The 50th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach saw polesitter Kyle Kirkwood lead the field of 27 drivers and 11 teams with ease to score his third career IndyCar Series victory and second at the home track for Honda Racing Corporation U.S. …
The 50th running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach saw polesitter Kyle Kirkwood lead the field of 27 drivers and 11 teams with ease to score his third career IndyCar Series victory and second at the home track for Honda Racing Corporation U.S.
Andretti Global’s driver put in an epic lap to take pole and was flawless throughout the race as he sustained constant pressure from championship leader Alex Palou. Kirkwood wheeled the No. 27 Honda home to a 2.686s triumph over Palou in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and was well clear of Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard and Meyer Shank Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who sealed up three of the top four for Honda and HRC.
The overcast-turned-blue-skies and relatively cool event set in 68-degree weather was absolutely packed with fans throughout the 1.9-mile, 11-turn road course situated in Southern California.
Biggest mover among the lead group was Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard who went against the strategy grain by starting on primary Firestone tires—one of only six drivers to do so—and was rewarded by vaulting from 12th to third. Team Penske’s Will Power was fifth, with teammate Scott McLaughlin in sixth, the same spot he started, to give Chevrolet some of the spoils at Long Beach. In seventh, Kirkwood’s front-row teammate Colton Herta persevered at his home race, but wasn’t delighted to go rearwards by five positions.
The greatest forward motion was delivered by AJ Foyt Racing’s Santino Ferrucci who went from last to 11th. Arrow McLaren’s Nolan Siegel, who awoke with suspected food poisoning, received fluids prior to the race and fought while ill to take the finish in 20th.
It was the second consecutive race to go caution-free.
Respectful aggression is the mindset Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach polesitter Kyle Kirkwood and front-row teammate Colton Herta say they will adopt in the 90-lap race. The Andretti Global lockout at a track where passing is often a challenge could …
Respectful aggression is the mindset Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach polesitter Kyle Kirkwood and front-row teammate Colton Herta say they will adopt in the 90-lap race.
The Andretti Global lockout at a track where passing is often a challenge could be the key to reaching victory lane, and after Herta and Kirkwood fought over the win last year at Toronto where Herta led home a 1-2 finish, the same spirited effort is expected on Sunday. But without incident.
Herta had gone without a win for multiple seasons at that point, and with the roles reversed, Kirkwood is chasing his first triumph since 2023.
“I think it’s just going to be not the same as Toronto because we were in a position there where we needed to win a race, right? It had been a while,” Kirkwood said. “I think here, of course, you don’t take unnecessary risks, but you also race your teammates. That’s part of it.”
Herta appreciates the trust placed by Andretti Global in its drivers; the third member of the trio, Marcus Ericsson, starts fifth.
“I’m glad that Andretti lets us race, and I think me and Kyle have always been extremely fair with each other in how we go about racing each other,” he said. “I think Toronto was an example. Thermal last weekend, we raced the basically the whole race nose-to-tail.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]
“We understand that if there’s an opportunity to pass, we’re going to pass each other, but without kind of unnecessary risks. I think Andretti does a good job, like they did in Toronto, where they set ourselves up where we can be in the position to win a race. Then I think we’re really good at trying to manage that kind of relationship aspect of it.”
Herta also praised the shifting culture within the team, which was regarded as among the most dysfunctional within the paddock not so long ago.
“Yeah, it’s really good,” he said. “It hasn’t always been this way at Andretti, so there’s really no selfishness or no egos in the building. That usually comes from drivers. Luckily, we don’t have that amongst ourselves. [Teammates are] easy to work with. They provide really good feedback, and most importantly, what you want in a teammate, selfishly, is you want them to be extremely fast because you want to be able to look at what they’re doing and make yourself better. I think I’ve got two of those with me.”
Kirkwood agrees.
