For the third round of the 2025 season, IndyCar tackled the second street circuit of the season, around the tricky 1.9-mile circuit in Long Beach. A clean 90 laps later, around the infamous streets of California, a new driver emerged as victor in 2025. The lack of caution flags meant the race was a chess match of track position and tyre management, with action happening at both ends of the race spectrum on the field. Various drivers shone throughout the weekend, while others had a weekend to forget. Let’s talk about the winners and losers of the IndyCar Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Winner: Kyle Kirkwood
Kyle Kirkwood took his maiden IndyCar victory in the 2023 Long Beach Grand Prix. The Andretti Global driver repeated history two years later, securing a second win at the circuit. Kirkwood kickstarted his weekend with the NTT P1 Award ahead of teammate Colton Herta. After leading 46 out of 90 laps, Kirkwood crossed the line ahead of Alex Palou to secure a dominant victory. Kirkwood entered the weekend sixth overall in the standings and exited it in second, marking himself as a strong contender for the championship.
Kyle Kirkwood Previews the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach
Loser: Nolan Siegel hit with pre-race poisoning
It’s been a difficult season so far for Arrow McLaren youngster Nolan Siegel. The opening race in St. Petes ended in early heartbreak after an opening lap hit from Team Penske’s Will Power. The following race in Thermal further added to the disappointment after finishing in 19th.
However, heading into Long Beach Siegel’s luck took a turn, topping the timing sheets in Practice 2 and placing his Papaya into the sixth row for Sunday’s race day. Despite the short turn of luck, that night, the 19-year-old was hit with food poisoning. Determined to race the following day, the Californian pushed through his illness. Despite his efforts, he wound up in 20th after suffering from what appeared to be a broken left-rear. It was later found out that the car wasn’t broken – built up rubber had affected the left-rear.
While the sun was shining in Long Beach, a dark cloud still seemed to loom over Siegel on Sunday.
Winner: Sting-Ray Robb ties career best finish
The Juncos Hollinger racing driver put his No.77 in 19th on Saturday afternoon. Starting on a unique strategy with the black stickers, Robb moved up throughout the field throughout the race. The Idaho native climbed up the field and led the race for 12 out of 90 laps.
After switching for a pair of primaries on lap 51, Robb continued to shine, at one point bettering Kirkwood’s times at the front of the pack. He crossed the line in ninth, tying his second best-career finish in IndyCar.
Winner: Alex Palou continuing with impeccable form
Alex Palou has been the man to beat in 2025, securing the opening two race victories and leading the championship standings. Known for his notorious record around street circuits, Long Beach was tipped to be a strong weekend for Palou.
Qualifying in third on Saturday, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver looked to further add to his streak. Quickly overtaking Herta after the first round of pit stops, Palou remained a close contender for the win. He looked to undercut Kirkwood on his second stop. But his attempt failed, and he could not get ahead of him.
He remained on the heels of the No.27 car for the closing laps, before crossing the line in second.
Palou sits at the top of the standings with 142 points, his closest challenger, Kirkwood is 32 points behind him as IndyCar heads into the month of May.
Loser: Josef Newgarden struggles with belt
Josef Newgarden was tipped to be a close title challenger for Alex Palou. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner started off the season with a podium in St. Pete’s.
However, his race took a hit in Thermal when the Penske driver wound up in 13th after a disappointing outing. To further add to his struggles, Newgarden finished a lap behind in Long Beach, and in last position. So where did it all go wrong for the Nashvillian on Sunday?
Newgarden qualified in a lacklustre 15th on Saturday after getting knocked out of Qualifying 1 for the second race in a row. But, with the weather and lack of cautions in play, he had an opportunity to move up the pack.
His efforts for a redeeming weekend came undone when Newgarden had to go in for an unscheduled pit-stop.
One of his pit crew was seen looking in the cockpit where the issue arose that his seatbelt had come undone. An issue out of his control, which took a hit to his championship challenge, dropping him to tenth in the standings and 84 points behind Palou.
Winner: Christian Lundgaard adds another podium to his name
Christian Lundgaard was the lead driver running on the alternative strategy.
The Arrow McLaren driver moved up the field to a podium placing finish after starting in 12th, behind his teammate. Lundgaard took a hit to his weekend on Saturday after crashing into the tyre barriers during the second round of Qualifying.
The Dane’s car suffered from damage to his chassis which his pit crew worked overtime to ensure the car could participate on Sunday. Lundgaard showed his appreciation to his team by climbing up into the top runners, leading 26 laps and finishing on the final spot on the podium.
Loser: Colton Herta comes short
What looked like a strong weekend for Colton Herta turned into disappointment with the Andretti Global driver finishing in sixth.
It looked hopeful for Herta who lined up with his teammate in second. The home-town hero entered the Firestone Fast 6 where he ran off during his flying lap and locked up. Despite this, he put a time to qualify in second. Leading into Sunday with hope, trouble hit him before the race even went underway.
During pre-warm up, Herta hit the back of Jacob Abel’s racing car. No damage was done to either car. But, the incident set a precedent for the race which saw Herta struggle with strategy and reliability issues. He remained quiet for the remainder of the race before crossing the line in sixth, adding onto his streak of top 10 finishes in 2025.
The fourth round of IndyCar’s 2025 season will take place in Alabama where Palou will be looking to kickstart the month of May with a victory. But, could title contender Kirkwood sneak up on the Chip Ganassi driver?
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Feature Image: IndyCar Media Centre – Joe Skibinski
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