The 2026 edition of the Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach will be the 42nd NTT INDYCAR SERIES held on the Streets of Long Beach. After a small break, the Team Chevy drivers and teams are back to work on the 1.968-mile, 11 turn, Long Beach street circuit for the fifth round of 18 rounds that make up the championship.<\/p>\n
An Important First<\/p>\n
In 1984, the Chevrolet Indy V8, a 2.65L (162 cubic inch) turbocharged bespoke V8 racing engine began life as a contract with Ilmor to build an engine to take on the dominant engine in INDYCAR, the Cosworth DFX. While recovering from serious foot injuries suffered at Sanair in 1984, Rick Mears spent much of late 1985 and early 1986 developing the new engine through the paces at airfields in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Team Penske, with Al Unser at the wheel, debuted the first full factory-backed Chevrolet at Phoenix on April 6, 1986. Mears and Unser split development for the first half of the 1986 season, before Mears took over in the second half.<\/p>\n
When the 1987 Championship Auto Racing Teams season opener got underway in April, three teams with five drivers were utilizing the Chevrolet Indy V8.<\/p>\n
Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan for Team Penske
\nKevin Cogan and Emerson Fittipaldi for Patrick Racing
\nMario Andretti for Newman Haas Racing<\/p>\n
It became evident that the new engine was strong when Andretti qualified on pole, with Fittipaldi (3rd), Cogan (4th), and Sullivan (9th) qualifying in the top ten.<\/p>\n
Early in the 95-lap race, Andretti was stalked closely by Fittipaldi, but went on to win by a lap when the Brazilian had a mechanical issue.<\/p>\n
Photo courtesy of Penske Entertainment<\/p>\n
After the race, Andretti had the following things to say:<\/p>\n
To NBC\u2019s Gary Gerould \u2013 \u201cWell, I tell you, the car just ran fantastic. I\u2019m so happy, because this is the first win for the Chevy, Chevrolet Indy engine, and we have a lot of new people on board. (when asked if there were any issues) None whatsoever. The car just ran perfect. When Fittipaldi was behind me, I tried to just run his pace, tried to regulate the car the best way, and not use any more than I had to. He definitely kept me honest, but I had a little more to go if I really needed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
To the Indianapolis News \u2013 \u201cI could hear the Chevrolet buzzing just perfectly. Everything was fantastic. This is what I was naturally thinking about. There was no reason we shouldn\u2019t finish because of the testing we do. The engine ran just impeccably.\u201d<\/p>\n
To the Los Angeles Times \u2013 \u201cThe engine was absolutely fantastic. Toward the end of the race, when a driver usually hears funny sounds from his engine, all I heard was the Chevrolet buzzing just perfect. The chassis, the gearbox, the engine were perfect. It was just one of those days when everything goes perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notable Numbers<\/p>\n
4.3 – the average starting position of David Malukas (Team Penske), who is tied for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES best with \u00c1lex Palou.
\n6 – the number of different countries represented by Team Chevy drivers – United States (6) – Denmark (2) – Brazil (1) – Mexico (1) – Netherlands (1) – New Zealand (1)
\n9 – the number of wins by current Team Chevy teams, Arrow McLaren and ECR
\n12 – the number of drivers representing Team Chevy at the Grand Prix Of Long Beach
\n13 – the number of driver championships won by Chevrolet all-time
\n32 – the number of spots Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren), has finished ahead of where he has started, the highest in the series
\n33 – the number of wins by Josef Newgarden, the winningest Team Chevy driver all-time
\n40 – the number of different drivers that have won INDYCAR races while powered by Chevrolet
\n42 – the number of different tracks that Chevrolet-powered cars have won
\n42 – the number of drivers that have an earned pole for Team Chevy, after David Malukas added his name to the list at Phoenix Raceway
\n100 – the percentage of laps Team Chevy drivers Christian Lundgaard (Arrow McLaren), David Malukas (Team Penske), Scott McLaughlin (Team Penske), Josef Newgarden (Team Penske), Pato O’Ward (Arrow McLaren) and Alexander Rossi (ECR) have completed this season
\n125 – the number of Bowtie-backed wins by Team Penske since their first at Pocono Raceway by Rick Mears in 1987
\n128 – the number of wins by Chevrolet since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012
\n143 – the number of earned poles by Chevrolet-powered teams since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012
\n238 – the number of wins by Chevrolet-powered cars in INDYCAR all-time
\n247 – the number of earned poles by Chevrolet-powered cars in INDYCAR all-time
\n365 – the number of podiums by Chevrolet-powered teams since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012
