Three races in and three different winners. Will we see the same magic in Long Beach? #TrackTalk previews the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Can Alexander Rossi repeat? Alexander Rossi’s 2018 win immediately pushed him into title contention. Despite some strong runs and additional wins, the championship went to Scott Dixon. Rossi is yet to win in 2019, but has a string of consistent finishes and sits 4th in the championship.
Can Takuma Sato repeat? The surprise pole and race winner at Barber Motorsports Park, Takuma Sato definitely has momentum on his side. Not only that, but Long Beach is where Sato got his maiden NTT IndyCar Series win back in 2013.
Can another driver break through with their first win? Colton Herta broke the first-time winner's drought that went all the way back to 2016. Outside of Herta, we have seen promising starts from Felix Rosenqvist and Patricio O’Ward. Given that Long Beach is home to many first-time IndyCar victories—including Michael Andretti, Paul Tracy, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mike Conway, and Sato, it’s not unforeseen that someone else could breakthrough.
Acura branding returns to IndyCar: Not only has Acura assumed title sponsorship of the Grand Prix of Long Beach but they’ll also be present on Jack Harvey’s MSR with Arrow SPM IndyCar. Racer.com has a great article on Acura’s IndyCar history.
Track Talk’s pick to win the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: We think the win will come down to either a Penske or a Ganassi. Favorite to win? Will Power or Dixon, with Rosenqvist as our darkhorse.
May is upon us: It’s the last IndyCar race before the series moves home to Indianapolis for the IndyCar Grand Prix and the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500. In lieu of May, McLaren and Fernando Alonso have unveiled the livery for their Dallara-Chevrolet. You can view the launch video here.
And speaking of Alonso: McLaren used this week to shakedown the new car at Texas Motor Speedway. What did Alonso think of the high-speed banking and the universal aero kit? See what he had to say here.
Victor Genova is a freelance motorsports writer and the host & founder of the Media People Podcast. You can follow him on Instagram @vicgenova
