Kirkwood Holds Off Palou in Long Beach for First Win of the Season

After starting from pole position, Kyle Kirkwood claimed victory in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. The American lost the lead early in the race due to an early pit stop but regained the top spot once his competitors completed their stops. In yet another caution-free race, Alex Palou finished second, ahead of Christian Lundgaard.

After the green flag waved, the entire field made it cleanly through the opening corners. Polesitter Kyle Kirkwood managed to hold on to his lead, followed by teammate Colton Herta. Alex Palou, who had started third, dropped back to fifth after being overtaken by Felix Rosenqvist and Scott McLaughlin.

With the exception of six drivers, nearly the entire field started on the softer, alternate tire compound – including the entire top ten on the grid. As a result, it took a few laps before the first round of pit stops began, with teams switching to the standard, harder tire.

Palou made the most of the first round of pit stops. Thanks to a quick stop and strong in- and out-laps, he was able to jump Herta, Rosenqvist, and McLaughlin. He rejoined the track in second place, right behind Kirkwood, on the most commonly used pit strategy.

The pit stop shuffle briefly handed the lead to Christian Lundgaard, followed by Scott Dixon. These drivers opted to use the softer tire during the second stint, which lasted only a few laps due to the tire’s degradation. Only Sting Ray Robb and Robert Shwartzman chose to run the first two stints on the harder compound, which saw the two underdogs suddenly running in first and second!

Once all drivers had completed their stints on the softer tires, Kirkwood found himself back in the lead, though he had championship leader Palou close behind. During the final round of pit stops, things briefly got tense when Palou pitted one lap earlier and Kirkwood got caught in traffic. Ultimately, the Andretti Global driver had just enough of a gap to retain the lead.

Lundgaard’s alternate strategy turned out to be effective in the end. After completing his short stint on the softer tires, he rejoined the race in fourth place. With five laps to go, he managed to move up to third with a clean pass on Rosenqvist in Turn 1.

At the front, Kirkwood continued to extend his lead over Palou, putting his first win of the season beyond doubt. He eventually took the checkered flag with a four-second advantage over Palou, while Lundgaard completed the podium, finishing nineteen seconds behind.

Full results of the race on Long Beach