After the first 19 races of Kyle Kirkwood's career, many were ready to move on. One top ten finish, too many accidents, and the driver who once dominated the Road to Indy series had lost belief in many IndyCar bystanders. But 19 races is a short period of time. It is barely more than a season. Some drivers have run over 300 races in their careers. Nineteen races is nothing in that light, but results have to come eventually.
For Kirkwood, he had one top ten finish entering this weekend at Long Beach. It came a year ago in this same race. In the 364 days in-between, Kirkwood had shown promise but not closed out on any results. Some mistakes were entirely his own fault. Even this season at St. Petersburg, Kirkwood bounced off of and over everything and that was after qualifying in the top five when it appeared this would be his breakout weekend. It was his first race driving for Andretti Autosport, but not quite the first impression any driver would hope to leave. With another bad set of results, more were counting Kirkwood out as a waste.
This weekend was the best of Kirkwood coming out on track. He was quick in practice, matching his senior teammates Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta in pace. Entering qualifying, Grosjean was the favorite to be on top, but Kirkwood pulled out a stunner to claim his first career pole position. Though he started in the top five at St. Petersburg, this was Kirkwood's first race truly at the front and he fended off all challengers.
This race could have been over when Kirkwood was balked behind the slower traffic of Agustín Canapino and Hélio Castroneves. Kirkwood fell behind Josef Newgarden and it looked like Newgarden was shot out of a cannon. It felt like race over, Newgarden would runaway with it and Kirkwood was set for another race slipping down the order.
Patience paid off. Kirkwood had the better tires over the course of that stint and he pressured Newgarden. Newgarden made his final pit stop first, a slightly questionable decision, and Kirkwood had better pace during that overlap in the pit cycle. Kirkwood emerged comfortably ahead of Newgarden and Grosjean, and from there, Kirkwood just didn't need to make any mistakes.
He didn't, and Kirkwood is now the 298th winner in IndyCar history, the first Florida-born winner to boot.
It was a concerning rookie season for Kirkwood. Josef Newgarden didn't have any top ten finishes in his rookie season. Kirkwood already had Newgarden beat in that department, but not everyone gets the length of leash that Newgarden got. People didn't give up on Newgarden when it would have been easy to cut bait and move on. Kirkwood wasn't going to be cut immediately. Andretti Autosport sent him out on loan to A.J. Foyt Racing last year. His rookie year was a chance to make mistakes and learn. This was a grand plan for Kirkwood's career. It only required patience.
It took over 60 races, over three seasons for Newgarden to get his first career victory. Kirkwood needed 20 races, a little over a season. Andretti Autosport wasn't going to give up on Kirkwood no matter how this season went, but he had to get results at some point and this couldn't have been a better time for the Floridian. Considering Kirkwood lost a season due to the pandemic when the 2020 Indy Lights season was cancelled, he has been practicing patience for a long time. It finally paid off today.
2. I am not sure anyone had Kyle Kirkwood getting his first career victory before Romain Grosjean this season, but here we are. Grosjean probably should have already pulled one out. Many things should have gone better for Grosjean this season, but the third race was the charm. After a pair of accidents, one not his fault while battling for a victory, and another that was when a top five finish was guaranteed, second today when he was the second best car is fitting. He deserved to see a race out today.
Grosjean had the pace all weekend. Kirkwood nailed it over Saturday and Sunday. Grosjean should really be the championship leader. If he sees those first two races out, he is at worst second and fifth in those races. That first victory is coming for Grosjean. If he keeps up this pace, a championship isn't out of the question either.
3. Speaking of the championship, Marcus Ericsson exits Long Beach as the championship leader after a surge up to third in the final stint at Long Beach. Ericsson had some oomph today, and he overcame losing a few spots avoiding Patricio O'Ward's spinning car in the middle section of the race. This should have always been a top ten finish for Ericsson, but third is a big plus for him.