\n681 – the number of podiums by Chevrolet-powered cars in INDYCAR all<\/p>\n
What They\u2019re Saying<\/p>\n
A.J. Foyt Racing<\/p>\n
Caio Collet, No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet:<\/p>\n
You went back to Brazil after Barber, how did you celebrate your 24th birthday?<\/p>\n
\u201cI had dinner with family and friends, it was really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since this will be your first time racing at Long Beach, how do you prepare for this weekend?<\/p>\n
\u201cPreparation has been focused on maximizing track knowledge before getting there. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time on the simulator, studying onboard videos, braking references, and understanding how the track evolves over a weekend. Long Beach is very technical for a street circuit, so being precise and building confidence session by session will be key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santino Ferrucci, No. 14 Homes For Our Troops Chevrolet:<\/p>\n
Long Beach is such a tight and technical street circuit, what\u2019s the biggest challenge you face there compared to other tracks?<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the biggest challenges in Long Beach are getting the brake zones correct. With them being so long and the track not having a lot of grip like other street circuits, it\u2019s very easy to gain or lose time in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n
How important is qualifying there, and how does it change your strategy going into the race?<\/p>\n
\u201cQualifying is crucial. Last year I got into the wall and we had to start last, and we only ended up 11th primarily because of strategy and pace. It would be much better to start in the front and stay up front at this track.\u201d<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve had some strong, aggressive drives on street circuits, how does the unique layout of Long Beach suit your driving style compared to other tracks?<\/p>\n
\u201cThis track in particular is good for me because I do well with 90\u00b0 corners and big brake zones. We have been struggling a little bit this year under braking, but it seems like in Barber, we\u2019ve started to sort that out a little bit. We still have a little bit of work there and some gains to be made, but overall, I\u2019m very confident in what we can bring this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arrow McLaren<\/p>\n
Pato O\u2019Ward, No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:<\/p>\n
\u201cLong Beach fans always show up in a big way, and the atmosphere is amazing every time we come here. This circuit has always been a challenge for myself and the team. We know it won\u2019t be an easy breeze of a weekend, but I\u2019m looking forward to getting back into the car and making it a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to returning to my home state and to race at such a historic event in Long Beach. Last year, we earned a good starting position but fell short of a result that I felt we were capable of. We\u2019ll look to capture that pace again and make our way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re building really good momentum with the 7 car group, and I\u2019m excited to head back to Long Beach after finishing on the podium there last year. The goal is to be in the fight at the front again and take that next step. We\u2019ve been close to that first win, and everyone is pushing hard to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
ECR<\/p>\n
Alexander Rossi, No. 20 ECR Liquid Science Orange Chevrolet:<\/p>\n
\u201cRacing in Long Beach is one of the things I look forward to the most each season! The event has an amazing atmosphere, and the track is awesome to drive. To top it off, being from California, this is a pseudo-home race for me, so it\u2019s really great to be able to put on a show for friends and family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Christian Rasmussen, No. 21 ECR Liquid Science Arctic Freeze Chevrolet:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve shown strong pace to start the season, we just haven\u2019t been able to put together the results yet. Long Beach feels like the perfect place to change that! It\u2019s such a historic and iconic event, and I\u2019m excited to be back in the Liquid Science car and ready for a strong weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
GM PR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 edition of the Acura Grand Prix Of Long Beach will be the 42nd NTT INDYCAR SERIES…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[117736,7244,87390,131,133,132,2971,117737,14611,9027,425,117738,117739],"class_list":{"0":"post-271033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-chevrolet","9":"tag-group","10":"tag-indycar-series","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news","14":"tag-nbc","15":"tag-pocono-raceway","16":"tag-qualifying","17":"tag-racing","18":"tag-series","19":"tag-team-chevy","20":"tag-team-penske"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}