Power tops opening practice session on Streets of Long Beach
Will Power – Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – Photo by Chris Jones
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Will Power returned to street-fighting form during Friday afternoon’s opening practice for the 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, taking P1 under sunny Southern California skies.
A two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, Power led the session at 1-minute, 7.3227-seconds/105.236 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. The native Australian’s quickest lap was recorded on his final tour of the 1.968-mile/11-turn layout shod with Firestone’s grippier, faster alternate Firehawk tires.
“Pretty good,” said Power, a two-time winner of domestic open-wheel racing’s version of Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix. “Definitely determined to get qualifying right. Haven’t for the last couple races. Got to work on that. It’s going to be really tight.”
NTT P1 Award qualifying is scheduled for today at 2:30 p.m. (EDT, FS2, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM Channel 218). Coverage of the 90-lap/177.12-mile race will start at 4:30 p.m. (EDT Sunday, FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM Channel 218).
Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist qualified on-pole last year at 1:06.0172-seconds/107.317 mph in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda. The series qualifying record was set by native Californian Colton Herta at 1:05.3095-seconds/108.480 mph on April 9, 2022.
Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson, the 2022 Indianapolis 500 champion, placed second overall at 1:07.3503-seconds/105.193 mph in the No. 28 Bryant Honda fielded by Andretti Global. Kyle Kirkwood, Long Beach GP winner in 2023, was third at 1:07.3523-seconds/105.190 mph in the No. 27 PreFab Honda also fielded by Andretti Global.
Meyer Shank Racing enjoyed a strong session, with its two drivers completing the top-five. Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand was fourth at 1:07.3602-seconds/106.178 mph in the No. 66 SiriusXM/Root Insurance Honda while Rosenqvist was fifth at 1:07.3875-seconds/105.135 mph.
Six-time series champion Scott Dixon of New Zealand, the Long Beach GP winner in 2015 and 2024, was 10th at 1:07.8080-seconds/104.483 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing.
As Power noted, Firestone Fast Six qualifying should be intense, as just 0.0648-seconds separated the top-five on Friday.
Three-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Spain _ winner of this season’s first two races _ was seventh at 1:07.5306-seconds/104.912 mph in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Power’s stout performance followed an uncharacteristically tough weekend for Team Penske during the series’ most recent event, The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix in California on March 21-23. Power was the top team finisher, salvaging sixth after qualifying a dismal 21st. Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden finished 13th after qualifying 17th. Newgarden placed sixth Friday at 1:07.5191-seconds/104.930 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet.
Meanwhile, Penske’s Scott McLaughlin of New Zealand qualified 25th and finished 27th/last at Thermal in one of the most challenging events of his career. Scotty Mac was 12th Friday at 1:07.9007-seconds/104.341 mph in the No. 3 Team Penske Chevrolet.
Power also experienced trouble early in Friday’s 80-minute session, divided into three groups, when his rear brakes locked and caused him to spin into a runoff area. Power continued without contact. “I had a bit of an issue with rear brakes,” said Power, who logged 20 laps. “Something weird. I almost crashed twice, but the car is in a reasonable window.”
A handful of drivers also ventured into runoff areas without contact, including Herta in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda of Andretti Global and rookie Louis Foster of Great Britain in the No. 45 Mi-Jack Honda of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
“I think we’ve made some improvements to the baseline of our car since Thermal to suit my driving style a bit more and so far, so good really,” said Foster, who is competing in his first Long Beach GP. “I think there are definitely some improvements to be made to myself, and to the car. That’s what it’s like in Practice 1 _ there are always things to do and things to improve on.”
Meanwhile, Pato O’Ward made left-side contact with the concrete barriers lining the front straightaway after exiting the famous hairpin corner in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. The contact, which occurred on O’Ward’s sixth lap, bent a left-rear toe link and forced extended repairs in the pits. O’Ward was able to make one shakedown lap at speed after the fix and before the session ended. Pato placed 13th on the time sheet at 1:07.9477-seconds/104.268 mph.
“It was a challenging first session _ not a lot of laps turned,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “I’m glad we were able to get the Firestone Alternate tire on there at the end to get somewhat of a read. I know what I need from the car for qualifying, so now it’s just all about finding the setup to get us there.”
Waller, Texas-based A.J. Foyt Racing’s David Malukas and Santino Ferrucci logged in at 16th and 18th, respectively, on the 27-car time sheet.
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 102; 2, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 63; 3, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 61; 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 60; 5, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 56; 6, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 54; 7, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 53; 8, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 47; 9, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 43; 10, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 41;
11, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 37; 12, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 37; 13, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 35; 14, Will Power, Team Penske, 33; 15, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 33; 16, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 33; 17, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 32; 18, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 29; 19, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 27; 20, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 27;
21, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 18; 22, Robert Shwartzman, Prema Racing, 18; 23, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 16; 24, Callum Ilott, Prema Racing, 16; 25, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 16; 26, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 12; 27, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 11.