“We got three guys that can get things done,” he said. “Proven track record; multiple wins under our belts. We have different views on things, but at the same time we kind of all reconvene in a way. So it’s kind of nice having different outlooks, different driving styles, but at the same time we’re all really quick, and we can all trust each other that we can reference each other, which is not always the case. Sometimes you have really fast drivers, but you can’t reference them. That’s not the case with us. We have a good camaraderie amongst us, driving style and friendship.”
Marcus Ericsson appreciates the effort made by IndyCar and its tire partner Firestone to create more of a performance and lifespan gap between its primary and alternate compounds. He also wonders whether taking away one set of the longer lasting …
Marcus Ericsson appreciates the effort made by IndyCar and its tire partner Firestone to create more of a performance and lifespan gap between its primary and alternate compounds.
He also wonders whether taking away one set of the longer lasting primaries, which has led to drivers sitting on pit lane for even longer stretches during practice to save tires for the race, is the way to go.
“I think the primary, the hard compound, is pretty solid,” the Andretti Global driver told RACER. “I think the question mark is the greens (softer alternates). I only did a couple laps on them, so it was not enough to learn much for Sunday. We tried to focus on just trying to get them optimized for tomorrow, for qualifying. But definitely the big question mark is how they gonna last on Sunday.
“The challenge we have there is we did that change to have more greens for qualifying, improving that show, but then we missed a little bit there with a grippy and degrading green tire, which they’ve done, and they’ve done a good job with that, but taking away a primary set to do that maybe was not the way to get us all more out on the racetrack. Because everyone is obviously scared for the race, and wants to have enough primes for the race.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]
The 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner says he likes what the new compound approach has done on road and street courses, but questions whether the new tire plan with five primaries and five alternates is the right mix.
“It just makes us have to stick sit a bit longer in pit lane in practice, unfortunately,” he continued. “Let’s see if we can change that a bit. I think what Firestone and IndyCar are doing with the tires, that’s brilliant. It’s not like go out and you drive crazy and then there’s no deg (tire degradation) and everyone is just following each other.
“The challenge and dynamic of races with tire deg on two compounds is very different. I think that creates great racing. It creates great opportunities for drivers and teams to differentiate from each other. I really like that. But the tire allocation, maybe we need to look at tweaking.”
Season 9 Formula E champion Jake Dennis is coming into this campaign rejuvenated after losing his crown last season, according to Andretti team principal Roger Griffiths, and his driver agrees he’s coming in with a better mindset. While Dennis was a …
Season 9 Formula E champion Jake Dennis is coming into this campaign rejuvenated after losing his crown last season, according to Andretti team principal Roger Griffiths, and his driver agrees he’s coming in with a better mindset.
While Dennis was a race winner and further three-time podium finisher in 2023-24, his form fell away towards the second half of the year as he finished seventh in the standings. Ahead of Season 11, the Briton admits there were things he could have done better, but that he didn’t feel like competing as the reigning champion put him under any particular pressure.
“I personally felt like my motivation last year was high,” Dennis told RACER. “I was not particularly lazy, but I also didn’t quite look into driving techniques to my absolute best. The motivation was there to succeed, we had an incredible first half of the year, and it also died off towards the end.
“Last year, I literally felt no pressure in terms of having the No. 1 on my car. And actually, (I was) maybe probably more relaxed, just purely because I felt like I’d achieved — I’d shown everyone what I can do. And I still have that to my name now, I’m still a world champion, so from my side, it doesn’t change all that much. It is just a sticker, right? At the end of the day, I’m driving the race car as fast as I possibly can.
“From my side, I just want to win races, podiums, and that’s generally enough to wrap up the championship. It’s good to be back in the car. It’s been a long time since London, where we didn’t do too well, and it’s good to show I can still drive.”
Jake Dennis and his team were eager to turn the page during pre-season testing at Jarama. Malcolm Griffiths/Motorsport Images
At the four-day pre-season test in Jarama this week, Griffiths says that he’s already seen Dennis in “a much better place.”
