IndyCars - Long Beach: The Monaco of the West returns!

[MarkyS]

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Like Formula One has Monaco, the IndyCars’ have their own historic street race. It’s the oldest street race in North America and draws a HUGE crowd, but unlike Monaco, the racing on the streets of Long Beach is actually still great! It’s time for …

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

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The Acura GP of Long Beach is a shared event, with the title of the race being used by both the IndyCars and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and both series hold premiere events on this weekend.

The track layout is fast and difficult. The 1.968-mile, 11-turn circuit encircles the Long Beach Convention Center and runs down scenic Shoreline Drive. It offers numerous overtaking opportunities, including dangerous Turn 1. Drivers will find that getting it right at the hairpin turn at Turn 11 just before the front stretch is critical. While that front stretch curves, it is taken at full chat.

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This is always a well-attended event for Southern California as it is considered the best family event of the racing season. Fans will have no less than 10 races to watch over the weekend, with great support racing interspersed with lots of live music. The racing includes:

• The WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series - Saturday
• 2 races for the Porsche Carrera Cup North America - Saturday and Sunday
• 2 races for the Formula D Super Drift Challenge Competition - Friday and Saturday
• 2 races for the Historic IMSA GTP Challenge - Saturday and Sunday
• 2 races for the Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks - Saturday and Sunday

…and the IndyCars will race on Sunday…

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Let’s take a look at all that support racing…

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Formula D Super Drift Challenge Competition - An annual fan favorite, the Super Drift Challenge features high horsepower GTs slamming around the circuit sideways, smoking tires and pegging the engines. The kids especially love it. As there are no IndyCar drivers in the Drift, we will wish them safe, loud and happy racing and concentrate elsewhere.

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Historic IMSA GTP Challenge - Prototype sports cars from the 1980s and 1990s will race again on the streets, bringing back the sounds, smells and rumbles of the great GTP era of IMSA racing, with famous marques such as Ford, Jaguar, Mazda, Nissan, Lola and Toyota. As there are no IndyCar drivers in the GTP Challenge, we will wish them safe, loud and happy racing and concentrate elsewhere.

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continued…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Support Racing…(continued)…

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Speed Energy Stadium Super Trucks - Former IndyCar driver and off-road legend Robby Gordon invented a street and track truck series that uses steel ramps to create the whoop-de-doos they would normally encounter in the off-road world and the result is one of the most popular support series in racing. The powerful trucks can leap up to 20 feet high over a 200 foot distance. The kids go INSANE… And those kids are kids all ages. There are often a number of former IndyCar guys in this series and we will be following them, this weekend.

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IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - This is multi-class SportsCar racing at its best with both high horsepower prototypes and GT cars all racing on the same track at the same time, with the slower cars becoming a moving chicane for the faster cars. The driving talent in the WeatherTech series is among the best in North America and part of that is because of the large number of IndyCar guys and gals who gravitate to IMSA. Many former open-wheelers and when the schedules allow, many current IndyCar drivers end up in WeatherTech races. This weekend, the WeatherTech classes will be the top DPi class, the GTD Pro class and GTD class, and there will be lots of former IndyCar and Road to Indy stars in the game, so we will be watching.

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Porsche Carrera Cup North America - Porsche Carrera Cup is one of the preeminent one-make racing series in the world. Every car competing in the series is identical - the road car-based Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car, known as the 992 - which places the emphasis on driver and team talent to win. The drivers come from all over the world and that includes the Road to Indy, where three talented guys have stepped up to Porsche Carrera Cup in 2022. We will be watching them.

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Friday is a day of practice for all the series racing this weekend. LET’S GET THIS GOING!!

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at Long Beach - Porsche Carrera Cup practices and qualifies…

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The guys at the PCCNA had two practice sessions today and then ended the day qualifying for their two weekend races. We have the TOPS in practice and the TOP THREE qualifiers here:

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The fastest guy in practice today after two sessions was IndyCar guy Trenton Estep in the # 6 Porsche 992 for MDK Motorsports, but when it came time to qualify it was Kay van Berlo in the # 3 Porsche 992 for Kelly-Moss Road & Race on the pole with a time of 119.985s for a speed of 88.576mph. Kay bested Trenton by a teensy 0.040 seconds. Starting 3rd in Race 1 will be Riley Dickinson in the # 53 Porsche 992 for Kelly-Moss Road & Race.

