This is the IndyCar race at Long Beach, and Acura is the event sponsor. Because it’s a street track, the cars and driving are different than on an oval.
Dampers are the shocks that control how the car moves over bumps and under braking/turning. A “damper program” means the team has a specific shock setup they believe works best for that track.
Car
Penske car
This means the car is from Team Penske, a very successful IndyCar team. Their cars are usually well-prepared and competitive.
A fuel mileage race is when fuel becomes a big deal and drivers have to stretch it to the finish. Instead of just going flat-out, they manage speed to save fuel.
Mid-pack means you’re not leading the race, but you’re not at the back either. On tight tracks, being in the middle can be risky because you’re surrounded by other cars.
Concept
caught up in a rack
This means getting stuck in a crash with other cars. On a street course, there’s less space to avoid trouble, so it can happen to mid-pack drivers.
Indy Next is a lower-level racing series that helps drivers develop. The host is saying drivers coming from there may not have as much experience on Long Beach.
“Failed to finish” means the driver didn’t make it to the end of the race. That can happen from crashes or mechanical problems, and it affects how likely they are to score points.
Concept
Long Beach atmosphere
The host is talking about the vibe at the Long Beach race—more than just racing. It’s known as a big fun weekend with lots going on.
The Porsche Cup is another race series happening during the same weekend. It’s Porsche-related, and it’s part of what makes the Long Beach event more than just one race.
Concept
car parade
A “car parade” is basically a show where cars drive around in a more ceremonial way. It’s usually not as exciting as the actual racing action.
Autograph sessions are when the drivers meet fans and sign stuff. The key tip here is that you may need to arrive early depending on which team or driver you want.
“Super drift” is a competition where drivers intentionally slide the car sideways through corners. It’s usually more fun at dusk because the whole event feels more like an “after-hours” show.
IMSA is one of the big sports-car racing series in the U.S. Here, the host is saying the Long Beach version is shorter and more watchable than the long endurance races.
The Daytona 24 Hours is a long race that lasts a full day. It’s more about strategy and staying reliable, and it can be harder to watch if you prefer shorter races.
Stadium Super Trucks are race trucks that are famous for huge jumps. If you go to the event, standing near the jump gives you the best view of how high they go.
IndyCar is a major U.S. racing series with open-wheel race cars. The host is saying it’s the most exciting racing to watch, especially on road courses like Long Beach.
A hairpin is a sharp, slow corner. If a driver doesn’t get a good exit, the car can lose speed and other cars can pass on the long straight right after it.
Brand
Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco is a popular music artist. The host mentions him because he’s performing as part of the race weekend concerts.
Brand
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is a famous rock band. The host brings it up to describe the kind of rock supergroup-style concert you can expect at Long Beach.
Brand
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver is a rock band name the host uses as an example. He’s basically saying the concert lineup will be high-energy rock.
LIVE
Indycar Dad Podcast: Hey everyone, I'm IndycarDad and we're going to do a 10 minute race preview for the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach coming up this weekend. So I did a way too detailed analysis of drivers past results and I'll share that with you as my predictions for this weekend.
And then also we can talk about if you're going to the race, some of the things that are happening at Long Beach, because Long Beach has a lot on its schedule. If you've ever been there, it's packed with fun things to do.
In fact, I'm really kind of sad that I'm missing the race. was originally going to go, but some big business came up here, so I had to stay. I guess you've got to make that cheddar sometimes. So anyway, off to the detailed analysis.
I took all of the drivers and their results for the last few years and I added them all up and averaged their finish. And guess what? Alex below is the best. Alex blow is the best. And however, Alex below has never won the Long Beach Grand Prix.
He just averages a third place finish. So that's interesting. But then last year we were like, ⁓ Alex blow has never won the Indy 500 and he won the Indy 500. ⁓ over the last three years, Alex below has been bested on average by Kyle Kirkwood.
So he is a very strong pick here because over the last three years is when he was driving for Andretti and he's just really strong. So you'll see a lot of people picking Kyle Kirkwood and I hope he does well.
⁓ So those are a couple of good picks here. My third pick is Will Power. Will Power is very consistently fast at Long Beach and he was consistently fast in a Penske car and now he's in an Andretti car and people in the know in Indy car generally give Andretti the Edge on street courses.