“I don’t think Jake personally had his best year last year, and I think he’d be the first to admit to that,” Griffiths said. “He seems to have come here with a much more focused mindset. Last year, when he had No. 1 on the car, he had the target on his back immediately. I think now that he’s back to No. 27 the pressure is off a little bit. From that perspective, you can just stay focused on what it is he does well, which is driving fast.
“I think there were a lot of distractions last year, and I think he’s in a much better place — we’re already seeing that. The focus is there, the detail is there, the preciseness is there.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1394]
Porsche customer Andretti ultimately didn’t feature in the championship equation towards the end of last season — which ended up being a straight fight between the factory Porsche team and Jaguar TCS Racing — but rather than a slump in the team’s own performance, Griffiths feels that it was more indicative of the Formula E field as a whole improving in what was the second season of the GEN3 formula.
“I don’t think we did anything fundamentally wrong last year,” he said. “I think what we saw was an increased level of competitiveness, particularly from the manufacturer teams. Maybe that was some of the challenges for the manufacturers in developing a car, working with a customer, whereas we had the luxury of just focusing on performance. They were having to do all of the stuff, plus trying to focus on performance.
“At the end of the day, if you look at where the championship standings ended up, we were the best of the non-manufacturer teams. We were the only non-manufacturer team to get a race win.
“There are things that we could have done better, I should say. I think there was a few procedural things that we really tightened up on and you’ve seen that coming already. Formula E now is so competitive, it is not that magic silver bullet to fix everything. It’s just the attention to detail, and it only takes a little bit.”
Michael Andretti’s departure from Andretti Global shook the world of racing in September. In the wake of the move that saw team partner and investor Dan Towriss take control of the business that spans multiple domestic and international …
Michael Andretti’s departure from Andretti Global shook the world of racing in September.
In the wake of the move that saw team partner and investor Dan Towriss take control of the business that spans multiple domestic and international championships, questions regarding the team’s future and whether more changes are on the way have arisen.
Nearly one month after the change took place, longstanding Andretti COO Rob Edwards shared an array of insights about the business, its core NTT IndyCar Series program, and what’s in the works for 2025.
Will the team undergo a name change?
“No, you will continue to see Andretti Global,” Edwards told RACER.
How might the team behind the three-car squad featuring Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, and Marcus Ericsson look different when it returns next season?
“I think it will look very, very similar to how it was at Nashville,” Edwards said of the season finale won by Herta. “On the engineering side, we haven’t necessarily added staff, but with the Meyer Shank technical relationship not continuing, we were keen to keep some really good people in the fold, and so we have found other projects, IndyCar-related, or non-IndyCar-related, for those folks. And then we are adding targeted crew.”
Andretti allocated Dave Seyfert to engineer Felix Rosenqvist’s Meyer Shank Racing entry and assigned Ron Barhorst to engineer the second MSR car. The pair did an exceptional job, which made finding new in-house roles a worthy effort.
IndyCar’s upcoming calendar, which packs 17 races into five months and 29 days — from March 2 at St. Petersburg through August 29 at Nashville Speedway — has inspired Edwards to seek more mechanics and team personnel to help deal with the busy schedule. Whether it’s using additional staff to expedite car preparations or to spell those in need of a break, the move is one that will likely be implemented by a number of teams in the IndyCar paddock.
AutoNation is thought to be closing down its motorsport sponsorships, which would leave Andretti Global needing to find a new partner for its No.27 Honda. Motorsport Images
“When you look at the schedule next year, obviously the good news is that we’re on FOX,” he said. “The challenging part is that from the time we start racing to the time which we stop racing is very compressed, and so I suspect that all of the top teams are looking at what that means in terms of turnaround, being prepared, making sure that we have the ability to recover from things that we don’t like to happen, but we all know do happen sometimes, and so on.
“So there’s some restructuring and some additions to the crew on the cars and adding some more depth to that area. And as I say, on the engineering side, it is really reallocating some of the resource that was at Meyer Shank.”
The team has also added one or more people to its marketing and sales department, which is another important development for Andretti Global’s IndyCar effort. Among its three entries, two are sponsored by companies controlled by Towriss in Gainbridge and Delaware Life, and car retailer AutoNation has been primary sponsor on the No. 27 car driven by Kyle Kirkwood in recent years.
