Felix Rosenqvist, in his second points-paying race for Meyer Shank Racing, upset the field by taking pole for the NTT IndyCar Series Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach during Saturday’s (April 20) qualifying session.
Rosenqvist’s best lap barely withstood a late challenge by Team Penske’s Will Power, who was looking for his first pole on a road or street course since 2022. Roseqnvist bea
“It was hard,” Rosenqvist said after the session. “Honestly, I didn’t think I had it because I had a big tank slapper out of [turn] 5 … this is our, I think, the team’s first pole, official pole at least, we had one at Thermal as well. But yeah, this is awesome. It’s a hard-fought one.”
When told that he had beat Power to the top spot by less only four one-thousandths of a second, Rosenqvist simply remarked: “That’s IndyCar for you.”
Firestone Fast Six
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time |
| 1. | Felix Rosenqvist | 60 | Meyer Shank Racing | 1:06.0172 |
| 2. | Will Power | 12 | Team Penske | 1:06.0211 |
| 3. | Josef Newgarden | 2 | Team Penske | 1:06.1059 |
| 4 | Colton Herta | 26 | Andretti Global | 1:06.3784 |
| 5. | Marcus Ericsson | 28 | Andretti Global | 1:06.4039 |
| 6. | Alex Palou | 10 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1:06.5444 |
Round 2
Round 2 passed without any on-track incidents. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, having struggled for form on street circuits in recent years, were looking to maximize the opportunity to advance to the Fast Six, but could not find the extra pace to move beyond seventh for Christian Lundgaard and 12th for Graham Rahal.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 7 | Christian Lundgaard | 45 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.0193s |
| 8 | Scott Dixon | 9 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.0305s |
| 9 | Marcus Armstrong | 11 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.0490s |
| 10 | Kyle Kirkwood | 27 | Andretti Global | +0.0758s |
| 11 | Scott McLaughlin | 3 | Team Penske | +0.1590s |
| 12 | Graham Rahal | 15 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.3843 |
Round 1 Group 1
Alexander Rossi was perhaps the most frustrated at the end of Group 1’s first session. The two-time Long Beach winner came within five-hundredths of a second from advancing to Round 2, but instead had to settle for a 13th-place grid spot for Sunday’s race.
Sting Ray Robb was handed a penalty for impeding Christian Rasmussen while the latter was on a flying lap, though the penalty was of little significance as Robb was already placed last in Group 1.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 13 | Alexander Rossi | 7 | Arrow McLaren | +0.0439s |
| 15 | Tom Blomqvist | 66 | Meyer Shank Racing | +0.2415s |
| 17 | Linus Lundqvist | 8 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.3112s |
| 19 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 30 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | +0.3374s |
| 21 | Christian Rasmussen | 20 | Ed Carpenter Racing | +0.5422s |
| 23 | Jack Harvey | 18 | Dale Coyne Racing | +0.8995s |
| 25 | Sting Ray Robb | 41 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | +2.2445s |
Round 1 Group 2
A late slide off the track by Agustin Canapino brought the session to an end, leaving drivers like Pato O’Ward unable to set another lap time in their efforts to get into Round 2. As such, none of the three Arrow McLaren cars advanced beyond the first round of qualifying.
| Position | Driver | Number | Team | Time from Advancing |
| 14 | Pato O’Ward | 5 | Arrow McLaren | +0.0449s |
| 16 | Romain Grosjean | 77 | Juncos Hollinger Racing | +0.0583s |
| 18 | Rinus VeeKay | 21 | Ed Carpenter Racing | +0.0839s |
| 20 | Agustin Canapino | 78 | Juncos Hollinger Racing | +0.3909s |
| 22 | Theo Pourchaire | 6 | Arrow McLaren | +0.5150s |
| 24 | Santino Ferrucci | 14 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | +0.7278s |
| 26 | Kyffin Simpson | 4 | Chip Ganassi Racing | +0.8553s |
| 27 | Nolan Siegel | 51 | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | +1.1276s |
2024 IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach Qualifying Results
The 40th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will get underway on Sunday, April 21, at 3 p.m. ET with coverage on USA.
Alex is the IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch, having initially joined as an entry-level contributor in 2021. He also serves as Managing Director of The Asia Cable, a publication focused on the international affairs and politics of the Asia-Pacific region which he co-founded in 2023. With previous experience in China, Japan and Poland, Alex is particularly passionate about the international realm of motorsport and the politics that make the wheels turn - literally - behind the scenes.