defending Grand Prix of Long Beach champion Kyle Kirkwood<\/a> on Sunday, Moomey said.<\/p>\n\u201cI like Andretti as a whole,\u201d he said, \u201cof course, Kirkwood is who qualified the highest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spent all weekend walking around,\u201d Moomey added, \u201cso I\u2019m hoping no one takes this good spot to watch the race.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year, for the first time, the Long Beach race will be the fifth in the IndyCar season \u2014 straying away from its traditional spot as the third stop on the circuit. That\u2019s because the series added two new races, at Phoenix International Raceway and in Arlington, Texas, as lead-ins to the iconic Long Beach race.<\/p>\n
The first two races this season were the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Good Ranchers 250 in Arizona. While Spain\u2019s Alex Palou, 29 \u2014 the defending IndyCar Series champion \u2014 took the checkered flag in Florida, American Josef Newgarden, 35, reigned in Arizona.<\/p>\n
But at the third race of the IndyCar season, the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, it was the American Kirkwood who took home the trophy.<\/p>\n
Palou, though, came back for another win at the season\u2019s fourth race on March 29, the Children\u2019s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, leaving many fans wondering if the Spaniard will claim his first win in Long Beach this year.<\/p>\n
Sophia Balanos, 15, has spent a good chunk of her weekend at the Grand Prix in the IndyCar paddock \u2014 a rare experience offered in Long Beach.<\/p>\n
A \u201csuper fan\u201d of the IndyCar Series, Balnos said she has camped out, eagerly waiting to snag a driver as they enter or exit their trailers.<\/p>\n
Even though she was unable to make the official autograph session on Friday, Balanos, a Los Angeles resident, has collected six signatures in a book and on her orange McLaren baseball cap.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing in the paddock in general \u2014 it\u2019s not something you can do very often,\u201d Balanos said. \u201cSo, whenever they (IndyCar) come near my area, it\u2019s amazing to see the drivers here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Balanos said her favorite IndyCar driver is Christian Rasmussen. Not only will she be rooting for him during Sunday\u2019s finale, but she is also hoping to get his signature and a picture with him. In the first round of Saturday\u2019s qualifying session, Rasmussen finished eighth in his group, failing to advance to the second round. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver will start in the 16th position on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s my last chance,\u201d she said as she braved the sun near his team\u2019s area in the paddock. \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to the race in general and I really, really hope Christian Rasmussen can sign my cap.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Grand Prix of Long Beach isn\u2019t only for hardcore motorsports fans \u2014 but also casuals who are just looking for a good time.<\/p>\n
Long Beach resident Michelle Cody, 51, for example, said she\u2019s not particularly interested in racing but when it\u2019s in your backyard, it\u2019s worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really don\u2019t know much about it but when you live here, you witness the whole prep for months that goes into it,\u201d Cody said, \u201cand it gets you excited for this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
The best time to arrive is as early as possible, Cody said, as she was looking forward to a smaller crowd before the wave of racing fans arrive in the afternoon. She also said she wanted to see the Historic Sports Car Challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my third year here and every time, I learn a little bit more,\u201d Cody said. \u201cIt\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Historic Sports Car Challenge got Sunday started with a bang. People paused in their tracks to see the cars fly around the concourse.<\/p>\n
Some people, young and old, covered their ears as they saw the cars go by. There was a distinct roar from the engines \u2014 different from the modern race cars that will be on display later in the day.<\/p>\n
Edgar Soto, 33, from Bell Gardens stood along Shoreline Drive, near the grandstands, to get a glimpse of all the historic cars passing by.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really cool,\u201d Soto said about the historic cars. \u201cIt really shows the hard work that drivers do too, being able to drive them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many racing fans, Soto said he was most looking forward to the IndyCar race. He was wearing his Pato O\u2019Ward jersey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really hope he takes the W today,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you can win here, you can win anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is like the Monaco of North America,\u201d Soto said about the Grand Prix of Long Beach. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t get any better than this having it in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, fans and drivers alike consider the Grand Prix of Long Beach the second-most prestigious IndyCar race in the nation \u2014 behind only the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s Grand Prix, the event\u2019s 50th anniversary, broke attendance records for the third year running,\u00a0with around 197,000 flocking to Long Beach\u00a0from all over the region to enjoy the golden anniversary.<\/p>\n
