The high-powered Indy cars that will be racing in Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach will burn about two gallons of fuel on each of their 90 trips around the tight 1.968-mile street course.
So if all 27 cars that start the race also finish it, the field will use 4,860 gallons of fuel. And that doesn’t include the fuel used in qualifying or in the other five classifications of cars that will be participating in the three days of racing in Long Beach.
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That’s a lot of fuel for drivers who will end up in the same place they started, especially when seven weeks of war in the Middle East has driven the price of gasoline to record highs. However, the fuel the IndyCar series uses differs significantly from what comes out of the pump at the gas station.
“This year marks the fourth season that IndyCar has used 100% renewable race fuel for the NTT IndyCar Series — the first motorsport series in North America to utilize this type of fuel,” an IndyCar spokesperson wrote in a statement. “Developed through a collaboration with Shell, this innovative fuel consists of a blend of second-generation ethanol derived from sugarcane waste and other biofuels mainly derived from animal waste. The use of this renewable race fuel enables a 60% reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions.”
Read more: Why Kyle Kirkwood is primed for another Grand Prix of Long Beach win
So while driving Indy cars 177 miles in a circle may seem wasteful during a gas crunch, Sunday’s race will have a negligible affect on the price and availability of fuel at service stations. The greater impact will be made by fans driving to Long Beach; last year’s three-day race weekend drew more than 200,000 people.
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It’s not how you start, but how you finish
Although drivers insist qualifying well is important on the narrow 11-turn Long Beach course, winning the pole has rarely guaranteed success on race day: Last spring Kyle Kirkwood became just the sixth driver to win after starting No. 1; Alexander Rossi also did that in 2018-19.
Those six drivers — Kirkwood, Rossi, Mario Andretti, Al Unser Jr., Helio Castroneves and Sebastien Bourdais — combined for 12 victories after qualifying fastest.
Read more: Kyle Kirkwood cruises to easy victory in Long Beach Grand Prix
Kirkwood comes into the race with a two-point lead over defending champion Alex Palou in the season standings and is the only driver to finish in the top five in all four IndyCar events this season. No active driver has won at Long Beach more often Rossi or Kirkwood, who also took the checkered flag in 2023.
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Here’s a guide to the weekend:
Tickets
General admission, Friday, $58; Saturday, $107; Sunday, $113. General admission tickets come with unreserved seating on Friday and Saturday but not on Sunday. Three-day package, $151.
Reserved seating, Saturday $116; Sunday prices range from $127 to $144 for adults and $96 to $111 for juniors. Three-day packages, $165-$228 for adults and $131-$180 for juniors, depending on seating.
Tickets are available at gplb.com/tickets
Thursday
Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame Induction Ceremony, 11 a.m.-noon in front of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center on South Pine Avenue. Rossi, a two-time Grand Prix winner, and former Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster will be honored, free to attend.
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Thunder Thursday at the Pike Outlets, Pike Outlets, 95 S. Pine Ave., Long Beach. 6-10 p.m. — Freestyle motocross demonstrations and pit-stop competition with cars representing four IndyCar teams, along with a beer garden, live music, race car displays and a classic car show.
Friday
7:30 a.m., gates open; 7:45-8:15 a.m., Porsche Carrera Cup practice #1; 8:25-8:45 a.m., Historic Sports Car practice #1, 9-10 a.m., IMSA practice #1; 10:15-10:45 a.m., Stadium Super Trucks practice; 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Porsche Carrera Cup practice #2; 12:30-12:50 p.m., Historic Sports Cars practice #2; 1:10-2:40 p.m.., IMSA practice #2; 3-4:30 p.m., IndyCar practice #1; 4:40-5:10 p.m., Porsche Carrera Cup qualifying; 5:15-6:15 p.m., IndyCar Series all-driver autograph session, Grand Ballroom, Long Beach Convention Center; 5:25-6 p.m., IMSA qualifying; 6:30-8:30 p.m., Super Drift Challenge #1; 6:30-8:30 p.m., concert starting Lupe Fiasco at Terrace Theater plaza, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
Saturday
7:30 a.m., gates open; 8:30-8:50 a.m., Historic Sports Car Challenge #1; 9:05-9:45 a.m., Porsche Carrera Cup Race #1; 10:30-noon, IndyCar practice #2; 10:30-11 a.m., IMSA autographer session (IMSA paddock); 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Porsche Carrera Cup autograph session, Porsche Carrera Cup paddock, main expo hall; 12:05-1 p.m., IMSA pre-race; 1-3 p.m., IMSA Sports Car Grand Prix (100 min.); 3:30-5 p.m., IndyCar qualifying; 5:15-5:45 p.m., Stadium Super Trucks race #1; 6:30-8:30 p.m., Super Drift Challenge #2; 6:30-8 p.m., Concert featring Kings of Chaos, Terrace Theater plaza, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach.
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Sunday
7:30 a.m., gates open; 9:20-9:40 a.m., Historic Sports Car Challenge #2; 10-10:30 a.m., IndyCar warmup; 11:20 a.m.-noon, Porsche Carrera Cup race #2; 12:15-12:45 p.m., Stadium Super Tracks race #2; 12:55-1:10 p.m., Mornings CARnival car parade; 1:30-2:30 p.m., IndyCar pre-race; 2:45 p.m.-5 p.m., Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.