The final day of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is finally here.
Gates to the venue opened at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 19, welcoming in thousands of fans eager to get a glimpse of Southern California’s 200-mph beach party, where the titular NTT IndyCar race will get underway in the afternoon.
The marquee Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of the most iconic races in the IndyCar Series. The drivers who zip around the 1.97 mile, 11-turn street circuit through some of Long Beach’s most well-known landmarks — at speeds up to 180 mph — widely consider it the second-most prestigious race, behind only the Indianapolis 500.
This year, for the first time, the Long Beach race will be the fifth in the IndyCar season — straying away from its traditional spot as the third stop on the circuit. That’s because the series added two new races, at Phoenix International Raceway and in Arlington, Texas, as lead-ins to the iconic Long Beach race.
The first two races this season were the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Good Ranchers 250 in Arizona. While Spain’s Alex Palou, 29 — the defending IndyCar Series champion — took the checkered flag in Florida, American Josef Newgarden, 35, reigned in Arizona.
But at the third race of the IndyCar season, the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, it was American Kyle Kirkwood — the reigning Grand Prix of Long Beach champion — who took home the trophy.
Palou, though, came back for another win at the season’s fourth race on March 29, the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix, leaving many fans wondering if the Spaniard will claim his first win in Long Beach this year.
Palou almost continued his strong start to the season during Saturday’s qualifying session. He advanced to the Firestone Fast 6 — the last of the three rounds of qualifying — and finished in third place overall, just behind pole-winner Felix Rosenqvist (of Sweden) and Pato O’Ward. O’Ward is a Mexican driver who has become a popular driver, particularly in Long Beach, even though is best finish at IndyCar’s second-most prestigious race is fifth — in six attempts.
Rounding out the top six in Saturday’s qualifying session were defending champ Kirkwood in fourth, American David Malukas in fifth and Scott Dixon of New Zealand in sixth.
Two other popular drivers — Josef Newgarden and Alexander Rossi, both Americans — failed to advance to the second round of qualifying, let alone the final round, known as the Firestone Fast 6. Newgarden won the Grand Prix of Long Beach in 2022, while Rossi won the race in both 2018 and 2019.
Neither Rosenqvist nor Palou has ever won the Grand Prix of Long Beach — though the latter was the runner-up in 2025.
Last year’s Grand Prix, the event’s 50th anniversary, broke attendance records for the third year running, with around 197,000 flocking to Long Beach from all over the region to enjoy the golden anniversary.
And that trend seems to be sticking for the 2026 iteration of the event — with thousands descending on the Long Beach waterfront to enjoy Day 1 and Day 2 of the Grand Prix.
The fans at the Grand Prix on Friday warmed up for the main event by watching practice and qualifying for the Porsche Carrera Cup, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships, Super Stadium Trucks, and the historic sports car exhibition.
And on Saturday, the real fun began, with the first Historic Sports Car Challenge and Stadium SUPER Trucks Race, and two drifting challenges getting underway. The marquee race on Saturday, however, was the IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix.
Renger Van Der Zande (from the Netherlands) and Nick Yelloly (United Kingdom), in the No. 93 car, won the IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix in the GTP class, making them and their Acura Meyer Shank Racing the overall winners.
In the lower GTD class, Americans Benjamin Pedersen and Aaron Telitz, with Vasser Sullivan Racing, came out on top in their No. 12 Lexus.
Besides all the races, however, Grand Prix attendees also had plenty else to do off the track — whether that was exploring a special exhibit celebrating Acura’s 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.
While some attendees stuck to the usual viewing spots, like the grandstands, others flocked to less-obvious locations, like the middle levels of the parking garage near the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center that directly abuts the Seaside Way portion of the street circuit — offering onlookers a perfect (and less-crowded) location to watch the various vehicles as they sped toward Turn 9.
Sunday also boasts a new addition to the Grand Prix: A “CARnival” produced and operated by Morning Car Club.
That event will feature a full paddock with a curated lineup of vehicles specifically chosen for their quality, design and presence, the GPALB said.
“This is exactly the kind of high-energy, enthusiast-driven experience that complements our event so well,” Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Liaw said on Saturday. “Mornings 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.”
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: “Drivers, start your engines!”
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.
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.
All of those athletes will help kick off the IndyCar race in the afternoon, which will get underway at 2:45 p.m.