NASCAR on TV this week
IndyCar driver Alex Palou during the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
(Photo: Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment)

2025 IndyCar Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Preview

by

It’s time for the 50th anniversary of the famed Grand Prix of Long Beach.

For half a century, the greatest drivers in open-wheel racing have been challenging this legendary street circuit in pursuit of IndyCar’s most coveted trophy — aside from the Borg-Warner, of course.

The layout has changed, the sanctioning body has changed and names have come and gone, but the allure of this event has remained. Now, for the 50th time, it’s time to turn our gaze to southern California to see who will write their name for the first, second or third time in the history book of this fabled race.

Nobody Likes a Historical Determinist

Scott Dixon emerged from the last running of the Grand Prix victorious thanks to his trademark superhuman fuel-saving strategy. He held off a late charge from both Josef Newgarden and, more urgently, Colton Herta to take one of the most impressive wins of his career.

Does that mean he’s a favorite to win this year? It’s hard to say.

While Dixon’s status as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport is not up for debate, it’s easy to wonder if he has reached the point in his career where he needs to prioritize strategy over raw pace to win. I, personally, find that to be a moot point. In the illustrious words of Dominic Toretto: winning is winning.

Keep an eye on Dixon to go off-strategy if the tight streets of Long Beach throw a surprise caution at the drivers, and if he does, the rest of the field could spend the bulk of their day playing defense against the six-time champion.

A New Race Length

This weekend marks the first noteworthy change in race lengths for the 2025 season. In an effort to promote variations in strategy on top of simply providing more racing, the Grand Prix of Long Beach will be 90 laps, up from last year’s 85-lap distance. This will add 9.84 miles to the race’s length, ostensibly setting up varied tire strategies throughout the field and an extra 10 minutes, give or take, of on-track action.

Whether this proves successful is yet to be determined, but this weekend will be our first glimpse at the change which will also be in effect for Mid-Ohio, Iowa, Toronto and Nashville.

See also
F1 Midweek: The Questionable Return of V1Os

3 in a Row for Palou?

Let’s be honest with ourselves, Alex Palou has started to run away with this season already. With 50 points awarded for a race win, everybody from eighth and back in the standings is already a full race’s worth of points behind Palou, starting with Colton Herta who trails by 55 points. Only Dixon (2020), Sebastien Bourdais (2006) and Paul Tracy (2003) have won three consecutive races or more to open the IndyCar season since 1979.

For Palou, there’s a shot at history to be taken around the historic street circuit and his record suggests it’s about time he etches his name as a winner in the LBC. Palou has raced on this circuit in IndyCar competition four times since 2021 and has finished fourth, third, fifth and third again. An average finish of fourth suggests a Long Beach win for the Spaniard is a matter of when, not if.

Other Contenders

Prior to Dixon, former Long Beach winners in the field include Kyle Kirkwood (2023), Newgarden (2022), Herta (2021), Alexander Rossi (2019 & 2018), and Will Power (2012 & 2008). All eyes will be on Palou given the circumstances, but there are a few drivers who shouldn’t be ruled out.

Of this group, Kirkwood has started his season the strongest with results of fifth and eighth at St. Petersburg and The Thermal Club, respectively, earning him sixth in the points. Coupled with his win on the streets of Nashville in 2023, the Floridian has shown he knows how to wrestle his Andretti Global Honda around a street circuit. All in all, he can’t be ignored this weekend.

However, a more interesting prospect sits right above Kirkwood in the standings in the form of Felix Rosenqvist. The Swede’s fiery resurgence after joining Meyer Shank Racing in 2024 put the paddock on notice but the momentum quickly dropped off after a disappointing run in the Indianapolis 500. Now, with finishes of fifth and third to start the season, I expect Rosenqvist to be strong in Long Beach and potentially be in the running for the win as the laps wind down.

Lastly, consider Rossi. For all the time Frontstretch has spent covering the rebirth of Ed Carpenter Racing, too much may not be enough. The injection of fresh financial support into the team seems to be playing well in conjunction with Rossi’s move to the team as the senior teammate to Christian Rasmussen.

Rossi has previously said that things are progressing at a rate that “far exceeded” his expectations ahead of the move and, to be sure, his results thus far of 10th and ninth are above the team’s benchmark from the opening rounds of previous seasons. If the momentum continues, this could be the weekend where ECR reaches heights not seen since Rinus VeeKay‘s lone win for the team in 2021.

Fighting Words

Tempers flared between Scott McLaughlin and Devlin DeFrancesco after a first-lap collision at The Thermal Club. This isn’t Bristol, where drivers can beat and bang and fight and throw helmets and shoot something through the window, as Ward Burton put it, so I expect the tension between those two will be a thing of the past this weekend. But, what if it isn’t?

What Else?

Arrow McLaren driver Nolan Siegel has lagged behind his teammates thus far in 2025. Pato O’Ward currently sits second in the championship and Christian Lundgaard is fourth, having settled particularly well into his new team. Siegel’s only prior IndyCar outing at Long Beach came last year for Rick Ware Racing and such a dense and fast street circuit is nobody’s ideal place to get into a rhythm. Either way, 19 positions behind your teammate in the standings is not a look Siegel is interested in carrying for long.

Kyffin Simpson, now one of only three drivers at Chip Ganassi Racing, will likewise be seeking an improvement in form this weekend after opening the season with results of 18th and 15th. His promotion to CGR’s No. 8 Honda at the expense of Linus Lundqivst was no doubt controversial, but the business contributions Simpson and his family can bring to the team justify his presence in the downsized operation. Now, for his own sake, the results need to follow.

See also
The Pit Straight: Red Bull Gives Yuki Tsunoda Wings

Frontstretch Predictions

I won’t pretend to know what will happen, but I’ve been sitting on this prediction for almost three years and it’s time I aired it out.

Herta will take his second win at Long Beach, followed closely by O’Ward while Rossi takes his first podium for ECR at the track he wrangled so well in the late 2010s.

  1. Herta
  2. O’Ward
  3. Rossi

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach gets underway Sunday, April 13, at 4:30 p.m. ET on Fox.

IndyCar Content Director at Frontstretch | Website

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.