IndyCar Power Rankings: Kyle Kirkwood and Christian Lundgaard inch towards Alex Palou's crown after Long Beach
Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood took the victory at the 2025 IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix after starting the race in pole position. It was his first victory of the season and second at the Long Beach IndyCar circuit. The Andretti Global driver fended off the threat from the championship leader, Alex Palou, to cross the checkered flag in P1.
There were no cautions during the race, putting any chances of luck in the bin, as the race was purely run on pace. The only strategic plan that made a difference was the starting tires opted by the drivers. Most IndyCar drivers started on soft alternate tires, but those who began on the primary got a huge advantage.
Let's have a look at the IndyCar Power Rankings for the 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
#10. Robert Shwartzman
The Prema Racing driver started in P24 but was amongst the few who opted for the hard tires to start on. Robert Shwartzman gained an advantage from the same and was running in the Top 5 of the race at one point in time, setting the same lap time as the leaders.
Shwartzman finished in P18 in a team that's only been on the grid for a couple of races and is still finding its feet within IndyCar.
#9. Scott Dixon
Not the most fruitful race for a driver of Scott Dixon's caliber, but the CGR driver made the strategy work by starting on hard tires. He started P14 and even led a couple of laps before settling for P8.
A better qualifying result would've definitely put Dixon in the fight for the Top 5. The result at Long Beach was also his 300th Top 10 finish in the IndyCar series
#8. Kyffin Simpson
Simpson was another one of those drivers who started on the hard tires compound. A poor qualifying effort put the Canadian driver P17 on the grid. However, the CGR driver was able to finish just inside the Top 10 and even led a couple of laps.
#7. Felix Rosenqvist
The MSR driver started on the alternate tires and made up a position on Lap 1 as he overtook Alex Palou. Felix Rosenqvist ran with the leaders for most of the race but eventually lost ground and was overtaken by Christian Lundgaard for the final podium spot.
The team provided inaccurate fuel data to the driver, which forced Rosenqvist to save fuel even when it wasn't required. Nonetheless, still an impressive result for the MSR driver who started P4 and ended in the same spot.
#6. Sting Ray Robb
The P9 finish at Long Beach was the career-best result for the Juncos Hollinger Racing driver. Sting Ray Robb started the race in P19 on the primary tire and finished inside the Top 10 in P9. The JHR driver also led the race for 12 laps.
#5. Santino Ferrucci
After a dismal qualifying, Santino Ferrucci started the race dead last in P27. However, starting on the primary tires, Ferrucci made up time in the midfield and finished just outside the points in P11.
#4 Will Power
Despite topping the first practice session, Will Power was eliminated in the first qualifying session and started the race in P13. Using the sheer pace of the Team Penske car, Power was able to push his car and finish P5.
#3. Alex Palou
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver started in P3 and was among the favorites to win the race. However, Kyle Kirkwood had other plans for the championship leader and kept the Spaniard at bay the whole race.
The three-time IndyCar champion lost a couple of positions at the race start but was able to make up time after the first pitstop. He finished P2 over a couple of seconds behind Kirkwood.
#2. Christian Lundgaard
The Arrow McLaren driver started outside the Top 10 in P12 after he binned the car into the barrier in second qualifying. The team rebuilt the car on the spare chassis overnight, and Lundgaard put it to good use, finishing the race on the podium after a crucial takeover on Felix Rosenqvist in the last five laps. Starting on the primary tire and running in the clean air up front paid off for the Arrow McLaren driver.
#1. Kyle Kirkwood - 2025 Indycar Long Beach GP winner
An exceptional performance from the 2023 Long Beach GP winner. The Andretti Global driver took the pole position by over three-tenths to his teammate Colton Herta. Kirkwood was in the effective race lead throughout the race and didn't give Alex Palou even a sniff of the win.
The Andretti Global driver overcut Palou every single time in the pitstop and was able to come out ahead and control the race. He closed the gap to the championship lead and jumped to second in the standings.