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Kay van Berlo in the # 3 Porsche for Kelly-Moss Road & Race - on the pole

Kay van Berlo

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Notable:

• Van Berlo was at one point leading the points in the series in 2021 but was eventually surpassed barely by teammate Sebastian Priaulx for the title. Kay thinks he’s owed one by the racing gods and he is going to do everything he needs to, to secure the 2022 title. There are at least 3 drivers in the series who will try to make that tough. They are Trenton, fellow IndyCar guy Parker Thompson and Riley Dickinson.

• Van Berlo was the king of Sebring, last month - Rounds 1 and 2 in the series - with two poles and two WINS.

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Race 1 is scheduled for Saturday morning. The Race 2 grid will be determined by either the 2nd fastest lap from qualifying or a driver’s fastest Race 1 lap time - whichever is better.

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Next up, the WeatherTech gang practice and qualify…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at Long Beach - The WeatherTech gang practice and qualify…

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Like the PCCNA, all three classes of the WeatherTech gang held two practice sessions and then qualified for Saturday’s race. We have the TOPS in practice in each class and the TOP THREE qualifiers here:

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DPi class - IndyCar guy Sebastien Bourdais was the fastest guy in practice after two sessions with his P-2 session time in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing and that speed later translated into a record-breaking pole for Sebastien with a time of 1:09.472s for a speed of 101.980mph. Seb bested teammate Alex Lynn in the # 02 Caddy by 0.361 seconds. Starting third will be Tom Blomqvist in the # 60 Acura ARX-05 for Meyer Shank Racing.

Sebastien shares the # 01 Cadillac with Renger van der Zande while Alex shares the # 02 Caddy with Earl Bamber. Tom’s co-driver in the Acura is Oliver Jarvis.

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The # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Cadillac Racing - On the pole for the Chipster’s boys

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GTD Pro class - Tops in practice for the GTD Pro guys was Mathieu Jaminet with his P-2 session time in the # 9 Porsche 911 GT3 R for PFAFF Motorsports but when it came time to qualify the guy on the pole was Jordan Taylor in the # 3 Corvette C8.R for Corvette Racing with a time of 1:18.048s for a speed of 90.774mph. Jordan bested IndyCar ace Connor de Phillippi in the # 25 BMW M4 GT3 for BMW M Team RLL by 0.112 seconds. Jaminet will start 3rd in the PFAFF Porsche.

Jordan shares the Corvette with Antonio Garcia while Connor shares the Bimmer with John Edwards. Mathieu’s co-driver in the Porsche is Matt Campbell.

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The # 3 Corvette C8.R for Corvette Racing - on the pole

Jordan Taylor

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GTD class - The HOT SHOE in the practice sessions was Frederik Schandorff with his P-2 session time in the # 70 McLaren 720S GT3 for inception racing but when it came time to qualify pole was taken by Madison Snow in the # 1 BMW M4 GT3 for Paul Miller Racing with a time of 1:18.487s for a speed of 90.267mph. Madison got on top of Robby Foley in the # 96 BMW M4 GT3 for Turner Motorsport by 0.112 seconds. Starting third will be Mike Skeen in the # 32 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Team Korthoff Motorsports.

Madison shares the Paul Miller car with Bryan Sellers while robby shares the Turner BMW with Bill Auberlen. Mike’s co-driver in the Mercedes is Stevan McAleer while Frederik’s co-driver in the inception racing McLaren is Brendan Iribe.

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The # 1 BMW M4 GT3 for Paul Miller Racing - on the pole

Madison Snow

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The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is scheduled for broadcast on Saturday on USA Network, starting at 5:00pm EASTERN time, 2:00pm PACIFIC time. It can also be seen on Peacock at the same time.

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Next, the IndyCars hold their first practice session…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at Long Beach - The IndyCars hold their P-1 practice…

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…and wily veteran Simon Pagenaud in his # 60 Honda for Meyer Shanks Racing blew it out of the water, besting his nearest pursuer by over 0.4 seconds - an unheard-of gap in these highly competitive cars.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-1 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing - time of 01:07.1991s for a speed of 105.430mph

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2 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:07.6012s for a speed of 104.803mph

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3 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 01:07.6720s for a speed of 104.693mph

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4 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 01:07.7282s for a speed of 104.606mph

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5 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:07.8425s for a speed of 104.430mph

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6 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport
7 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Will Power, Team Penske
9 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
10 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

11 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
12 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
13 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
14 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
15 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
16 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
17 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
18 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
19 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

21 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
22 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
23 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
24 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
25 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
26 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• Simon WON this event in 2016 for Team Penske while Alexander Rossi WON it in both 2018 and 2019 for Andretti Autosport. None of the other TOP FIVE have WON here, but clearly Scotty and Josef are currently on a roll, with WINS already, this season. Marcus Ericsson is quietly impressive, week in and week out. Just out of the TOP FIVE, Colton Herta is the defending race champion.