They think their damper program is just better on street courses and you'll see Andretti drivers do well on street courses. So Willpower might be able to pull off a great one. Next on my list is Joseph Newgarden.
You wouldn't think of Joseph Newgarden as a street course kind of guy, but he's won here before. He's finished second year before, fourth year. So he's a really strong driver at Long Beach. And Felix Rosenquist usually has good results here too.
He hasn't... been finishing that well even though I'm a huge fan. His race is this year. The one race he finished quite well he got penalized for so he could use a nice finish. So I'm going to be rooting for my guy Felix.
Another guy you might see, Romain Grosjean. Romain Grosjean has finished second in at Long Beach twice and although he's in a Dale Coyne car this weekend you might see this guy do really well. He's a great street course racer.
Scott Dixon is next on the list. If it's a fuel mileage race, you're going to look for Scott Dixon. He won the race two years ago. He's been on the podium in 2021. So look for Scott Dixon. If it's a fuel mileage race, cause he's the master of conserving fuel, especially at places like this.
So, ⁓ Marcus Armstrong's does well. He's a great street racer, Alexander Rossi in years way past. He really did well at this place. But lately in the last few years he hasn't had that magic. So you never know with him.
Scott McLaughlin, last year he finished sixth, but other than that he hasn't really been super strong on street courses here in Long Beach anyway. Marcus Erickson burns hot and cold at this place. He's been on the podium, but he's also been 28th and 22nd.
he, I would say. He's not the greatest qualifier typically. So, and if you're mid pack at Long Beach, you can very easily get caught up in a rack at a restart or even the start. So Santucci is not the greatest here, but you know, mid pack, I think.
And Christian Lundgaard has had some bad finishes here, but he was also on the podium last year. He's really hot this year. So maybe we'll see him pull something up. Kiffin Simpson placed in the top 10 here last year.
So I'm expecting him to. finish better than he usually does but still midfield. Graham Ray Hall has had some great runs here and he did well last week so maybe we'll see something good out of him. And Stingray Robb finished ninth here last year so maybe Stingray is going to finally have a good finish this year.
I hope he does. Nice guy. I'd like to see him do a little better than he's been doing. Pato Award generally does not do well here. It's Costa Mexico and all that but and he has tons of fans there. The fan crowd for Pato is unbelievable, but he's only finished in the top five once here and he's been 27th as well.
Louis Foster has only raced here once, he finished 16th. David Maloukas has never finished higher than 17th here, but now he's in a Penske car. Rinas VK, who I generally think of as a great racer, does not have good results here either.
And Noensigo averages 20th place because he's finished 20th twice. Christian Rasmussen averages a 25th finish here. I'm not sure you could do much worse than that to be honest with you. And I think on the last broadcast they said something like six out of the last eight street course races Christian Rasmussen has failed to finish.
So look for a train wreck from RAS. No, maybe. don't know. Kyle Colette, Dennis Hauger and Mick Schumacher. have never raced on this track. Indy Next does not race at Long Beach. So those guys are gonna be at a tremendous disadvantage.
So look for a fight at the back. Maybe if Hauger pulls some magic out of the hat, he could finish mid-pack. A mid-pack finish for one of those three guys at Long Beach would be a victory and everyone in the paddock would take notice.
There you go. If you're going to the race, so those are my predictions for the race. If you're going to the race, have some tips on what to look at. I love the Long Beach atmosphere. Next to the 500, it is definitely the biggest party.
And it's California. The West Coast does it a little differently. we can, so there's a bunch of events all weekend long. They keep the track running. There's always something on track running. It's not a boring weekend.
That's for sure. If you like cars and California's like their cars, Long Beach Grand Prix is where to go. So I'll rate. all of the on-track activities from one out of one out of 10, random out of 10. First, let's talk about the Porsche Cup.
If you like to watch orthopedic surgeons race, this is your race. But for me, I feel like it's orthopedic surgeons gone wild. I give it a two out of 10. There's something called the car parade. That's orthopedic surgeons gone mild.
I give that a one out of 10. So I won't be watching the screens for that. But there are historic sports cars, which for some reason, when someone takes like a really rare and desirable and very expensive car and just flogs the living hell out of it, I got to cheer those guys on.
