Just when it seemed like reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion and points leader Alex Palou was unstoppable on the streets of Long Beach, Andretti Global made a bold move by securing the front row in qualifying on Saturday for the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Kyle Kirkwood, driving the No. 27 PreFab Honda, achieved his first NTT P1 Award of the season and third of his career by setting a top lap time of 1 minute, 6.1921 seconds in the Firestone Fast Six during his final lap. This marks Kirkwood’s first career pole position at Long Beach, a place where he also won the race in 2023.
“When you’re in an Andretti Global car at Long Beach, you know you’re going to be fast,” Kirkwood expressed. “You have to be so thrilled with that, right? A front-row Andretti Global lockout here at Long Beach.
“I’m still shaking. That was incredible. That was such a great lap, such a successful qualifying. Fortunately, I didn’t make any mistakes or hit anything. That’s always a concern at street courses. You have to push it to secure the top spot.”
Colton Herta secured the second spot with a qualifying time of 1:06.4232 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. This marks the first front-row lockout for Andretti Global since the Honda Indy Toronto last July, where Herta also won the pole and Kirkwood secured the second spot. Notably, Herta also won that race.
Palou, the two-time race winner this season, secured the third spot with a time of 1:06.6254 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Felix Rosenqvist capitalised on a competitor’s misfortune in the second round to earn a place in the Firestone Fast Six and qualify fourth with a time of 1:06.6358 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing.
Marcus Ericsson, the third Andretti Global driver in the top five, secured the fifth spot with a time of 1:06.7061 in the No. 28 Bryant Honda. Scott McLaughlin will share the third row on the starting grid with Ericsson after qualifying sixth with a time of 1:07.0393 in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet.
The pre-race warmup session begins at noon ET on Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network), followed by the 90-lap race at 4:30 p.m. (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
Palou secured the top spot in the Firestone Fast Six with approximately 30 seconds left in the session. However, Kirkwood swiftly executed his pole-winning final lap just seconds later, followed by Herta’s fastest lap.
Herta was unable to complete a proper warmup lap for his final run due to the delay in raising the temperatures of his Firestone Firehawk alternate tires. He suggested that this delay might have contributed to Kirkwood’s significant advantage over the rest of the field, which remains the largest gap in qualifying through the first three races.
“The practice lap is what we do to try to achieve the optimal temperatures, ensure that the front and rear tires are as evenly heated as possible,” Herta explained. “I lacked this luxury, so my tires began slightly cold. However, they eventually warmed up after completing approximately three or four corners.
“I suppose that the time lost to Kyle was likely incurred during those initial corners. Nevertheless, I can’t complain about finishing in the front row, securing an Andretti 1-2, and Marcus is right there in fifth place, all within the Fast Six. These results demonstrate the strength of our program, which we are confident will lead us to success in tomorrow’s race.”
Christian Lundgaard, who currently holds the fourth position in the points standings, may have potentially lost a spot in the Firestone Fast Six due to an incident during his final qualifying lap in the second segment.
Lundgaard was ranked fifth on the time charts when his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet collided with the tire barrier in Turn 6. This collision triggered a red flag just moments after the checkered flag was waved to conclude the session. According to INDYCAR qualifying regulations, any driver who causes a red flag during qualifying is penalised by losing their two quickest laps and is unable to advance to the next session. Consequently, Rosenqvist was promoted to the Firestone Fast Six.