After last season when Ericsson won the Indianapolis 500 and took the championship lead, but didn't look like a championship threat. Through three races, Ericsson has found more this season. There is a long way to go and there are still improvements we need to see, but Ericsson is moving in the right direction. I don't know if he would have had enough to beat Kirkwood if Ericsson didn't get bogged down because of the O'Wad spin, but he sure had the car to challenge and provide a significant threat.
4. A little over a month ago, we were picking apart Andretti Autosport after it wasted having three starters in the top five. Today, the team went 1-2-4 with Colton Herta in fourth. Herta didn't quite have the same ability as Kirkwood and Grosjean today, but part of that could have come down to Herta starting seventh and really battling in the opening laps while his teammates had clean air.
In the later stages, on the long run and when gaps opened up, Herta found more speed and passed people to make it up to fourth. The problem is we have no clue what Andretti Autosport we are going to get the rest of this season. The team looked like it was going to assert some dominance after qualifying at St. Petersburg and they all crumbled in the race. Texas was better but the oval program isn't quite there for Andretti. At Long Beach, the team really couldn't ask for much better.
But are we going to see this again in 2023 from Andretti Autosport? If so, how often will we see it? Nobody is sure and that is not good.
5. Álex Palou quietly finished fifth, his worst finish in a California race, so still a great day for him. Palou is Scott Dixon except nearly 20 years younger. Palou will take an average day and finish in the top five and he will do it ten times in a season. He didn't have it today to win the race, but he wasn't lost out there either. He can build a season off of six races like this and then strike and win three or four times. We are all keeping an eye on him.
6. And your top Chevrolet finisher is... Will Power. Power was just good today. Nothing special. He was quickly in the top ten after starting 13th, and he made up a few more positions, but Power wasn't threatening for a podium finish. Power did this last year. He took a nothing day, finished sixth and then did that about six more times while adding a half-dozen podium finishes and that is all he needed to win the championship. This day looks like nothing for Power now, but it could be meaningful later.
7. Felix Rosenqvist ended up being the top McLaren finisher after Alexander Rossi ended up in the tires on the penultimate lap. Rossi should have finished sixth or seventh in this one, instead it is Rosenqvist in seventh. Rosenqvist had an identical race to Power's. He made up some ground, but it only got him seventh.
8. Two races in and Marcus Armstrong gets his first career top ten finish. Armstrong overtook Newgarden in the closing laps to finish eighth. Armstrong did the minimum a Ganassi driver can do. Don't wreck the car and have good pace. In two races, Armstrong has been solidly fighting for the top ten in each. Today, he got a top ten. He is still learning, but he is making it easy for Ganassi over whether or not Armstrong should run the three oval races after Indianapolis in place of Takuma Sato. He should.
9. This was an odd day for Josef Newgarden. He shot up from eighth to fourth on the initial start (which had its problems but we will cover those later). Newgarden was one of the quickest cars out there and effectively was second after the first pit cycle under caution. He took the lead cutting his way through traffic, but over that stint it was clear Newgarden didn't have the same pace as Kirkwood and the final stop was crucial.
Newgarden came in first of the leaders, a lap earlier than expected, and he ultimately cycled back to third and didn't have the pace in the final stint, conserving fuel and dropping to ninth, 33.7842 seconds off Kirkwood.
After that restart, I thought Newgarden was going to win. During that second stint, my mind changed to thinking at worst Newgarden finishes third because Kirkwood and Grosjean would get him in the pit stop or have better pace at the end of the final stint. In no way did I imagine Newgarden losing over 30 seconds in the final 33 laps. Was stopping a lap earlier worth it?
Driving for Team Penske, Newgarden shouldn't be making the first move to pit lane from the lead. His pit crew is fine. It won him this race last year. Kirkwood had good speed, but Newgarden would have been fine responding. Put the pressure on the Andretti pit crews to nail their stops. In that circumstance, I am taking the Penske crew nine times out of ten. The team took a gamble on one lap and it backfired. Ninth isn't the end of the world, but when you are leading entering the final pit stop, it is a dismal result.
10. Scott McLaughlin struggled on the alternate tire this race and just hung on to the back of the top ten. These days happen. Team Penske wasn't spectacular this weekend. None of the cars looked dangerous. That will change.
