- Romain Grosjean scores fourth-career NTT INDYCAR SERIES podium
- Alex Palou finishes third for Chip Ganassi Racing to give Honda a double podium
- Four different Honda-powered teams score top 10 finishes
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 10) – Romain Grosjean and Alex Palou both put their Honda-powered INDYCAR machines on the podium at today’s 47th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Though the early stages of the race were dominated by Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta, the 2021 winner found himself in the third position after the first round of pit stops and unfortunately, later, made contact with the wall to end his race.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Palou would inherit the lead after jumping both Herta and Josef Newgarden on pit road during the first round of pit stops, and would maintain that position through the second stint. But in the second and final pit stop cycle, Palou would drop behind eventual-winner Newgarden.
For Andretti Autosport #28 driver Romain Grosjean, starting from the sixth position after a crash at the end of Saturday’s qualifying, a combination of tire strategy and gusty on-track passes saw the Formula One veteran move through the field and, eventually, around Palou in the closing laps of the race for second place.
Palou’s Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon, Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal, Andretti’s Alexander Rossi and Meyer Shank Racing’s Helio Castroneves also notched top 10 finishes today for Honda.
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Honda Race Results
- 2nd Romain Grosjean Andretti Autosport Honda
- 3rd Alex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
- 6th Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
- 7th Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
- 8th Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda
- 9th Helio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing Honda
- 15th Jack Harvey Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
- 17th Takuma Sato Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda [did not finish – contact]
- 18th Christian Lundegaard-R Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda [running]
- 19th Simon Pageaud Meyer Shank Racing Honda [running]
- 20th Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
- 21st David Malukas-R Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda [did not finish – contact]
- 22nd Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda [did not finish – contact]
- 23rd Colton Herta Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – contact]
- 25th Devlin DeFrancesco-R Andretti Autosport Honda [did not finish – contact]
R – Rookie
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers’ Championship Standings (unofficial, after 3 of 17 rounds)
1. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske 118 points
2. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske 113
3. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 103
4. Will Power, Team Penske 102
5. Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing 83
6. Roman Grosjean, Andretti Autosport 75
Quotes
Romain Grosjean (#28 Andretti Autosport Honda) Finished 2nd: “It was a pretty good day out there! It's a bummer we didn't start P2, that would have made my day a lot easier. But, we had the right strategy, good pit stops, and pushed hard. The yellow [caution flag] really brought us back into the game and from there I made a couple of overtakes to get into second. Was just a little bit shy of getting the win today. Next time!”
Alex Palou (#10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Finished 3rd: “It was an exciting race! Started third, finished third, but a lot of things happened in that race. I think we did an amazing job with strategy on that first [pit] stop. We had to overtake Herta and Newgarden somehow, and we didn't want to be at risk of any yellows, so we pitted early, really went for it and led some laps—that was amazing. But on the second stop, Josef got us there. It was a nice battle on track and another podium for us, so I'm feeling really confident for what's ahead.”
Kelvin Fu (Vice President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: “The weekend started off really well with Colton getting pole. Today, it was a really tight race throughout and very exciting for the fans here at the track. We definitely have pace on street courses. Unfortunately, we just couldn't put it all together for a win, but it was still a good result for Romain and for Alex. Thanks to everyone who came out to watch. It was a great crowd, there was a lot of excitement and we're sorry we couldn't deliver a victory in front of our home crowd!”
Next
The NTT IndyCar Series next heads to scenic Barber Motorsports Park, just outside of Birmingham, Alabama, for the May 1 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
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