LONG BEACH, Calif. — Alex Palou entered the Long Beach Grand Prix having won 21 INDYCAR races and four series titles.
But among the few things he hadn’t accomplished? A victory at Long Beach, arguably annually the second-biggest race on the INDYCAR calendar.
That was until Sunday when Palau — driver of the No. 10 car for Chip Ganassi Racing — earned his 22nd career victory as he crossed the start-finish line by almost four seconds over second-place finisher Felix Rosenqvist.
Alex Palou finally made his way to Victory Lane in Long Beach.
“Every win is so special,” Palou said in his postrace news conference. “Obviously, the [Indy] 500 is always going to stay up top.
“This probably ranks top-three. It’s super, super cool. But we’ve been so lucky to have so much success.”
Here are my takeaways:
1. Palou Doing Palou Things
Palou started third, quickly passed Pato O’Ward for second and then took advantage of a faster pit stop than pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist in the race’s only caution to take the lead.
Once he got out front, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver made no mistakes. That is the blueprint for a Palou win, and it was his third triumph in five races this year — and 11th in the last 22 events. The win also lifted Palou into the series points lead by 17 points over Kyle Kirkwood.
Alex Palou moved into the championship points lead following Sunday’s victory.
“People think that we are not surprised of being here,” Palou said. “We don’t take it for [granted].”
2. Rosenqvist Needed Disappointing Second
Felix Rosenqvist had not had a top-10 finish all year, so while the Meyer Shank Racing driver saw a potential win slip away, he’ll take a second-place finish.
“I had such a poor start to the year, so I was always going to take a podium,” Rosenqvist said in his postrace news conference. “It’s very rare that you have a race like that, pace like that.
“I don’t honestly think I’ve ever had that. It’s a little bit disappointing when you cannot wrap it up.”
Rosenqvist did think he had a good chance of holding off Palou over the final 32 laps if he did not have the slow pit stop.
Felix Rosenqvist made the podium for the first time in 2026.
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3. Kirkwood Repeat Denied
Kyle Kirkwood was denied in his hopes of repeating at Long Beach and earning a third win overall. The Andretti Global driver, who had entered the race as the series points leader, started fourth and finished fourth.
“It was just so hard to pass on this track,” Kirkwood told a team representative after the race. “I’m not sure why it was like that this year.
“You just get close, and then you don’t have enough traction to make a move. … I can’t be too upset with the top-four.”
Kyle Kirkwood wasn’t able to defend his crown in Long Beach, settling for fourth place.
4. Wonky Start Just Long Beach
The cars in the front few rows at the start of the race did not remain double-file as they got strung out quickly as the green-flag waved.
It appeared a little disjointed, but in the view of Scott Dixon, who started sixth and finished third, it was normal for Long Beach.
“It was very Long Beach-esque,” the six-time series champion said in his postrace news conference. “It just always is.
“It’s hard, especially [if you’re] fourth through eighth or 10th, if you catch the front two rows at the wrong spot, you have to brake and everybody behind you is accelerating.”
Drivers take the green flag at the start during the Grand Prix Of Long Beach.
4 ½: What’s Next
There are two weekends off before the next race as the Month of May kicks off with the May 9 event on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
But the drivers will be on track sooner as they all will be testing April 28-29 for the Indianapolis 500. It is a pivotal test as they get ready for the biggest race of the year.
You know who won that race a year ago? Yeah, Alex Palou.
