2026 Grand Prix of Long Beach: Andretti’s top drivers practice fast

LONG BEACH — Andretti Global has its foot on the gas.

Andretti teammates Will Power and Kyle Kirkwood posted two of the three fastest lap times during the first IndyCar NTT Series practice on Friday for the 51st annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

“It was a very nice practice run,” said Power, a two-time winner in Long Beach. “I think the one line we took in qualifying will be very interesting (on Saturday), but we’ve always done pretty well here.”

Power motored around the 1.968-mile circuit in 1 minute, 7.605 seconds, nearly two-tenths of a second faster than Scott McLauglin (1:07.791) and almost four-tenths faster than Kirkwood (1:07.986).

“We still have some things to improve but we’ll have to see how it all plays out,” said Power, who last won in Long Beach in 2012.

McLaughlin, who finished sixth in last year’s race, had set the second-best time of the day when the back brakes locked up on his No. 3 Dallara Chevy and he slammed into the tire barrier in Turn 8.

“Looking back on it, I was pretty much sliding the whole time and I just lost it there,” McLaughlin said. “Car was running good. I guess I was just trying to figure out if the tow truck still works.”

Kirkwood, the reigning champion in Long Beach and winner of two of the last three overall, was only eighth-fastest during the open session before turning a quicker lap in the Group 1 practice.

“We know our strategy has to be different than it was last year,” Kirkwood said. “Our goal still is to start from the front and lead the whole thing.”

Reigning series champion Alex Palou was fastest during the open session in 1:08.448, but was fourth fastest overall (1:08.003) despite taking four-tenths off during the Group 2 practice.

Armstrong, whose best finish in three previous Long Beach starts was eighth in 2023, was fifth during practice in 1:08.121.

“We’re not hitting the breaks now,” Armstrong said. “We’re making a few changes so we can do a whole lot quicker.”

Felix Rosenqvist, who took the poll in Long Beach in 2024, was second fastest behind Palou during the open session in 1:08.529 but was seventh overall (1:08.230).

“We expect to be a problem (on Sunday),” Rosenqvist said. “We know we’re fast and things are rolling well.”

Rookie Mick Schumacher had mechanical issues 10 minutes into the open session, losing power before his No. 47 Dallara Honda shut off. The Rahal Letterman team chose to not restart and Schumacher completed only two laps.

Christian Lungaard, who placed third last year in Long Beach, was not happy after his 1:08.246 had him eighth after the first practice.

“I was actually a little disappointed with the way we were just from the get-go,” Lungaard said. “We didn’t really seem to find that balance so now we’re in a little bit of a pickle.”

Scott Dixon, making his 25th start in Long Beach, was 10th in 1:08.368, and recent Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame inductee Alexander Rossi was 11th in 1:08.470.

Josef Newgarden, Long Beach winner in 2022, got a little loose through the Turn 11 hairpin during the open session and was 15th on the day before a red flag for debris ended the session.

The second practice session for the IndyCar NTT Series is scheduled for Saturday at 10:30 a.m., followed by qualifying and Firestone Fast Six at 3:30 p.m.