Round 5: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 17 - 19
Round 5: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 17 - 19
After a three week break, the 2026 IndyCar season resumes this weekend at Long Beach. This year's race will the 18th as an IndyCar event and like last year it will be 90 laps.
-
History
The inaugural race was the 7th round of the SCCA Formula 5000 series, held on September 28th 1975 and was won by British driver Brian Redman, in a Lola T332-Chevrolet V8.
Following the success of the F5000 event and only 6 months later Pook convinced FISA to hold the F1 United States Grand Prix West, which was was won by Swiss F1 veteran Clay Regazzoni, driving a Ferrari-312T. The United States Grand Prix West, as it became known, remained on the F1 calendar until 1983.
After the 1983 Grand Prix, increasing F1 costs, sanctions and shipping charges, made the race too expensive to be run as a Formula 1 Grand Prix. The venue was approached by CART to host a race, with Long Beach becoming a CART/Champ Car perennial event from 1984 to 2008.
Despite series reunification taking place in late February 2008, it emerged that there would be a calendar clash between the Champ Car Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the IndyCar Series', Indy Japan 300 at Motegi. With both races so early on in the season and more or less finalised, neither track could change their date; particularly Long Beach, due to the preparations required for a street course. It was decided both races would go ahead, with points from Long Beach counting towards the IndyCar Series championship.
The 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, would be the final Champ Car race and was held on April 20, as part of the 2008 IndyCar Series split weekend. It was won by Will Power driving for KV Racing, in a Panoz DP01- Cosworth. The race was added to the IndyCar Series calendar in 2009 and as with CART/Champ Car, it has become a perennial event.
After the 2018 race, Toyota who had been the naming rights race sponsor of The Grand Prix of Long Beach since 1980, ended that partnership as well as it's long term title sponsorship of The Grand Prix of Long Beach, with the naming rights going to Acura in 2019.
Due to the Covid pandemic in 2020 the race was cancelled. However, it returned in 2021 but as the pandemic was still affecting the 2021 season, it was decided instead of canceling the race for the second year in a row, Long Beach would host the season finale. In 2022 the race resumed it's usual place in the early part of the calendar.
On January 5, 2022, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved a contract extension, ensuring the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach as an NTT IndyCar series street race, would continue through 2028
It was announced on March 28, 2024, that former CART/ChampCar team owner and Champ Car World Series founder, Gerald Forsythe would buy a 50% stake in the Long Beach Grand Prix from the estate of the late Kevin Kalkhoven, a co-founder of the Champ Car World Series.
In 2025, the race was extended from 85 laps to 90. It also ran entirely under a green flag.
-
Some Trivia
Driver with the most wins: 6.
Al Unser Jr., 1988 - 1991, 1994, 1995.
Team with the most wins: 7.
Team Penske 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2012, 2016, 2022
-
Track Layout
The track is a temporary street course and since the 1975 F5000 race, the layout has changed considerably. Rather than fill the intro with all the different layouts, the link below shows how the track layout has changed over the years.
https://www.racingcircuits.info/nort...l#.Vw6LfjFI6Fk
Original 1975-1981 Layout
Length: 2.02 miles (3.251 km)
Turns: 12
Current Layout as of 2000
Length: 1.968 Miles (3.167 Km)
Turns: 11
The current layout has been in use since 2000, and though there was a change to Turn 6 from 2015-16, the track reverted to its 2000 layout in 2017.
Lap Record
Colton Herta, April 9, 2022. 01:05.3095, 108.480 Mph (174.582 Km/h).
Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian
Dallara IR18-Honda HI22TT Indy V6,
NTT IndyCar Series.
-
Last year's race
https://www.indycar.com/news/2025/04/04-13-lb-race
Last year's pole
Kyle Kirkwood,
Andretti Autosport
Dallara IR18-Honda HI25TT Indy V6
Last year's winner
Kyle Kirkwood,
Andretti Autosport
Dallara IR18-Honda HI25TT Indy V6
Laps: 90
Distance: 167.28 Miles (269.211 Km)
Race Time: 1:42:03.1416
Average Speed: 98.350 mph (158.279 Km/h)
Fastest lap
Marcus Ericsson - Andretti Global,
Lap 71. 67.7690 sec,
104.541 Mph (168.241 Km/h)
Caution periods: 1
Laps: 4
-
Practice and Qualifications
Practice 1
Friday, Apr 17
FS1, 6:00 PM EDT, 10:00 PM UTC
Sky Sports F1, 23:00 PM BST
Practice 2
Saturday, Apr 18
FS2, 1:30 PM EDT, 5:30 PM UTC
Sky Sports F1, 6:30 PM BST
Qualifications
Saturday, Apr 18
FS1, 6:30 PM EDT, 10:30 PM UTC
Sky Sports F1, 11:30 PM BST
-
Race Broadcast
Sunday, April 19
Fox: 5:30pm EDT, 9:30 PM UTC.
