INDYCAR QUALIFYING REPORT: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

Will Power

No. 26 TWG AI Honda

• Taking on qualifying on the Streets of Long Beach for the 20th time after finishing P1 in yesterday’s practice session, Will Power started today’s qualifying session in Group 2, looking to build on the three pole positions he already holds on this track.
• After posting the third-fastest lap in Round 1, Power went on to join Kirkwood in the second round, where he climbed as high as P2 on the leaderboard. Unfortunately, the Australian native did not have the speed he needed to stay at the top of the leaderboard, and missed out on advancing to the Firestone Fast Six by just two-hundredths of a second.
• The two-time Long Beach race winner will take on tomorrow’s race from the fourth row on the grid to add to his vast experience on the West Coast track.

“It was a good session. We’re very tight, and unfortunately, we just missed out on the top six. It would have been nice to be able to go for the one-lap qualifying. This is a very competitive field all in all, so we have our work cut out for us in the race tomorrow, but we can definitely work from P7.”

Kyle Kirkwood

No. 27 JM Bullion / Gold.com Honda

• Two-time Long Beach Grand Prix pole sitter Kyle Kirkwood began his qualifying attempt alongside teammate Power in Group 2 following a strong practice session this morning, where he topped the leaderboard.
• The reigning Streets of Long Beach champion carried the momentum through both rounds of qualifying to earn his third Firestone Fast Six appearance on the Southern California circuit.
• As the sole Andretti driver to advance to the Firestone Fast Six on the new street course qualifying format, Kirkwood went out fourth in the run order and ultimately qualified fourth for the 90-lap race.
• Today’s result marks the Florida native’s best street course qualifying performance of the season.

“To be honest, the lap felt good. I was up about two tenths and on track for a lap that could’ve put us on pole. It just wasn’t a great finish to the lap. We kind of threw the kitchen sink at it, maybe overdid it a little bit, but it was worth a shot. After the IMSA race this afternoon, I’d say we didn’t quite have the same pace we had all weekend, but we still had a really good chance at pole. I’m happy with fourth. Honestly, all of qualifying we were working to find the balance, and for the Fast Six, we tried something extra. It worked really well for one half of the lap, maybe not as much for the other, but it was worth it. We definitely had a really fast JM Bullion / Gold.com Honda and something to fight with tomorrow.”

No. 28 Allegra Honda

• Marcus Ericsson took on his seventh qualifying attempt this afternoon on the Streets of Long Beach.
• As the sole Andretti driver making his qualifying attempt in Group 1, the Swede started with a consistent pace, shuffling between the third and fourth quickest lap times in the group. Unfortunately, as the session came to a close, Ericsson was not able to find the speed he needed to advance on to the Fast 12.
• Ericsson will make his seventh Long Beach race start tomorrow from the 15th position on the grid.

“I’m disappointed with that, especially with how good the Andretti cars are on the street circuits. Not really sure what we were missing out there. Maybe the balance wasn’t 100 percent. We just need to execute a better lap. We’ll see what we can do in the race.”

“Good job again by Andretti Global. We brought three fast cars to Long Beach. The new qualifying format was interesting, and I’m glad we got to be a part of it with Kyle. We’re going to be spread out through the field a little bit for the race, but I think we’re in a position to have strong race cars tomorrow and play out the different tire strategies.”