And that trend seems to be sticking for the 2026 iteration of the event \u2014 with thousands descending on the Long Beach waterfront to enjoy the Grand Prix so far this weekend.<\/p>\n
Besides\u00a0 all the races, Grand Prix attendees had plenty else to do off the track, whether that was exploring a special exhibit celebrating Acura\u2019s 40th anniversary in the Lifestyle Expo, heading over to Pit Lane hoping for a chance to get an up close look at some of the cars, or sampling the myriad food and drink options at the event.<\/p>\n
In the food truck village, a steady flow of people started grabbing some lunch around midday Sunday. One of the food trucks this year is Gotcha Cravings, which is based in Los Angeles and offers Asian fusion cuisine.<\/p>\n
From spam musubi and Asian street tacos to stir-fry noodles and specialty plates, owner Linda Nguyen said, the truck has a lot to offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is our first time at the Grand Prix,\u201d Nguyen said.<\/p>\n
The business is relatively new, only starting in September.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is nice here; we haven\u2019t seen much of the cars,\u201d Nguyen said jokingly. \u201cIt\u2019s more for the people, to serve people who are willing to try our food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gotcha Cravings has been serving people since Saturday and is ready to offer people their delicious food during the Grand Prix\u2019s final day as well. The food is made fresh to order, and the sauces are made in-house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe meat that we have, we marinate it in Asian flavors so it tastes different,\u201d Nguyen said, \u201cso it\u2019s really good. I hope people come around so people get to know us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sunday will also see the weekend\u2019s on-the-track excitement crescendo. The Grand Prix\u2019s final day will start with the Historic Sports Car Challenge No. 2 and then the IndyCar warm-up. The on-the-track action will also include Porsche Carrera Cup Race No. 2 and Stadium Super Trucks Race No. 2 as preludes to the main event \u2014 the IndyCar Series\u2019 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.<\/p>\n
Sunday also boasts a new addition to the Grand Prix: A\u00a0\u201cCARnival\u201d produced and operated by Morning Car Club.<\/p>\n
That event will feature a full paddock with a curated lineup of vehicles specifically chosen for their quality, design and presence, the GPALB said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is exactly the kind of high-energy, enthusiast-driven experience that complements our event so well,\u201d Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Liaw said on Saturday. \u201cMornings has built something truly special within the automotive community, and their CARnival will add even more excitement, personality and fan engagement to an action-packed weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
But all those activities are simply warm-ups for the main event, with the majority of fans in attendance on Sunday just waiting to hear that iconic call to action: \u201cDrivers, start your engines!\u201d<\/p>\n
This year, the Grand Prix grand marshals will include multiple Olympic and Paralympic athletes who recently competed at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy with Team Honda.<\/p>\n
The grand marshals will include para alpine skier Audrey Crowley, 2026 para snowboarding bronze medalist Brenna Huckaby, 2026 sled hockey gold medalists Brody Roybal and Declan Farmer, 2026 two-time speedskating gold medalist and silver medalist Jordan Stolz, and bobsledder Kaysha Love.<\/p>\n
All of those athletes will help kick off the IndyCar race in the afternoon, which will get underway at\u00a02:45 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The final day of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is finally here. Gates to the venue…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,131,28942,133,132,137,100],"class_list":["post-275833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-grand-prix","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275833","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=275833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Early](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LPT-L-GPLB-DAY3-0420-02.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Race](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LPT-L-GPLB-DAY3-0420-DM-004_a69860.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Early](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LPT-L-GPLB-DAY3-0420-DM-003_49b426.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LPT-L-GPLB-DAY3-0420-DM-001_12e8dc.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Early](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LPT-L-GPLB-DAY3-0420-01.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Race](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/LPT-L-GPLB-DAY3-0420-DM-002_309165.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n