Sky Sports F1: 10:30 PM BST
After a three week break, the 2026 IndyCar season resumes this weekend at Long Beach. This year's race will the 18th as an IndyCar event and like last year it will be 90 laps.
-
History
The inaugural race was the 7th round of the SCCA Formula 5000 series, held on September 28th 1975 and was won by British driver Brian Redman, in a Lola T332-Chevrolet V8.
Following the success of the F5000 event and only 6 months later Pook convinced FISA to hold the F1 United States Grand Prix West, which was was won by Swiss F1 veteran Clay Regazzoni, driving a Ferrari-312T. The United States Grand Prix West, as it became known, remained on the F1 calendar until 1983.
After the 1983 Grand Prix, increasing F1 costs, sanctions and shipping charges, made the race too expensive to be run as a Formula 1 Grand Prix. The venue was approached by CART to host a race, with Long Beach becoming a CART/Champ Car perennial event from 1984 to 2008.
Despite series reunification taking place in late February 2008, it emerged that there would be a calendar clash between the Champ Car Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and the IndyCar Series', Indy Japan 300 at Motegi. With both races so early on in the season and more or less finalised, neither track could change their date; particularly Long Beach, due to the preparations required for a street course. It was decided both races would go ahead, with points from Long Beach counting towards the IndyCar Series championship.
The 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, would be the final Champ Car race and was held on April 20, as part of the 2008 IndyCar Series split weekend. It was won by Will Power driving for KV Racing, in a Panoz DP01- Cosworth. The race was added to the IndyCar Series calendar in 2009 and as with CART/Champ Car, it has become a perennial event.
After the 2018 race, Toyota who had been the naming rights race sponsor of The Grand Prix of Long Beach since 1980, ended that partnership as well as it's long term title sponsorship of The Grand Prix of Long Beach, with the naming rights going to Acura in 2019.
Due to the Covid pandemic in 2020 the race was cancelled. However, it returned in 2021 but as the pandemic was still affecting the 2021 season, it was decided instead of canceling the race for the second year in a row, Long Beach would host the season finale. In 2022 the race resumed it's usual place in the early part of the calendar.
On January 5, 2022, the Long Beach City Council unanimously approved a contract extension, ensuring the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach as an NTT IndyCar series street race, would continue through 2028
It was announced on March 28, 2024, that former CART/ChampCar team owner and Champ Car World Series founder, Gerald Forsythe would buy a 50% stake in the Long Beach Grand Prix from the estate of the late Kevin Kalkhoven, a co-founder of the Champ Car World Series.
In 2025, the race was extended from 85 laps to 90. It also ran entirely under a green flag.
-
Some Trivia
Driver with the most wins: 6.
Al Unser Jr., 1988 - 1991, 1994, 1995.
Team with the most wins: 7.
Team Penske 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2012, 2016, 2022
-
Track Layout
The track is a temporary street course and since the 1975 F5000 race, the layout has changed considerably. Rather than fill the intro with all the different layouts, the link below shows how the track layout has changed over the years.
https://www.racingcircuits.info/nort...l#.Vw6LfjFI6Fk
Original 1975-1981 Layout
Length: 2.02 miles (3.251 km)
Turns: 12
Current Layout as of 2000
Length: 1.968 Miles (3.167 Km)
Turns: 11
The current layout has been in use since 2000, and though there was a change to Turn 6 from 2015-16, the track reverted to its 2000 layout in 2017.
Lap Record
Colton Herta, April 9, 2022. 01:05.3095, 108.480 Mph (174.582 Km/h).
Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian
Dallara IR18-Honda HI22TT Indy V6,
NTT IndyCar Series.
-
Last year's race
https://www.indycar.com/news/2025/04/04-13-lb-race
Last year's pole
Kyle Kirkwood,
Andretti Autosport
Dallara IR18-Honda HI25TT Indy V6
Last year's winner
Kyle Kirkwood,
Andretti Autosport
Dallara IR18-Honda HI25TT Indy V6
Laps: 90
Distance: 167.28 Miles (269.211 Km)
Race Time: 1:42:03.1416
Average Speed: 98.350 mph (158.279 Km/h)
Fastest lap
Marcus Ericsson - Andretti Global,
Lap 71. 67.7690 sec,
104.541 Mph (168.241 Km/h)
Caution periods: 1
Laps: 4
-
Practice and Qualifications
Practice 1
Friday, Apr 17
FS1, 6:00 PM EDT, 10:00 PM UTC
Sky Sports F1, 23:00 PM BST
Practice 2
Saturday, Apr 18
FS2, 1:30 PM EDT, 5:30 PM UTC
Sky Sports F1, 6:30 PM BST
Qualifications
Saturday, Apr 18
FS1, 6:30 PM EDT, 10:30 PM UTC
Sky Sports F1, 11:30 PM BST
-
Race Broadcast
Sunday, April 19
Fox: 5:30pm EDT, 9:30 PM UTC.
Sky Sports F1: 10:30 PM BST