11. Santino Ferrucci drove a smart race and finished 11th. That team didn't do anything noteworthy. It didn't take a gamble. It didn't catch a break with a caution. It ran its race and Ferrucci was smart. It got him 11th. That's a good day. He was the best non-Andretti/Penske/Ganassi/McLaren driver. Scratch that, this was a great day for the Foyt group.
12. We are going to tackle the Rahal Letterman Lanigan cars here because they finished 12th, 13th and 14th. Graham Rahal made up 12 spots. Rahal does this at least twice a season. Every time it happens I write it is frustrating because it is clear the cars have race pace, if only they could qualified 15 spots better, or in Rahal's case 20 spots better, and make something of it.
Jack Harvey was the best RLLR car for most of this race, and Rahal leaped ahead over the middle portion. Considering the last year or so for Harvey, this was a positive day. He will not be thrilled, but there is more to be positive about than negative.
Christian Lundgaard made up some spots and finished 14th. The three RLLR cars were covered by 1.5 seconds. The good news is they are all in the same zip code. Any gains that can be found should benefit all three. If they find anything this team could be fighting for top five finishes.
13. Simon Pagenaud did nothing and finished 15th while Devlin DeFrancesco was 12 spots off the next best Andretti Autosport car. There is room for growth in the fourth Andretti seat.
14. Patricio O'Ward had a jarring day. The first incident is O'Ward going up the inside of Scott Dixon going into turn eight and Dixon ending up in the tires. It was a racing incident. It stinks for Dixon, but O'Ward didn't do anything reckless. They were side-by-side going into the corner. Dixon lost out. If that is a penalty then no driver will ever attempt to make a pass. We would have a driver penalize in every race. That wasn't a penalty, and rightfully none was given.
O'Ward looked quick. I am not sure he could have been up there with Kirkwood, Grosjean and Ericsson, but O'Ward was with those guys after the first pit stops. However, when O'Ward oversteps the line, his day unravels rapidly. Today, he nearly took out Kirkwood when he spun into turn eight, but O'Ward missed bowling into Kirkwood, grazed the tire barrier, caught a piece of Ericsson, and somehow was able to continue without needing any immediate repairs.
His race wasn't over at that point. He only dropped to 13th, but when O'Ward makes a mistake or adversity sneaks up on him, he doesn't handle it well. Two incidents come to mind: Portland 2021 when the team got the tire strategy wrong and O'Ward went from leading the race and controlling the championship to dropping through the field and finishing ninth. The next other is Mid-Ohio last year when the car starting having fuel pressure issues. The fuel pressure issues were always going to be too much to overcome, but O'Ward drove unhappy for a good portion of that race.
We saw too much of the frustrated O'Ward today. He was able to keep the car going, and the damage could have been manageable but severe enough to make him uncompetitive, but if he does this twice a season his over-aggression will cost him in the championship.
15. Let's run through the field. Sting Ray Robb was 18th. Not great, but not bad. Callum Ilott had a flat tire early and that really ruined any promising result for him. David Malukas had some front wing damage in the middle of this race, setting him back. Hélio Castroneves had a big accident on the opening lap and somehow continued to finish 21st only a lap down. However, opening lap accidents are not what you want to see from a driver that is about to turn 48 years old.
Speaking of Castroneves, when he was a lap down, he kind of forced Agustín Canapino into the wall when Canapino was leading after not making a pit stop under the Dixon caution. I think Castroneves got away with one there. Any other lapped car racing the leader like that would not get away with it. Castroneves would never have raced Dixon, Power or Newgarden that way if any of those three were the leader. I know Canapino was off strategy, but it was poor from Castroneves.
16. I have no idea what happened to Alexander Rossi, but this is another top ten finish lost. He was the best McLaren driver today but is the worst of the three drivers in the final results. He needs a pick-me-up and the next race is at one of his least favorite tracks in Barber Motorsports Park, so I am sure Rossi is elated about that.
