Kyle Kirkwood wins the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

• Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood wins the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
• Alex Palou continues his perfect podium run to begin the year for a Honda 1-2 finish
• Honda goes three-for-three to start the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season

Kyle Kirkwood continued Honda’s winning streak to start the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season by taking the win in the 50th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Starting from pole, Kirkwood led 46 laps en route to his third-career—and second Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach—victory in his #27 Andretti Global Honda.

Following just 2.6 seconds behind Kirkwood, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Alex Palou kept his perfect podium streak alive to start the season. Following victories at St. Petersburg and Thermal, the second place finish here at Long Beach puts Palou’s championship lead at 34 points over Kirkwood as the Spaniard looks to score his fourth championship in five years.

Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist looked set for a podium finish until a late-race dive from the #7 machine knocked him back to P4. Other top-10 finishers for Honda include Colton Herta (P7), Scott Dixon (P8), and Kyffin Simpson with a career-best 10th place.

The strong start to the 2025 IndyCar season has Honda ahead by 69 points in the manufacturers’ championship, 278-209.

The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand PrixHonda Race Results

R – Rookie

Quotes

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.”

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 next one!”

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.”

Next
The 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship heads to Baber Motorsports Park for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix May 2-4.