By: Spencer Neff
April 16, 2026

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to the west coast this weekend for the historic Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Sunday’s 90-lap race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn California street circuit will be the 42nd time in 43 years INDYCAR has raced in Long Beach.

Before the on-track action begins, here’s a look at some of the big pre-race stories.

Headlines

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou dominated for his second victory of 2026 at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix. While Palou dominated the race, Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood maintained his lead in the standings by two.

After starting the year with a victory (Arlington) and four consecutive Top Five finishes, Kirrkwood returns to a track where he’s won from the pole in two of the last three events.

Last year, Kirkwood bested Palou for his first of a career-best three victories in 2025. Five of Kirkwood’s six victories have been on street circuits, including his first career win three years ago.

Palou has finished Top Five in all five of his starts at Long Beach, including podiums three of the last four seasons. He’s not yet reached the top step of the podium though.

On the heels of a runner-up finish at Barber Motorsports Park, Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard looks to earn his second podium in as many years at Long Beach.

In 2025, Lundgaard crashed in qualifying but worked his way up to a third-place finish after starting 12th.

On Monday, INDYCAR announced the single-car format utilized for the final round “Firestone Fast Six” in Arlington will be implemented for street courses beginning this weekend at Long Beach. Per their release,

“Moving forward, the adjustments to single-car Firestone Fast Six format will include:

Choice of qualifying order based on Segment 2 results.
The fastest qualifier from Segment 2 will be the first to choose which position they
would like to make their Fast Six qualifying run with subsequent choices made for
the remaining positions based on the order of Segment 2 results.

Lining up at pit out following tire declaration.

Once the qualifying order is determined, teams will make their tire selection –
primary or alternate tires – prior to lining up in single-file and in order of their
qualifying run, at pit out to await their qualifying attempt.

During Firestone Fast Six single-car qualifying, drivers will leave pit lane and get an opportunity
for one lap – starting and ending at the alternate start/finish line.

Once the car enters pit lane following that driver’s attempt, the next car will be released for its attempt. As in the streets of
Arlington event, tire allotments and tire rules will remain unchanged”

This procedure will be used at the remaining street course events in Detroit, Markham and Washington, D.C.

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Fast Facts

Spotter Guide Pit Assignments

Race weekend: Friday, April 17 – Sunday, April 19 Track: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course (clockwise) in Long Beach, California Thursday Thunder at the Pike Outlets Pit Stop Challenge Bracket Race distance: 90 laps / 177.12 miles Push-to-pass parameters: 200 seconds of total time, with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation Hybrid energy deployment parameters: Unlimited activation, with a maximum deployment of 415 kilojoules (kj) per lap Firestone tire allotment: Five sets primary (hard) and five sets alternate (soft) to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and two sets of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race for at least two laps in the race. X: @GPLongBeach, @INDYCAR, #AGPLB, #INDYCAR Instagram: @GPLongBeach, @INDYCAR, #AGPLB, #INDYCAR Facebook: @GrandPrixLB, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR TikTok: @grandprixlongbeach, @INDYCAR, #INDYCAR YouTube: @INDYCAR Event website: www.gplb.com INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com 2025 race winner: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 PreFab Honda) 2025 NTT P1 Award: Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 PreFab Honda), 1:06.1921, 107.034 mph Qualifying lap record: Colton Herta, 1:05.3095, 108.480 mph, April 9, 2022 FOX Sports telecast: Practice 1, 6 p.m. ET, Friday, FS1 (live); Practice 2, 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Qualifying, 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Warmup, 1 p.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live); Race, 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday, FOX (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be available on FOX Deportes. INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn, Jonathan Grace and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach race (5 p.m. ET on April 19) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboardand the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. At-track schedule (all local times):  Friday, April 17 3:05-4:25 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 1 (split group format), FS1 (live) Saturday, April 18 10:35-11:55 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice 2 (split group format), FS2 (live) 3:30 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (two rounds of knockout qualifying followed by single-car Firestone Fast Six showdown), FS1 (live) Sunday, April 19 10:10-10:40 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, FS1 (live) 12:59 p.m. – Driver introductions 2:30 p.m.  – FOX on air 2:50 p.m. – Start engines command 2:57 p.m. – Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (90 laps/177.12 miles), FOX, FOX ONE, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network (live). Spanish telecast on FOX Deportes (live)

Header Image By Travis Hiinkle/Penske Entertainment, Fast Facts by INDYCAR