O’Ward fastest in open practice at Long Beach
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Overdue for an NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory, Arrow McLaren ace Pato O’Ward promptly paced Friday’s opening practice for Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
O’Ward turned a top lap of 1-minute, 6.6874-seconds/106.239 mph in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet on the 1.968-mile/11-turn temporary street circuit. O’Ward, who finished second in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) presented by RP Funding, is chasing his first series victory since July 2022 at Iowa Speedway. That’s a winless stretch of 24 races.
“The car is in the window, and we’ve been making small tweaks here and there,” said O’Ward, a native of Mexico with extended family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “Some things worked, some things didn’t work.”
Less than a second separated the top-15 drivers, setting the stage for a competitive Saturday of practice and NTT P1 Award qualifying. Practice starts at 11:25 a.m. (EDT), followed by three rounds of knockout qualifying at 2:25 p.m. Both sessions will be broadcast on Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Two-time series champion Will Power was the quickest of three Team Penske drivers among the top-five, placing second at 1:06.7811/106.090 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet. A native of Australia, Power won INDYCAR’s version of Formula One’s famed Monaco Grand Prix in 2008 and 2012.
Native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin helped Chevrolet-powered teams sweep the first three spots on the time sheet in third at 1:06.8258/106.019 mph in the No. 3 Odyssey Batteries Team Penske Chevrolet.
McLaughlin and Power finished in the top-three despite both brushing concrete barriers lining the tight circuit in separate incidents during the 75-minute session, which was divided into an all-car practice to start and finished with two separate groups.
Sweden’s Felix Rosenqvist continued his early-season form by placing fourth at 1:06.8600/105.965 mph in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing. Rosenqvist, who moved to MSR this season after three years at Arrow McLaren, has responded by finishing seventh on the Streets of St. Pete and third at the non-points The Thermal Club $1-Million Challenge last month.
Series point-leader Josef Newgarden completed the top-five at 1:06.8976/105.905 mph in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden, the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion, rolled to a dominant victory in the season-opener at St. Petersburg.
Two rookies also generated headlines under Southern California’s typically sunny skies. Christian Rasmussen, the 2023 INDY NXT by Firestone champion, was ninth overall at 1:07.2773/105.307 mph in the No. 20 Guy Care Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing. Rasmussen, a native of Denmark, was the quickest of six rookies by more than a second.
Meanwhile, reigning FIA Formula 2 champion Théo Pourchaire emerged as second-quickest rookie while recording his first laps in an NTT INDYCAR SERIES car, placing 21st at 1:08.2857/103.752 mph in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. Frenchman Pourchaire was summoned to drive for Arrow McLaren earlier this week in place of full-timer David Malukas, who continues to recover from surgery to repair a wrist injury suffered in a preseason mountain biking accident.
Sunday’s 85-lap/167.28-mile event will be broadcast at 3 p.m. (EDT) on USA Network, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Storylines worth noting during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach:
Can Kirkwood go back-to-back? _ Since 2008, only Alexander Rossi has been able to back up one Long Beach win with another, posting victories in 2018-19. Kyle Kirkwood has the potential to double-down after scoring his first INDYCAR SERIES victory at Long Beach last season. Recall that Kirkwood scored two wins on street courses in 2023.
It’s not where you start _ With the exception of Alexander Rossi’s wins in 2018-19 and Kyle Kirkwood’s victory from pole last season, the top spot has not necessarily been the place to start at Long Beach.
Only six INDYCAR SERIES drivers have won Long Beach from P1. And while pole-sitters have scored podium finishes in recent races, they’ve also finished 15th or worse just as often: (Colton Herta, 23rd in 2022; Ryan Hunter-Reay, 20th in 2014; Scotland’s Dario Franchitti, 15th in 2012 and Justin Wilson of Great Britain, 19th in 2008).
It’s where you finish _ Scott McLaughlin and Colton Herta are the only drivers so far this season to finish in the top-five in both events. McLaughlin has podium finishes at St. Petersburg and the non-championship race at The Thermal Club, while Herta has posted results of fifth (Streets of St. Pete) and fourth (Thermal).
Continuing that trend could be a challenge for both. McLaughlin has only one top-10 at Long Beach (10th in 2023) in three previous starts while Herta has an average finish of 12.75 despite a pair of top-five finishes.
Aeroscreen revisions on display _ An updated, lightweight aeroscreen featuring vents for increased cooling and 3D printed in rubber to prevent hand injuries is making its debut at Long Beach this weekend. The revised aeroscreen also will drop total system weight by 11.1 pounds, reducing downforce by approximately 35 pounds.
From the INDYCAR record book at Long Beach:
_ This weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will mark the 40th INDYCAR SERIES event on the historic Southern California street circuit. Open-wheel icon Mario Andretti won the first series race in 1984; Kyle Kirkwood is the defending event champion.
_ Three California natives are entered this weekend. Two-time Long Beach race-winner Alexander Rossi (2018-19) of Arrow McLaren is a native of Nevada City, while Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta hails from Valencia. Rookie Nolan Siegel, the INDY NXT by Firestone point-leader, is making his first official NTT INDYCAR SERIES start at Long Beach. The 19-year-old resides in Palo Alto.
_ Al Unser Jr. is the all-time INDYCAR race-winner at Long Beach with six victories. Will Power and Alexander Rossi are the only entered drivers with multiple wins. Power won in 2008 and 2012, and Rossi prevailed in 2018 and 2019. Other former race-winners scheduled to compete are six-time series champion Scott Dixon (2015), Colton Herta (2021), Josef Newgarden (2022) and Kyle Kirkwood (2023).
_ Six drivers have won this race from pole position _ Mario Andretti (1984, 1985 and 1987), Al Unser Jr. (1989-90), Brazilian Helio Castroneves (2001), Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais (2006-07), Alexander Rossi (2018-19) and Kyle Kirkwood (2023).
_ Twenty of the 27 drivers entered have competed in previous INDYCAR SERIES races at Long Beach. Will Power has 17 starts, most among all entered drivers. Nine entered drivers have led laps: Power 172, Alexander Rossi 151, Scott Dixon of New Zealand 104, Josef Newgarden 81, Colton Herta 71, Kyle Kirkwood 53, two-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Spain 24, Graham Rahal 4 and Argentina native Agustin Canapino 3.
_ Series milestones _ Two-time series champion Josef Newgarden will attempt to make his 200th INDYCAR SERIES start at Long Beach. Newgarden needs to lead two laps to pass native Brazilian Tony Kanaan for 11th on the INDYCAR SERIES all-time laps-led list. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing’s longest-tenured driver, is looking to extend his consecutive starts streak to 323 _ the longest “Ironman” run in series history.
