INDYCAR Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach - Full Qualifying Results

After a frustrating rookie campaign and a slow start to his first year at Andretti Autosport, Kyle Kirkwood has a reason to smile. In his first Firestone Fast Six appearance, Kirkwood earned his first IndyCar pole in qualifying today on the streets of Long Beach. The 24-year old captured the top spot on his final lap and will try to become the fifth different Andretti driver to win this race in the last seven years.

Joining Kirkwood on the front row tomorrow is Marcus Ericsson, who led a strong effort by the Chip Ganassi Racing organization. Romain Grosjean and Alex Palou will each start behind their teammate tomorrow in Row 2 while Scott Dixon and Pato O'Ward will share Row 3 on Sunday. Honda swept the top five in qualifying, and seems to have an edge over Chevrolet on the street courses this year.

Former Long Beach winners Colton Herta and Josef Newgarden just missed out on making the Firestone Fast Six, and will start from Row 4 tomorrow. Scott McLaughlin and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top ten in qualifying, with two-time Long Beach winner Alexander Rossi set to start in the 11th position.

Will Power is arguably the greatest qualifier in the history of the sport, but the Team Penske driver was eliminated in the first round of qualifying by just 0.007 seconds. The struggles for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing continued today, as Jack Harvey qualified 15th, Christian Lundgaard 17th, and Graham Rahal in 24th. They were not alone today in that regard.

Meyer Shank Racing, Ed Carpenter Racing, and Juncos Hollinger Racing all had a rough Saturday afternoon in California. Both Callum Ilott (Juncos) and Rinus VeeKay (Carpenter) were victims of a track change that was not communicated with the teams and drivers today. There was an extra piece of curb re-inserted into Turn 5 that was not there during practice on Friday. Ilott and VeeKay hit that piece in practice this morning, which sent them airborne and crashing into the tire barrier.

Previous Long Beach winners

2022: Josef Newgarden

2021: Colton Herta

2019: Alexander Rossi

2018: Alexander Rossi

2017: James Hinchcliffe

2016: Simon Pagenaud

2015: Scott Dixon

2014: Mike Conway

2013: Takuma Sato

2012: Will Power

2011: Mike Conway

2010: Ryan Hunter-Reay

2009: Dario Franchitti

2008: Will Power

2007: Sebastien Bourdais

2006: Sebastien Bourdais

2005: Sebastien Bourdais

2004: Paul Tracy

2003: Paul Tracy

2002: Michael Andretti

2001: Helio Castroneves

2000: Paul Tracy