqvist tied his career best by finishing sixth in the standings last season, his second year with MSR. But he has endured a slow start to 2026, 14th in the standings after four races, which he said gave the team extra focus this weekend.
“It’s been a tough start of the year,” Rosenqvist said. “We said we wanted to do a little bounce-back here, and we did. Phenomenal day for us.”
In a dramatic Fast Six qualifying, Rosenqvist knocked defending series champion off the pole, then he watched nervously out as Pato O’Ward just missed beating him on the final run of the day. O’Ward missed by 0.04 seconds.
The former teammates will share the front row, while the top two in the standings, Palou and leader Kyle Kirkwood, will roll off in row 2. Full results are at the end of this post.
Tweaks Worked
At Arlington the debut of the single car qualifying was a flop in my opinion. The sixth fastest in Round 2 went first, a distinct advantage as his tires were still warm from the previous run. The other five drivers had little chance of catching Marcus Ericsson.
For Long Beach, the fastest driver had first choice of when to make his run, and the other drivers chose a spot in order of their Fast 12 finish. The only driver to pick out of order was O’Ward, who chose to go last instead of fifth.
Teams had the option of changing tires, but most stuck with the Round 2 set.
The result was a dramatic round with the top spot changing hands three times.
The format worked the way it was intended to.
FOX Still Not There
FOX displayed sector times, but only occasionally and infrequently during the Fast Six. In the final round, they had a running timer which switched from red to green depending on where the car was in relation to the driver on pole at the time. That was okay, but I want to know how far off the fastest pace the driver is.
I want to see running sector times for all six drivers and each driver’s deficit or advantage as they run. The network has the capability, I don’t understand why they are shortchanging the broadcast of a sport they partly own.
A Black Day for Racing
This morning we learned of the of sports car driver Juha Miettinen as a result of injuries sustained in a crash involving seven cars during a race at the Nürburgring in Germany. Any driver sport in any racing category is a tough blow to all racing fans. I’m thankful that racing fatalities are so few and far between in this era, but somehow it makes each one hurt more.
If you are going to a race tomorrow, or just watching at home, please take a moment to honor Juha Miettinen’s memory.
Results
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 