• The temps were high today - in the 90s - which should have caused a slippery track, but in fact, all the drivers remarked on how grippy it was. On Saturday for P-2 and qualifying the temps will be much lower, which should mean everyone will be even faster.

• Rookies Callum Ilott and Kyle Kirkwood both impressed with their TOP TEN drives.

• There were two red flags for Jimmie Johnson who clouted the tires in Turn 5 when he hit a bump which unsettled him, and for Dalton Kellet who did a leisurely spin in Turn 5 and backed the car into the tires. JJ is now wearing a splint, so we will have to see if he will drive in the race.

• Dalton was fine and the car was fine. Kellett is being touted lately for his Tik Tok videos explaining racing vehicle dynamics in simple engineering terms. We told you the guy was smart! Check them out.

Dalton Kellett

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Simon Pagenaud - Speedy!

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The IndyCars will hold their P-2 practice early tomorrow - first thing in the morning - and then hold knock-out qualifying starting just after Noon local time in Long Beach.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at Long Beach - The Stadium Super Trucks qualify for their weekend of racing…

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…and it’s the IndyCar guys taking the two TOP SPOTS. While qualifying earns points for the title, the race will actually grid in reverse order, meaning Robby Gordon will start last and Bill Hynes will start first.
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Here was the order of qualifying for the SSTs for Race 1:

1. Robby Gordon
2. Matt Brabham
3. Gavin Harlien
4. Jerett Brooks
5. Robert Stout
6. Davey Hamilton Jr
7. Max Gordon
8. Ryan Arciero
9. Cleetus McFarland
10. Shaun Richardson
11. Zoey Edenholm
12. Bill Hynes

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Robby Gordon on the pole for the SST Race 1

Robby Gordon

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Notable:

• The IndyCar guys are Robby Gordon, Matthew Brabham and Davey Hamilton, Jr. Matthew is a Road to Indy ace with multiple WINS in several series and is currently driving in Indy Lights, securing a WIN just last month at St. Petersburg. He is a two-time SST Champion, as well. Davey is a former Lights driver.

• The other open-wheeler in the field is Zoey Edenholm. She has multiple starts in F4 United States.

Zoey Edenholm

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The Super Trucks will be the last thing on track on Saturday afternoon for Race 1.

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This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at Long Beach - The IndyCars hold their P-2 practice…

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…and this one is critical, as this is the only opportunity to get a qualifying set-up solidified. The track temperature was much, much lower than during Friday’s P-1 session and that played havoc, as tires did not get up to temp as quickly and that caught out a number of drivers, with several cars finding walls and tire barriers. But the lower temps also produced startling speeds on red alternate tires, once hot enough to perform.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-2 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.6520s for a speed of 107.914mph

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2 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.6971s for a speed of 107.840mph

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3 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:05.9383s for a speed of 107.446mph

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4 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.9424s for a speed of 107.439mph

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5 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing - time of 01:05.9989s for a speed of 107.347mph

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6 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
7 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
9 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
10 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

11 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
12 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
13 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
14 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
15 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
16 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
17 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
18 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
19 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

21 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
22 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
23 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
24 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
25 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing

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Notable:

• Helio Castroneve’s 2017 track record of 106.2254 seconds was unofficially eclipsed by the TOP NINE drivers - bodes well for qualifying, later today.

• Andretti Autosport had three drivers in the TOP FIVE including Grosjean on top. The Meyer Shank team is a defacto Andretti car, with shared engineering resources, so that also adds Simon Pagenaud into the mix, and Helio Castroneves is just out of the TOP TEN.

• Chip Ganassi has three cars in the TOP TEN and Marcus Ericsson remains their fastest pony, while former WINNER Will Power leads the Penske boys with his TOP THREE placement.