So I give that a six out of 10. ⁓ There, you know, I'm a big fan of the driver autograph sessions. I've done some videos on how to get the most of it. The driver autograph session at Long Beach is pandemonium.
They have you line up by team. So the McLaren team has a line that stretches all the way back to the parking lot and Dale coin's team has like four people in line. So it's a spectacle. If you want to, you could hit a couple of teams and maybe get a couple of drivers, a few drivers autographs, or if you want Patto's autograph, you better get there around dawn.
So there's super drift, which is a drifting competition. They use about a third of the track and they do some crazy drifting around a couple of corners. ⁓ It's really fun to watch. It happens like at dusk.
So if it happened during the day, I'd be like, ⁓ it's not that great, but there's just this sort of after hours environment that goes on with it. And usually the concerts going on too. So super drift is definitely two thumbs up, seven out of 10.
IMSA racing at Long Beach is a short form race. I really liked the shorter form. I went to Daytona 24 hours a couple of times, including this year. I just don't have the patience for it to be honest with you, but a short form in the race, a sprint is really fun to watch.
Next. The stadium super trucks are unreal to watch. Those things go so high in the air. It's wild. If you get a chance, find out where one of the jumps will be and go down there and stand by the wall near the jump.
Unreal. I couldn't believe it. They fly so high and so far. It's really great. Unfortunately, the field isn't that big. Like if they had a tour or something, it would be fantastic. If I ran IndyCar, I might try to get the Stadium Super Trucks to travel around the country with the series just to put on a show.
And then IndyCar, of course, is the best show on wheels. It's the best racing in the world, I think. And obviously, call myself IndyCar dad. But ⁓ I love the hairpin at Long Beach. It's a very tight hairpin.
It's the last turn on the track and it opens up to the super long front straight. So there's a lot of pandemonium that goes in there, especially it starts and restarts and just when they're racing close.
So keep an eye on the, on the hairpin, keep an eye on the straightaway that follows it. If someone doesn't get a good exit out of that hairpin, they're going to get past. So love it. ⁓ and then concerts, Long Beach Grand Prix does concerts better than anyone else.
Like I'm tired of going to some of these places and seeing, you know, warmed over, retired, half retired country acts, you know, at Long Beach Grand Prix, ⁓ Friday night's concert is, or Saturday night's concert is Lupe Fiasco, who's popular, man.
And then Sunday night's concert, or Saturday night's concert, Lupe Fiasco's Friday night. Saturday night's concert is a rock group, rock super group. It's basically a bunch of people that play them like Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, and things like that, and they'll get up there and they're gonna slay it.
I watch some YouTube videos of these guys. So there's gonna be some great concerts at Long Beach. There you go. I'm Indy Cardad. I give you the scoop Hopefully this wasn't too long 10-minute summary of what's gonna happen this weekend at Long Beach if you're watching on TV like poor old me Enjoy it watch the action check out.
I'll check it all out and watch my video on how I watch a race There's some insight there and if you're at the race Wear comfortable shoes and have a great time. Thanks Thanks for watching everyone. I'm IndycarDad.
You'll find me on the socials as at IndycarDad and you'll find my podcast on all the podcast networks. Thank you.
About this episode
A rapid Long Beach preview from The Indycar Dad Podcast blends driver-form predictions with a fan-guide for the Acura Grand Prix weekend. He’s leaning toward Alex Palou’s strong average results (even without a Long Beach win), plus Kyle Kirkwood, Will Power, and Newgarden—while calling out fuel-mileage value in Scott Dixon. The episode also covers who could struggle mid-pack, plus track-position chaos at restarts. Off-track, he rates the Porsche Cup low, praises drift and stadium super trucks, highlights autograph-line strategy, and raves about Lupe Fiasco and other concerts.
IndycarDad provides a detailed 10-minute race preview for the Acura Grand Prix at Long Beach, sharing predictions based on past results of drivers. He also discusses the race atmosphere, on-track activities, and concerts at Long Beach.
Takeaways
Driver predictions based on past results
Atmosphere and on-track activities at Long Beach are diverse and entertaining
Chapters
00:00 On-Track Activities and Atmosphere at Long Beach