Although it remains unconfirmed, RACER understands AutoNation, which has supported cars in Formula 1, NASCAR, IMSA, and IndyCar with Andretti’s No. 27 and Meyer Shank Racing’s No. 60 Honda, is ending its motor racing sponsorships. The exit would leave Andretti and MSR with significant funding voids to fill, and to that end, Edwards did not delve into the matter.
“That’s a question best for Dan, to be honest, because that’s not the part of the business that I spend most of my time on,” he said. “But yes, there is a plan and some goals for next year on the on the business and commercial side.”
Of the other questions related to Andretti Global’s immediate future, rumors about fielding a part-time IndyCar program for Jamie Chadwick, who spent two seasons in the Andretti Indy NXT camp and won a race last season, have made the rounds in recent months.
“She will not be coming back to do Indy NXT again,” Edwards said. “She and her team decided that having done two years of Indy NXT, and with the majority of her funding is from the UK, doing more NXT is a bit of a challenge. I know there was some conversations about doing selected races in IndyCar. Candidly, for us, we feel we made gains this year with three cars and a more focused approach. So we would not be rushing to do anything outside of that. Directly from Jamie and her management team, we do not know exactly what she’s planning to do.”
Edwards closed the conversation by confirming the team would continue its practice of fielding an extra car at the Indianapolis 500 but declined to answer whether the car’s traditional driver — Marco Andretti — will be making his 20th attempt to win ‘The Greatest Spectacle In Racing.’
“We will run an extra entry at Indy; that’s in the plan,” Edwards said. “And I will probably not say anything else beyond that.”
Dennis Hauger’s next move in open-wheel racing will take place in America with Andretti Global in the Indy NXT series. The 21-year-old Norwegian comes to Andretti after winning the 2021 FIA Formula 3 championship and placing inside the top 10 in …
Dennis Hauger’s next move in open-wheel racing will take place in America with Andretti Global in the Indy NXT series. The 21-year-old Norwegian comes to Andretti after winning the 2021 FIA Formula 3 championship and placing inside the top 10 in Formula 2 in 2022 and ’23; he’s currently ninth in the standings with four races left to run.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to race with Andretti Global,” Hauger said. “I’m looking forward to starting things up with the team and getting to know everyone. We’re already getting down to work before the season starts with testing, and I’m excited to go out there in an Indy NXT car and get that experience. I can’t wait for the 2025 season — I hope it’s a great one.”
Hauger joins the previously announced Lochie Hughes, Salvador de Alba, and James Roe at Andretti.
“Dennis is a driver who has been on our radar for some time, and we’re excited to see him make the jump into American open-wheel racing,” said team president J-F Thormann. “He’s no stranger to performing in highly competitive development series, so I can’t think of a better next step for him than to join the Indy NXT grid. We think he’s going to be the perfect addition to round out our 2025 Indy NXT driver lineup, and we’re proud to be a part of his Indy NXT debut.”
James Roe will pursue the Indy NXT title one more time with Andretti Global. The Irishman placed sixth in the championship last season, his third in NXT. “James has been a key part of the success our Indy NXT team has had over the past few seasons, …
James Roe will pursue the Indy NXT title one more time with Andretti Global. The Irishman placed sixth in the championship last season, his third in NXT.
“James has been a key part of the success our Indy NXT team has had over the past few seasons, and we’re thankful that he’ll call Andretti Indy NXT his home for the 2025 season,” said team president J-F Thormann. “The step up into Indy NXT can be a difficult one, and James is proving that committing to the development process and being patient does pay off. His consistency and tenacity were on full display in 2024, and we’re all looking forward to watching him continue to progress and succeed as a driver in the upcoming season.”
Roe also hopes to complement his NXT program with outings in IMSA’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship to further prepare for a desired move up to the NTT IndyCar Series in 2026.