• Best rookie is Kyle Kirkwood for AJ Foyt, giving them a TOP TEN car.

• Struggling still are the Arrow McLaren guys and the Rahal Letterman Lanigan guys. Graham Rahal was one of the car to find a tire barrier during the practice.

• Jimmie Johnson also hit the tires hard again and it may have been a result of his hand being of weak grip from yesterday’s shunt. Though he didn’t exacerbate the injury the question now is whether or not he should risk driving in this condition, with Indianapolis looming ahead. Sebastien Bourdais, already here for the IMSA racing, is a possible Ganassi stand-in for Jimmie, should he elect not to drive, this weekend.

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Jimmie Johnson (left) and Sebastien Bourdais

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Romain Grosjean - TOPS in the P-2 session

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Qualifying will get underway just after Noon, local time, and will be carried LIVE on Peacock.

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Next up, the Porsche Carrera Cup guys hold Race 1 of the weekend…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at Long Beach - The PCCNA hold Race 1 of the weekend…

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…and Nederlander Kay van Berlo made it three race WINS in three races for the season, all from pole, in the # 3 Porsche 992 for Kelly-Moss Road & Race. Taking P2 was IndyCar driver Parker Thompson for JDX Racing in the # 9 Porsche 992, while another IndyCar guy, Travis Jordan Fischer, took P3 in the # 58 992 for TOPP Racing. It was TJ’s first podium of the year.

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Number 3 on the year for Kay van Berlo

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This one wasn’t easy for anyone. Van Berlo led the field away from pole and fended off a challenge from teammate Riley Dickinson in the # 53. IndyCar driver Trenton Estep, who qualified second for MDK Motorsports, dropped to P4 at the start before going into the Turn 1 runoff after contact with Parker Thompson. He then made contact with the # 81 ACI Motorsports Porsche of Grant Talkie in the Hairpin that triggered multiple spins from other cars due to fluid laid down in the shunt.

On lap 9 leaders Van Berlo and Dickinson were both caught out and spun in the fluids. Dickinson dropped to sixth at the time although van Berlo managed to retain the lead. That brought out a caution and van Berlow managed to keep the lead on the restart, with Thompson in his mirrors. A third caution eventually flew due to a heavy accident by the # 10 Kelly-Moss Porsche of Vernon McClure in Turn 8. The race ended under caution as a result, so we will never know if Parker could have mounted a challenge to Kay.

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Van Berlo will start on pole for Sunday’s Race 2.

Kay van Berlo

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…Parker Thompson in P2 (left) and TJ Fisher in P3

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Next up, knock-out qualifying for the IndyCars…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday at Long Beach - The IndyCars are qualified!..

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…and defending race champion Colton Herta for Andretti Autosport shattered the track record during the Firestone Fast Six in the # 26 Gainbridge Honda.

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Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Season Round 3, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.3095s for a speed of 108.480mph

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P2 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 01:05.7550s for a speed of 107.745mph

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Row 2

P3 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:05.8667s for a speed of 107.563mph

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P4 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 01:05.9349s for a speed of 107.451mph

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Row 3

P5 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.0674s for a speed of 107.236mph

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P6 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - No Time, No Speed

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Row 4

P7 - Will Power, Team Penske
P8 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 5

P9 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
P10 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 6

P11 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
P12 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 7

P13 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P14 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 8

P15 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
P16 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 9

P17 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
P18 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 10

P19 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
P20 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 11

P21 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P22 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 12

P23 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
P24 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 13

P25 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
P26 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• Colton beat Helio Castroneves’ old track record of 106.2254 seconds by 0.9159 seconds - almost a full second. Remarkable!

• As is always the case, several drivers had fliers going that they had to abandon, due to traffic. Caught out were Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Will Power and Marcus Ericsson, among the many.

• Romain Grosjean had a great run going in the Firestone Fast Six but ended up in the wall at Turn 5, after clouting his rear in Turn 4. That resulted in a red flag at the very end of the session, with 2 seconds remaining. Cars were allowed to go out and put in one additional hot lap as a result, but the only takers were Felix and Alexander and neither could improve their positions.

• Grosjean lost his two hottest laps as a result of the red flag and thus put in no time for the Fast 6, as he only put in two laps to lose…

• Fastest rookie was Kyle Kirkwood who made the Fast 12 for the 2nd time this year.

