2026 Grand Prix of Long Beach: Alex Palou earns elusive 1st win

LONG BEACH — Alex Palou had a nearly perfect pit stop.

The four-time reigning IndyCar NTT Series champion got his nose out in front following a pit stop and was first to the finish line on Sunday to win the 51st annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

“It was that pit stop,” Palou said. “With all the pressure, these boys in the pit crew were able to do it and execute it perfectly.”

It’s the first victory for Palou in six career starts in Long Beach and the 22nd of his career.

“It’s huge (and) incredible to finally win here in Long Beach,” said Palou, who previously won at St. Petersburg and Alabama this season. He retakes the IndyCar NTT Series points lead from Kyle Kirkwood.

The 29-year-old Spaniard has now won 11 of his last 22 IndyCar series races and has reached the podium in more than 50 percent of his starts since 2021.

“It’s incredible. I don’t know what to say,” said Palou, driver of the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “This team is incredible.”

Palou beat Fast Six pole winner Felix Rosenqvist to the checkered flag by 3.9663 seconds.

“I think Felix was doing a hell of a job out front,” Palou said. “He was going really fast and it was going to be tough to beat him but we did.”

Rosenqvist could not maintain his hold on the lead, with a pit stop on Lap 60 proving critical as Palou exited first and maintained his lead for the final 30 laps.

“That last pit was kind of the defining moment,” Rosenqvist said. “I don’t think we had that bad of a stop. It’s frustrating, but at the end of the day, Alex and his crew did a better job of that moment of pressure there.”

Rosenqvist, driver of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, led the first two-thirds of the race and was oozing confidence until a caution for debris led everyone to pit.

“I’m just happy I didn’t screw it up,” he said. “Things like (the caution) can happen, and they can end up ruining your whole day.”

It was the first caution at Long Beach since 2024, setting a new race record with more than 200 total laps completed under a green flag.

Former two-time winner Scott Dixon finished third to complete the Honda sweep of the podium.

“Huge weekend for Chip Ganassi cars,” said Dixon, driver of the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “Hopefully, it’s something we can build on.”

Kirkwood was fourth for his fifth consecutive Top-5 finish of the season. Pato O’Ward took fifth.

Will Power, running sixth at the time of the caution, was assessed a 15-second penalty after running over a member of Caio Collett’s crew while leaving the pits, forcing him to the back.

Scott McLaughlin finished sixth, David Malukas seventh and Graham Rahal was eighth.

Recent Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame inductee Alexander Rossi, also a former two-time champion in Long Beach, lined up 18th and came in ninth.

Kyffin Simpson was 10th, rookie Dennis Hauger was 11th and Nolan Siegel, who crashed during practice on Saturday morning, started last but improved 13 spots and finished 12th.