Kyle Kirkwood navigating the streets of Long Beach in qualifying, en route to a pole position for the NTT IndyCar Series Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (Photo: The Podium Finish | Owen Jackson)
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Reigning NTT IndyCar Series champion and points leader Alex Palou isn’t the only person sweeping headlines this weekend in Long Beach. Kyle Kirkwood and his teammate made a statement by locking out an all-Andretti front row in qualifying Saturday for the 50th edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Kirkwood earned his first NTT P1 Award of the 2025 season and his second in two years at Long Beach, with a lap of 1:06.1921 in the No. 27 PreFab Honda for Andretti Global at the legendary 11-turn, 1.968-mile street course in Southern California.
“When you’re in an Andretti Global car at Long Beach, you know you’re going to be quick,” Kirkwood told FOX Sports. “That was such a good lap, such a good qualifying. Fortunately, I didn’t put any wheel wrong or hit anything. That’s always a question here at the street courses. You’ve got to send it to get that top spot.”
Kirkwood’s teammate and Southern California native Colton Herta overcame wall contact and a broken left-rear toe link in the opening practice on Friday to qualify second with a lap of 1:06.4232 in the No. 26 Gainbridge Honda. This was the first front-row lockout for Andretti Global since the Honda Indy Toronto last July, a race that Herta won.
“Yeah, the guys did a good job,” said Herta. “They always do a good job repairing the car. I’ve done that to them a few times. I’ve done it here before also where they had to fix it in between rounds.”
Palou, who has dominated the 2025 season thus far, qualified third at 1:06.6254 in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Felix Rosenqvist continues his hot start to the season by qualifying fourth at 1:06:6358 in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing.
Kyle Kirkwood looks for his first win of the 2025 season in Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish)
Sweedish driver Marcus Ericsson was the third Andretti Global driver to round out the top five at 1:06.7061 in the No. 28 Bryant Honda. The lone Penske to take to the Firestone Fast 6 was New Zealander Scott McLaughlin with a time of 1:07.0393 in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet that go him sixth best in the final round of qualifying.
To the surprise of those in the paddock was another early exit by Team Penske teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden, when they failed to move past Round 1 of NTT P1 Qualifying for the second week in a row.
Power will start from the 13th starting spot with a lap of 1:07.6606 in the No. 12 Verizon Business Chevrolet and Newgarden will start 15th spot with a lap of 1:07.6905 in the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet.
Christian Lundgaard was looking to be well on his way to his third consecutive Firestone Fast Six of the 2025 season turning a lap in the fifth position on the speed charts, until his No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet missed corner exit and pile-drove into the Turn 6 tire barrier, bringing out a red flag that ultimately ended the session.
NTT IndyCar rules state that any driver who causes a red flag in qualifying loses their two quickest laps and cannot advance to the next session. That penalty eventually placed Rosenqvist into the Firestone Fast Six.
On tap next for the NTT IndyCar Series will be the pre-race warmup at noon ET Sunday on FS1, followed by the 90-lap Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the IndyCar Radio Network.