17. Ed Carpenter Racing is completely lost. Conor Daly was two laps down in 23rd. Daly has shown no pace this season. Rinus VeeKay didn't look good to begin with and some mechanical failure mercifully ended his race after 48 laps. ECR needs an intervention. It's not just the drivers, but it definitely isn't just the team either. A lot must be fixed in that organization.
18. We must give IndyCar kudos for using local yellows today. Benjamin Pedersen locked the brakes up entering turn one and stalled the car just prior to the final pit window opening. In many past instances, and probably in many future ones as well, that is a full course caution and this result would look much different. For starters, I am not sure anyone would have been able to make it from there on fuel if they did stop, but if that caution comes out, I don't know who wins. I have a feeling Newgarden doesn't fall like a rock and Kirkwood doesn't control the final stint, but I don't know who wins. This race would have looked much different.
Pedersen stalled his car close enough to the barrier that a few corner workers could push him back and re-fire his car while not being significantly in danger. If Pedersen stalls his car five feet further to the left in the run-off area, it is definitely a full course caution. It was close enough in the neighborhood to the opening in the barrier that the officials could move out and not be in great risk, especially if timing to when there is a gap on track and no oncoming traffic. That is tougher to do now that 27 cars are in every race.
The corner worker got Pedersen restarted and the race wasn't flipped because of a full course caution. IndyCar also let the race finish with a local yellow for Rossi going off course. That decision may have given Marcus Armstrong eighth over Newgarden. That is two points in the championship that Newgarden lost. It didn't change who won the race, but the race could play out without a full course caution and allow for anything to happen. Bravo IndyCar for its officiating today.
19. We end on Scott Dixon. Tough day. This should have been a top ten result at worst, likely a top five. These days happen and they are rare for Dixon. He did nothing wrong, but O'Ward did nothing wrong either. Dixon has every right to be upset, but I don't think this was the greatest injustice in IndyCar history. It sucks. Dixon will bounce back.
20. We need to do starts differently at Long Beach. Every year it is the first two rows, maybe three, are side-by-side and then it is 20 cars single-file, ten of which are still on the other side of the hairpin. My dream is for the Long Beach hairpin to be extended further down East Shoreline Drive like it was for the Formula One races in the 1970s and 1980s. Have the hairpin be an actual braking zone where the cars run into it, brake and then make the right down the straightaway.
It would make the hairpin a passing zone and create more passes into turn one. It should at least be explored. It likely will not happen, but it should be explore, and IndyCar should push for it. If that isn't going to happen then IndyCar should consider moving the start/finish line further down the straightaway. The main straightaway at Long Beach is so damn long it should never be the case that the leaders are taking the green flag while there are cars still waiting to go through the hairpin. From a sporting perspective it is considerable unfair. Imagine in the 100-meter dash two runners getting a downhill head start while the other six have to start in the blocks. That is the equivalent.
IndyCar does a good job making sure races are run fairly and run at the best possible standard. See the high line practice adopted for Texas and Gateway, the additional aero pieces to increase downforce at Texas and even the use of local yellows in today's race, but too often IndyCar will not change this minor thing at a big event because it doesn't feel like it has to.
Long Beach is the second best race for IndyCar. It is comfortably the second best race day crowd, though Road America probably puts up a respectable challenge. We are coming off a Texas race where maybe 5,000 people showed up and there were over 5,000 people at Long Beach for the historic Formula One car practice on Friday morning. This is one of the few races IndyCar can feel proud about and not have to worry, but because it feels that way IndyCar doesn't do a simple thing to fix the only blemish during this entire weekend. The starts look like garbage and IndyCar allows them to look like garbage. The series has thrown up its hands and given up. That is a shame, especially when most solutions are viable.
If IndyCar is willing to spend money to develop aero pieces to make a race better and willing to invest the resources in more practice time to make a race better, why will it not put in the same effort to erase the only bad thing about the entire Long Beach weekend and make the starts actually look like an organized start to a profession automobile race?
21. And we have another fortnight off until Barber Motorsports Park. This season is starting to pick up the pace.
