By Austin Lawton, Staff Writer
The third round of the NTT IndyCar Series season is tomorrow, with the second biggest race on the calendar: The 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The green flag flies at 4:47 p.m ET on FOX, so to get you ready for the race, here are five storylines to follow:
- Can anyone stop Alex Palou?
It’s a serious question. Can Palou be stopped? He’s currently on track to be the first driver since Scott Dixon in 2020 to win the first three races of a season. Palou will also have to fend off his teammate, Dixon for the win tomorrow. Dixon is the recent winner at Long Beach, a race he has two victories at. Palou has never won at Long Beach but momentum is on the side of he and his No.10 DHL crew.
To put into perspective as to just how dominant Palou has been, if Palou wins on tomorrow he will have a one race gap (and in some cases, almost a two race gap), on the entire field in the points standings. If a driver wins a race, they are awarded 50 points, with one point for leading at least one lap and two points for the most laps led.
- Will McLaren break through for a win?
After a strong start to the season, Arrow McLaren are poised to find Victory Lane, sooner rather than later. The team has been led by veterans O’Ward and Christian Lundgaard and young driver Nolan Siegel. Lundgaard has become the standout McLaren driver so far, with two top 10 race finishes and two top fives in qualifying so far, showing that the speed is legit for the Danish driver. Lundgaard led 23 laps in St. Pete on March 2, showing his speed on the street courses as well.
McLaren are seemingly the second best team on the grid, behind Chip Ganassi Racing, with both Lundgaard and O’Ward in the top five in points, hunting down Palou. All three drivers looked strong in St.Pete on March 2, the first street course race of the season, and will be favorites tomorrow.
- Tires, Tires, Tires
Tire strategy will once again play a factor in tomorrow’s race. Firestone is bringing back the same tires that were used in St. Petersburg. Expect drivers to not be on the green, alternate tire for long, as the black, primary will be the preferred race tire. In addition to the higher horsepower of the Chevrolet powered cars and the lower horsepower Honda machines, it will be a test to see which driver can manage their tires the best.
St. Pete only had one caution on the first lap of the race, allowing the drivers who are good at managing tires to reign supreme on the day (i.e, Dixon and Palou). Over the last five Long Beach races there are, on average, two cautions per race, so cautions may not be paramount tomorrow, leading to the importance of tire strategy.
- Consistency is key for Andretti Global
Andretti Global is always consistent at Long Beach, with two of their current drivers having won there in the last five years: Herta in 2021 and Kirkwood in 2023. Kirkwood has finished in the top 10 in all three of his starts at the street circuit and enjoys how the circuit.
“That place is just an enjoyable place to drive, ” Kirkwood said on Monday in a video press conference. “It’s very unique for a street course. It’s not just 90-degree corners, like most of them are. The constant change in asphalt makes you adapt very quickly to what the grip level is going to be in one corner versus the next. I enjoy that. I think it’s fun.”
Andretti Global has won four of the last six Long Beach races and will surely be in contention for the win and podium spots. The third Andretti driver, Marcus Ericsson, is finding his groove at the on the street circuit, having a podium and a top five finish the last two years.
The Andretti drivers have been consistent so far this season, with all three drivers inside the top 12 in points. Kirkwood has two top 10’s, with Herta and Ericsson having one each. Look for all three drivers to be fighting inside the top 10 and top five tomorrow.
- Can Team Penske bounce back?
After a less than ideal start to the 2025 campaign, Team Penske heads to Long Beach looking to bounce back. This looks to be the case as Will Power topped the speed charts in Friday’s practice session, Josef Newgarden was sixth and Scott McLaughlin came in 12th.
Penske showed speed at St.Pete, where McLaughlin sat on pole and Newgarden contended for the win late. Power was ultimately taken out in the lap one crash after having a poor qualifying.
Team Penske has their fare share of success at Long Beach, with Newgarden winning in 2022 and contending for the win in 2023 and 2024. Power won this race in 2008 and 2012 and has scored top fives and top 10’s in the last six races at Long Beach, a streak dating back to 2018. McLaughlin has one top 10 in three starts at Long Beach and will look to improve that statistic tomorrow.
“The DEX Imaging Chevy feels good,” McLaughlin told FOX Sports’ Jack Harvey. “I love this place, it just hasn’t been kind to me in the past.”