{"id":740144,"date":"2026-04-20T04:42:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/740144\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T04:42:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T04:42:20","slug":"quick-final-pit-stop-helps-alex-palou-win-long-beach-grand-prix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/740144\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick final pit stop helps Alex Palou win Long Beach Grand Prix"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For two-thirds of Sunday\u2019s Long Beach Grand Prix<\/a>, Alex Palou bided his time \u2026 waiting for the one break he needed.<\/p>\n

It came in the form of a caution on the 58th lap, allowing him to overtake front-runner Felix Rosenqvist exiting pit lane and hold the lead the rest of the way, taking the checkered flag by 3.96 seconds for his third triumph in five IndyCar Series races this season and his first at Long Beach.<\/p>\n

Right after being showered with applause and confetti at victory lane, the 29-year-old Spaniard thanked his crew, whose quick work on the last pit stop proved to be the difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was coming in on that yellow and they did an incredible job,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were either going to win it or not win right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosenqvist settled for second and Scott Dixon, Palou\u2019s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, was third.<\/p>\n

It was the 11th win over the last 22 races dating to 2024 for the Barcelona native and the 22nd win of his career, tying Tony Bettenhausen and Emerson Fittipaldi. It also vaulted Palou to the top of the series standings as he chases his fourth series championship in a row and fifth overall. Palou won the opener March 1 in St. Petersburg (also a street course) and the fourth race March 29 in Alabama.<\/p>\n

Palou led for only 32 of the 90 laps Sunday and acknowledged it would have been difficult to catch Rosenqvist if not for the stoppage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t giving up but it would\u2019ve been tough to get him today,\u201d Palou acknowledged. \u201cHe was already three seconds ahead. I was happy with my car but I was struggling more on the soft tires than the hards so I\u2019d say my chances were low. The feeling was great seeing all the open space coming out of pit lane because when you spend 60 laps behind a car it disturbs you. I tried to match him on soft tires but it wasn\u2019t working.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alex <\/p>\n

Alex Palou speeds through a curve of the track.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

In six starts at Long Beach, Palou never has finished lower than fifth.<\/p>\n

There is little room to maneuver on the 1.968-mile course with 11 tight turns, but after starting in the third position next to defending champion Kyle Kirkwood, Palou managed to sneak past Pato O\u2019Ward into second place heading into the first turn on Lap 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaking that move on the straightaway was big because I knew it was one of our only chances to get a pass on Pato,\u201d Palou said. \u201cI got that good run on that last corner and he didn\u2019t expect it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year marked the 51st edition of the longest-running major street race in North America, which started in 1975 as part of the Formula 5000 Series, switched to the CART\/Champ Car World Series in 1984 and joined the IndyCar Series in 2009.<\/p>\n

The top four qualifiers started on softer, high-grip \u201calternate\u201d tires to establish position while the rest of the grid started on harder, more durable \u201cprimaries\u201d to manage degradation on the 110-degree track surface. Of the 25 starters, 24 completed the 177.12 miles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were going to make the two-stop strategy work but didn\u2019t know if it would be doable or not,\u201d Palou added. \u201cAs soon as I saw I couldn\u2019t get Felix it was all about patience, fuel and waiting for the right time. I owe this win to my team. Without that pit stop I probably wouldn\u2019t be sitting here now. It only takes one mistake to go from second to seventh, but they\u2019re great under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cars <\/p>\n

Cars make their way down a straightaway during Long Beach Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Past winners Will Power and Josef Newgarden moved into the top two positions after Rosenqvist pitted, but the Swede regained the lead when Newgarden pitted for the first time on Lap 37 and dropped back to 14th.<\/p>\n

The first 45 laps were caution-free as Rosenqvist, Palou, Kirkwood, David Malukas and O\u2019Ward held the top five spots. Newgarden\u2019s chances declined upon discovering a flat spot on his left front tire, and he dropped back to 14th.<\/p>\n

Rosenqvist\u2019s three-second lead was erased when debris on the track exiting the Aquarium Fountain drew the only yellow flag all afternoon and narrowed the gap. Capitalizing on favorable pit position, Palou emerged from the lane just ahead of Rosenqvist.<\/p>\n

Rosenqvist. who won the pole position with a lap time of 1 minute 7.4625 seconds in qualifying, had mixed emotions as the runner-up after leading for 51 laps with no win to show for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to win when you have an opportunity, but I\u2019m proud of today,\u201d Rosenqvist said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t as good as Alex on the blacks \u2026 the last pit cycle was the defining moment. We had to come around 14, he had more of an opening, and his crew nailed it. That happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirkwood, who was vying for his third win in four years, finished right where he started in fourth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a good cushion and figured even with a bad stop I\u2019d probably stay ahead but I knew there\u2019d probably be a yellow at some point and there it came,\u201d Rosenqvist lamented. \u201cConsidering Alex had primary [tires], also I think we would\u2019ve been able to hold him off. It\u2019s definitely disappointing when you can\u2019t wrap it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dixon, who started in the sixth position, was third and earned his first podium this season and the 136th of his career.<\/p>\n

\"Fans <\/p>\n

Fans watch with two laps left in the race.<\/p>\n

(Ronaldo Bola\u00f1os \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe race itself was a bit blah \u2014 I sat in the same position for most of it,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cLuckily for us we had it easy out of that last stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Al Unser Jr. holds the record for most wins at Long Beach, chalking up six in eight years, including an unmatched four in a row from 1988 to 1991.<\/p>\n

Tom Sargent is becoming a fan of street circuits after two wins this weekend. Driving the Porsche 911 Cup for GMG Racing in the Mobil Pro Class, the 22-year-old Australian led from start to finish in Race 1 of the Carrera Cup North America on Saturday. In Race 2 on Sunday morning, he again started from the pole and claimed a 0.965-second victory over Aaron Jeansonne to complete the double.<\/p>\n

In his last bid at Long Beach three years ago, he hit the wall on Lap 2 but still finished second.<\/p>\n

\u201cMomentum in sports is critical and the past few weeks have been really cool for me,\u201d Sargent said. \u201cI didn\u2019t do any street circuit racing before I came to the States. Maybe it fits my driving style.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For two-thirds of Sunday\u2019s Long Beach Grand Prix, Alex Palou bided his time \u2026 waiting for the one…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":740145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[305333,305331,112337,1582,276,116865,2961,5615,18448,224,5337,305330,305335,6130,6176,305332,270615,5613,305334,1628],"class_list":["post-740144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-11th-win","tag-58th-lap","tag-alex-palou","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-josef-newgarden","tag-la","tag-lead","tag-long-beach","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-palou","tag-pit-lane","tag-position","tag-race","tag-rosenqvist","tag-scott-dixon","tag-second","tag-soft-tire","tag-year"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116435206781015630","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}