Kyle Kirkwood Wins 50th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | INDYCAR 2025 Highlights

Kyle Kirkwood extended Honda’s winning streak at the beginning of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season by clinching victory in the 50th edition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Starting from the pole position, Kirkwood dominated the race, leading for 46 laps and securing his third career win, as well as his second at Long Beach, in his #27 Andretti Global Honda.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou finished just 2.6 seconds behind Kirkwood, maintaining his flawless podium streak to kick off the season. After winning at St. Petersburg and Thermal, Palou’s second-place finish at Long Beach solidifies his championship lead with a 34-point advantage over Kirkwood, as he aims for his fourth title in five years.

Felix Rosenqvist from Meyer Shank Racing appeared poised for a podium finish until a late-race maneuver from the #7 car pushed him back to fourth place. Other notable Honda finishers in the top 10 included Colton Herta in seventh, Scott Dixon in eighth, and Kyffin Simpson achieving a career-best finish in tenth.

With this strong start to the 2025 IndyCar season, Honda leads the manufacturers’ championship by 69 points, with a score of 278 to 209.

The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix Honda Race Results

1st Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Global Honda
2nd Alex Palou	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
4th Felix Rosenqvist	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
7th Colton Herta	Andretti Global Honda
8th Scott Dixon	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
10th Kyffin Simpson	Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
12th Marcus Ericsson	Andretti Global Honda
14th Marcus Armstrong	Meyer Shank Racing Honda
16th Louis Foster-R	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
19th Rinus VeeKay	Dale Coyne Racing Honda
22nd Graham Rahal	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
24th Devlin DeFrancesco	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
26th Jacob Abel-R	Dale Coyne Racing Honda

Kyle Kirkwood (#27, Andretti Global Honda)finished first:
“Amazing day! Honda gave us the tools to get it done here. The power was amazing, our fuel saving was amazing, and the strategy was amazing—all because of Honda. This is why we put in the hard work, so we can come out here and get wins. Doing it at home for Honda is absolutely massive here at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. We’re looking forward to many more of these, but this is a historic event for the 50th and to notch the win for Honda and Andretti Global is absolutely massive.”

Palou, who started the race strong despite an early misstep, praised the team’s overall execution and celebrated the podium finish.

Alex Palou (#10, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)finished second:
“Number two today. Honestly, it was a really good weekend. It’s always amazing when you finish on the podium. We were close today, but we didn’t really have the same pace as the #27. Overall, it was a strong weekend and I think we executed perfectly—except for my start where I gave up a couple of spots. It’s great to have a one-two finish for Honda at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Cannot wait for the next one!”

Honda Racing Corporation USA President David Salters applauded the collective effort across teams, noting the strategic gains made ahead of the weekend.

David Salters, President, Honda Racing Corporation USA:
“Great day in the office! Massive congratulations to Kyle, Andretti Global, and to Alex and Chip Ganassi Racing as well. There’s a huge amount of effort going into this from everyone at Honda Racing Corporation USA. We made a big push to bring some more performance to our cars here in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and it paid off. The season has started reasonably well; however, we’ll all focus forward and keep going.”