“My partners and I are thrilled to return to Andretti Indy NXT in the No. 29 Topcon Andretti Dallara to race for the 2025 Indy NXT by Firestone championship,” Roe said. “We enjoyed great moments of success together this past season and our 2025 goal is to make Andretti back-to-back Indy NXT champions.”
Louis Foster won the USF Pro 2000 championship, took the sizable advancement prize from Andersen Promotions to Andretti Global, and left the team as the reigning Indy NXT champion ( and was announced today as an IndyCar driver for Rahal Letterman …
Louis Foster won the USF Pro 2000 championship, took the sizable advancement prize from Andersen Promotions to Andretti Global, and left the team as the reigning Indy NXT champion (and was announced today as an IndyCar driver for Rahal Letterman Lanigan). Australia’s Lochie Hughes recently won the USF Pro 2000 title, had the graduation funds in hand from Andersen, and has taken it to Andretti Global where he hopes to emulate the Briton and lead the team to consecutive NXT crowns.
“I’m so excited to be joining the Andretti INDY NXT team in 2025,” said Hughes, who captured the USF Pro 2000 championship with Turn 3 Motorsports. “It’s a dream to be a part of this historic team, and one that I’ve wanted to race for since moving to the U.S.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1503]
“This year was great for me winning the USF Pro 2000 Championship and for Andretti winning the Indy NXT Championship, so, I hope that I can help be a part of adding another championship title to Andretti’s record. Right now, it’s all eyes on the 2025 season, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be for next year. I just want to thank my parents for supporting me through my career, my sponsor The McGinley Clinic and the USF Pro 2000 Championship Scholarship for making this happen.”
Andretti president J-F Thormann, its longstanding leader among the team’s junior open-wheel programs, welcomes the spirited 22-year-old to the storied program which launched the likes of Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood, and Oliver Askew upward to IndyCar in recent years.
“After an exceptional season for our Indy NXT program, we’re excited to kick off next year’s campaign with the first addition to our 2025 Andretti Indy NXT lineup,” Thormann said of the four-car outfit. “Although it’s still early in his career, Lochie has already compiled an impressive resume of success.
“He’s worked his way up the development series ladder, showing his potential at every step, and we’re looking forward to helping him continue to refine his skills and progress in his racing career. Our focus remains on bringing home wins and our seventh Indy NXT Championship, and we feel that Lochie will be an integral part of making those things happen in 2025.”
Former Andretti Global team leader Michael Andretti penned an open letter to the team’s followers. The communication comes in the wake of his recent standing down as team principal and the transition of power to investor Daniel Towriss. “To Our …
Former Andretti Global team leader Michael Andretti penned an open letter to the team’s followers. The communication comes in the wake of his recent standing down as team principal and the transition of power to investor Daniel Towriss.
“To Our Fans,
“I was born a racer. From an early age, I didn’t know anything different than life in the fast lane. Being a “son of” – be it a proud one – came with a high bar and, once I pressed the gas, I never looked back. I stopped at nothing to find success. I drove for the passion and love of the sport, but I won for the fear of losing. My father’s childhood dream became my destiny and together, we built a legacy and a family business.
“When my driving days slowed, I set my sights on creating a space that would inspire future drivers to go faster than I had. I believe that, together with the help of many very qualified and passionate team members, I have been able to do just that. For the past two decades, our team has seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. We’ve grown on a global level that I believe is still untouched in motorsport and we’ve seen some of the best talent in racing proudly wear the Andretti badge.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1408]
“Many of my best memories have come at the wheel of this organization, and I am so proud of what we have built. But decades of running flat out doesn’t come without sacrifice and, after much thought and reflection over the past several months, I came to the decision to take a step back. I’ve had a day-to-day operational role since even before I stepped out of the race car, and it’s time now to pass the baton to my partner and friend, Dan Towriss.