Kyle Kirkwood

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The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC from 3:00pm EASTERN time, Noon PACIFIC time, Sunday. The race is also available on Peacock.

The IndyCars will have their morning Warm-Up session at 9:00AM local time on Sunday and that will be broadcast on Peacock.

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Next up, the IMSA WeatherTech series hold the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday afternoon at Long Beach - The WeatherTech gang race…

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…and the race turned out to be a clinic held by IndyCar driver Sebastien Bourdais who led early, lost the lead and then battled back from a 21-second deficit to WIN with co-driver Renger van der Zande overall and in the DPi class in the # 01 Cadillac DPi V.R for Chip Ganassi’s Cadillac Racing. Coming in P2 was the sister car for Cadillac Racing, the # 02 driven by Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn while P3 went to IndyCar driver Tristan Vautier and Richard Westbrook in the # 5 Caddy for JDC-Miller Motorsports.

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Chip Ganassi with wonderboy Sebastien Bourdais (left) and Renger van der Zande

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Having started on pole, Bourdais lost the lead on the lap 5 while trying to navigate around the # 34 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R of Kyle Washington in the Hairpin, sticking the nose of the # 01 into the front straight wall long enough to fall 21 seconds back. The Frenchman later said he was so mad at himself that he just decided to send it and send it, he did! He was able to recoup all the lost time and positions before handing the car over to van der Zande, who then led to the end.

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GTD Pro class was WON by The Heart of Racing’s Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas in the # 23 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 over the # 14 Lexus RCF GT3 of Ben Barnicoat and IndyCar driver Jack Hawksworth for Vasser Sullivan, with the pole-sitting # 3 Corvette of Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia for Corvette Racing finished third in class after one of the car’s wheel nuts fell out of its pit box and punctured the radiator of the # 9 PFAFF Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, earning the Corvette a drive-through penalty.

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The Heart of Racing Aston for the WIN

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GTD class WINNERS were Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow in the # 1 BMW M4 GT3 for Paul Miller Racing - the first WIN for the M4 in North America in only the second race in the car for the team. They beat out the # 66 Gradient Racing Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 of Mario Farnbacher and Marc Miller, with IndyCar driver Aaron Telitz and Frankie Montecalvo’s # 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RCF GT3 completing the GTD podium.

The Paul Miller boys for the WIN in the new Bimmer

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Points for the race have yet to be awarded. The next outing for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is the Hyundai Monterey SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca, April 29-May 1, with support from the Michelin Pilot Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series.

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Next up, the Stadium Super Trucks hold Race 1 of the weekend…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday afternoon at Long Beach - The SSTs make history today…

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…with the results from Race 1 of their weekend. Rather than tell you what happened, we can bring you the quick race, here:

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2022 Long Beach Race 1 - Live -

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While this was a FIRST, we suspect it’s going to be repeated in the future!

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This was the last on-track activity of the day.
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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday morning at Long Beach - The IndyCars warm up…

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The P-3 practice - also known as the “warm-up” is a post-qualifying show, so each team has its own agenda. Some teams are going out to confirm their race set-up while others are still searching for a decent race set-up. Others are checking tire wear while others are simply checking that everything is okay and ready to race. The only thing we know for sure is that NO ONE is in their qualifying trim. That’s done.

It’s difficult to read the warm-up, as a result of the mixed bag of agendas. Still, the fastest guys in the warm-up will likely be the fastest guys in the race. It’s just that we do not know if they will be the ONLY fast guys in the race.

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Here was the order of speed for the P-3 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:05.8645s for a speed of 107.566mph

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2 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:06.1923s for a speed of 107.034mph

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3 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:06.3934s for a speed of 106.709mph

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4 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing - time of 01:06.7766s for a speed of 106.097mph

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5 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:06.8203s for a speed of 106.028mph

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6 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
7 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
8 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
9 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
10 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing

11 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
12 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
13 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
14 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
16 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
17 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
18 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
19 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP

21 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
22 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
23 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
24 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
25 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske

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Notable:

• If Colton Herta was trying to demoralize everyone he probably did, being the only guy to break into the 105s on time.

• Scott McLaughlin put in no time, as they discovered he had an engine problem - possibly a broken header - just minutes into the warm-up. Better to find it out now than at race time.

• Scott Dixon probably just got tired of the sideways glances from his younger teammates and put in a flier just to remind them he is indeed Scott Dixon.

