Long Beach Grand Prix is one of IndyCar’s big races, run on a street-style track. Street tracks are tight and tricky, so small mistakes—or pit timing—can swing the outcome.
This is a new IndyCar qualifying style where drivers go out one at a time. You have to be fast enough to make the top six, and that’s a big deal because it sets you up for the final qualifying runs.
“Pit selection” refers to choosing when to pit during the race, especially around cautions and changing track conditions. A well-timed pit stop can put a driver in better track position, while a slower or poorly timed stop can cost positions even if the driver is fast.
A caution is when the race slows down because of an accident or hazard on track. When that happens, teams often change strategy—especially when to pit—because the field is moving slower.
Prema is another racing organization that’s connected here through engine planning. The idea is that the engines being used for this entry may have been intended for Prema first.
Abel Motorsports is the racing team that will build and run the car for this Indy 500 entry. The host is saying they don’t always race IndyCar, but they have experience and think they can do better than expected.
The “rookie test” is an IndyCar requirement for new drivers to learn the car and track procedures before competing. The host ties it to the open test window at the speedway, where rookies and veterans both get on track.
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Indycar Dad: Hey IndyCar family, I'm IndyCarDad, your host for the IndyCar News in five minutes. I read and watch everything IndyCar for the past week and then I summarize it for you in five minutes in case you missed anything.
So, the big news is the Long Beach Grand Prix was this weekend. Palo Rosenquist Dixon was the podium, a master class by engineers at Canasse. They brought the cars and the drivers did their thing. It was quite interesting to watch.
The other news is the new qualifying format is... Great man, it's single car Fast 6 qualifying is fantastic to watch. It's riveting television getting into the Fast 6 is now super important. Everybody's driving their nuts off.
It's really, really fantastic. Honestly, I hope they continue it not just with the street courses, but expand it to the road courses as well. So been great. ⁓ Full results for all top 10 results for Long Beach are below Rosa Quiston Dixon, we talked about.
Kirkwood was strong in fourth, Pato in fifth in a track he's not usually good at, so that was good. Scott McLaughlin in sixth, David Maloukas in seventh, Graham Rahal, another strong finish for Graham, Alexander Rossi, and Kiffin Simpson rolled up to top 10.
Our top rookie this week was Dennis Hauger in 11th, which is really an impressive performance because Indy Nex doesn't actually race at Long Beach. So ⁓ any drivers that come into the series usually have never turned a single lap at the Long Beach track.
So for Dennis Hauger to show up with no experience and place 11th in a very tight race is an amazing performance. Just to give you an idea, Hauger beat his teammate, Romain Grosjean, who's raced here multiple times, beat him by 10 positions.
So great job by Dennis Hauger. ⁓ Also, I'd like to say that Mick Schumacher Even though he was thrown the absolute worst hand, his card died at the beginning of practice one. So he went again with no never running this course.
He only had practice two to work with and he ended up finishing 17th. So really strong position performance even for 17th finish from Mick. So I think he should be commended for that. Other winners, Felix Rosenquist.
You know, you guys know I'm a huge fan, but he really had a great weekend. He got the poll. He led the most laps. And he really could have won the race except I think really pit selection is what did him in.
Alex Paloe as the champion had and up in the points had a great pit choice. Fro's pit took a little longer to get in and out of. So anyway, Fro had a great drive. Paloe obviously kept himself in the race the whole time when the caution came.
He and his team jumped at the chance and they got the lead and then he kept it. So that's really good. And then Scott Dixon was fast all weekend. He slammed himself into the Fast Six and then did really well from there.
So it's really great. ⁓ You know, there aren't a lot of losers in this race. It wasn't a very mobile race. wasn't tons and tons of passing and ⁓ being passed. So it's hard to pick ⁓ a loser. You know, some drivers went off strategy and had some trouble.
Some had other troubles. But usually if the racer's teammate is on the podium and they're at the back of the field, I'll put them in this category. And in that case, Marcus Armstrong. somehow ended up in 24th position.
So not great. They didn't really show it on TV. So I'm not exactly sure what happened, but all right. Let's talk about what's coming up next. Jacob Abel is an official entry now. They've announced their official entry into the Indy 500.
He'll have a Chevy engine, probably the engines that they had earmarked for Prema. And so Abel Motorsports is gonna provide the car. If you guys are not familiar with Abel Motorsports, they're not usually an Indy car team, although they have been.
in a 500 in the past, but they are really strong in Indy next and they feel the whole fleet of cars. think they feel four Indy next cars. So I actually don't expect them to be dead last with Chevy Power and with Jacob Abel at the helm.
So I think they'll be, you know, I think they could do better than what you're thinking. ⁓ The 33rd rumored car is a very strong rumor that Catherine Legg is going to be driving for AJ Ford Racing. I see no reason why this wouldn't happen and I expect the announcement to come soon.
Maybe even before you listen to this podcast. ⁓ There's the open test at the end of the month. There's two days basically to practice at on the speedway, the big speedway. And this will be when rookies take their orientation and take their rookie test and also veterans get out there as well.
So they're kind of kicking off the month of May in the month of April, which is good. Thanks for listening, guys. I keep trying to keep these really brief and informative. I think I've covered everything that's happened this week of importance.
You can find me on socials as IndyCarDad, and I hope to see you at the races.
About this episode
Long Beach delivered a tight, strategy-heavy weekend with Felix Rosenqvist Dixon on the podium and strong engineering execution praised. The big talking point was IndyCar’s new single-car “Fast 6” qualifying format, which made advancing feel crucial and turned qualifying into riveting TV. Rosenqvist won the pole and led laps but pit timing cost him; Pato O’Ward and Scott McLaughlin scored top results, while rookie Dennis Hauger impressed with 11th despite no prior Long Beach laps. Mick Schumacher overcame a disastrous practice 1 to finish 17th. Next up: Jacob Abel’s Indy 500 entry, a rumored Catherine Legg AJ Foyt Racing seat, and an end-of-month open test.
The conversation covers the Long Beach Grand Prix highlights, the new qualifying format, and impressive rookie performances. It also discusses top performers, upcoming events, and rumors in the IndyCar world.