“As I make this decision for myself, my family and this team, I know this is somewhat of a shock to many, especially you, the fans, my extended family. For many of you, you’ve watched me grow up, or you’ve grown up right alongside of me, and no matter what moves we’ve made as a team, you’ve stuck by our side at every turn. It is not lost on me that the generations of Andretti fans are the best in the business. I’m honored to be considered a fan favorite, a role model and a friend. And I thank you for a lifetime of support and, in some cases, your brutal honesty.
“But I am not going away – I will be serving as an advisor for the team and will be available to help wherever I can. While you might see me less at the racetrack, know that my passion for the sport and my support for our team, and its people, will remain unwavering.
“My hope is that you, as Andretti fans, will keep supporting our team with the same enthusiasm and loyalty that you’ve so graciously shown myself and my family over the years.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to spend more time with my beautiful family, including my 10-year-old twins, embrace my new Nonno title and explore new things on a personal level and with my other businesses. So, this isn’t a goodbye. It is just the turning of the page.”
Daniel Towriss, CEO of the Group 1001 insurance and financial services company based in Zionsville, Indiana, and primary investor of Andretti Global, has taken control of the business. Team co-founder Michael Andretti, the 1991 CART IndyCar Series …
Daniel Towriss, CEO of the Group 1001 insurance and financial services company based in Zionsville, Indiana, and primary investor of Andretti Global, has taken control of the business.
Team co-founder Michael Andretti, the 1991 CART IndyCar Series champion, will remain attached to the organization in an advisory and ambassadorial role. News of the sizable change in leadership structure was first reported by Sportico.
The reason for the change was not cited by the sports business site owned by Jay Penske, son of NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske. A growing division between Andretti and Towriss has been alleged by numerous paddock sources in recent months, but no proof of the matter has been established.
In a statement provided by the team, Andretti Global suggests Andretti — a lifelong racer — is willingly handing over the reins of the team and company that bears his name.
“Michael’s goal has been to transition to a more strategic role with Andretti Global and focus less on the operational side of the race team,” Andretti Global said. “Michael and Dan Towriss have been working closely on developing this new structure, one which Michael is excited to see take shape under Dan’s guidance.
“Michael remains engaged and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor and key ambassador. We will have more to share in the coming weeks, after Michael and Dan have had an opportunity to speak to the team.”
Towriss entered IndyCar in 2018 as the sponsor of driver Zach Veach with Group 1001 and its Gainbridge property represented on the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda. The three-year deal ended prematurely for Veach, but Andretti retained Group 1001/Gainbridge relationship and funding, and by 2021, Andretti and Towriss were actively searching for a Formula 1 team to purchase.
[lawrence-related id=330563,261513]
Unable to buy their way into F1 with Towriss’s financial backing, the duo established a new business, Andretti Global, in an effort to gain entry to F1 as a constructor. In 2022, Andretti Acquisitions Corporation was formed and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission with a stated goal of raising $250,000,000 for business-related investments and purchases.
With Towriss’s rumored and separate investment into Andretti Global said to match or exceed that figure, Andretti’s new partner is understood to have taken a directorial role within the expansive racing organization, and within the IndyCar paddock, is often characterized as Andretti’s new boss.
Drawing from the alleged nine-figure infusion from Towriss and Group 1001, Andretti’s footprint in the sport expanded at a rapid rate.
Along with its three-car IndyCar team that features primary sponsorship with Gainbridge on Colton Herta’s No. 26 Honda and Delaware Life, another Group 1001 property, on Marcus Ericsson’s No. 28 Honda, Andretti/Towriss also purchased Wayne Taylor Racing’s two-car IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team in 2023, maintains a four-car Indy NXT program that won the championship in 2024, has an ongoing effort to launch a two-car F1 effort with General Motors through its Cadillac brand, and is building a vast new base in Indiana as a result of Towriss’s investment.
Andretti Global is also allegedly at the center of another storm with last week’s raid of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing IndyCar and IMSA team by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in relation to a former Andretti Global employee, who is alleged to have taken intellectual property from Andretti to RLL.
RACER understands more operational changes with Andretti Global personnel are being considered, which could extend to personnel shifts in its IndyCar program and its F1 initiative.