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Colton Herta - cruel!

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The race should come off on schedule, with broadcasting on NBC starting at 12:00 Noon local time and 3:00pm EASTERN time.

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday at Long Beach - The IndyCar race…

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The wisdom was that Colton Herta for Andretti Autosport would be unbeatable today, but Colton didn’t even finish the race and in the end the WINNER was a first-timer as Josef Newgarden for Team Penske held off Romain Grosjean for Andretti and Alex Palou for Chip Ganassi to give the fans just one more example of how exciting IndyCar is, right now.

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Herta indeed looked unbeatable, right up to the first round of pit stops, but he had a decent but slow stop that had him go from P1 to P3 and in his manic effort to recoup the loss he eventually ended up in a wall, out of the race.

The battle then became between Palou and Newgarden, and a great outlap from his 2nd stop had Newgarden edge out the Spaniard by inches, and despite three corners where Palou, on hot tires, was almost by Josef, the Tennessee native managed to keep the lead. Eventually Palou was eclipsed by Grosjean who put great pressure then on Newgarden, but Romain ran out of push-to-pass in the closing laps and he simply didn’t have the steam to pass Newgarden. He was very close and waiting for Newgarden to err, but he never did.

The race ended under caution after Takuma Sato speared the tire barrier in Turn 8 on Lap 84 of the 85-lap race, sparing Newgarden 1 lap of additional drama.

This was another great one, with action all over the track, all day long. Making up ten spots was Scott Dixon who finished P6. Pato O’Ward and Graham Rahal each made up 6 spots, with Pato slotting in P5 and Graham P7. Highest-finishingt rookie was Kyle Kirkwood for AJ Foyt, coming home in P10.

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Here are just some of the race highlights:

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2022 RACE HIGHLIGHTS // ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH

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Your happy podium - That’s Romain Grosjean on the left in P2, Josef Newgarden in the middle in P1 and Alex Palou on the right in P3:

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With this result Newgarden goes to the title lead. Here are the TOP TEN in points leaving Long Beach:

1 - Josef Newgarden - 118
2 - Scott McLaughlin - 113
3 - Alex Palou - 103
4 - Will Power - 102
5 - Scott Dixon - 83
6 - Romain Grosjean - 75
7 - Rinus VeeKay - 67
8 - Marcus Ericsson - 66
9 - Pato O’Ward - 63
10 - Graham Rahal - 60

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Next up for the IndyCars will be a natural road course as they do the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, at Barber Motorsports Park, May 1st, with support from the Road to Indy.

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Next up, the Porsche Carrera Cup guys hold Race 2 of the weekend…

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday afternoon at Long Beach…The Porsche Carrera Cup , Race 2…

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Kay van Berlo for Kelly-Moss Road & Race ended the weekend perfect, taking Race 2 in the # 3 Porsche 992 from pole. The # 6 MDK Motorsports Porsche of IndyCar guy Trenton Estep came home second, rebounding from multiple incidents in Race 1. Coming home 3rd was IndyCar guy TJ Fischer for TOPP Racing in the # 58 Porsche, just holding off the third IndyCar guy in the field, Parker Thompson for JDX Racing. This is Kay’s 4th WIN from pole in the four-race season, so far.

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Van Berlo - 4 for 4 from pole

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The race was marred by cautions that erased half of the green flag running time. Van Berlo was challenged by teammate Riley Dickinson at the start until Dickinson stuffed his # 53 Porsche into the Turn 1 barriers. Moments later, a three-car accident in Turn 9 brought out a full course caution that lasted for 20 minutes. A second yellow came out with eight minutes remaining which set up a one-lap shootout to the finish.

With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Long Beach:

1 - Kay van Berlo - 111
2 - Parker Thompson - 71
3 - Riley Dickinson - 48
4 - Trenton Estep - 48
5 - Leh Keen - 43

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Next up for the PCCNA is support racing for the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca, April 29-May 1.

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Next, the Stadium Super Trucks close out their weekend and close the show…

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[MarkyS]

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Sunday evening at Long Beach - The SSTs close the show with another fun one…

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…and we have the entire race here:

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Enjoy!

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2022 Long Beach Race 2 - Live -

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Next scheduled event for the SSTs will be in support of the IndyCar race weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Park, July 1-3.

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That’s it for Long Beach in 2022 and it was another great weekend. Thank you, Long Beach!

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