IndyCar Gradebook: Grand Prix of Long Beach
- Dan Jones
- 9 hours ago
- 8 min read
Written by Dan Jones, Edited by Archie O'Reilly
Kyle Kirkwood took the honours on the 50th anniversary of racing cars hitting the streets of Long Beach, becoming the first individual not named Álex Palou to win a race in 2025. DIVEBOMB IndyCar Correspondent Dan Jones graded all 27 drivers' weekends from the action on the Long Beach streets.
Chip Ganassi Racing
No.8 - Kyffin Simpson: A-
Long Beach marked the best weekend of Simpson's IndyCar career - and by some distance, as the Cayman Islander claimed a maiden top 10 finish, in addition to leading three laps on the Californian coast and picking up the fastest lap. Simpson, who opted for the black-black-green-black strategy (which we will refer to in the rest of this article as the alternate strategy), executed it well and ran toe-to-toe with his six-time champion teammate Scott Dixon on the same strategy. A very good weekend for Simpson all round.
No.9 - Scott Dixon: B
We have seen Dixon in the past prove to be the master of executing the alternate strategy, but as has been the case a few times this season, that has not quite come to fruition yet, with this Sunday being no different. Last year's Long Beach winner did not have an easy weekend, hitting the wall in practice and then not making the Fast 12 in qualifying. The strength of the alternate strategy meant he cycled up to eighth, but we know Dixon can do better.
No.10 - Álex Palou: A
It might not have been a historic three-peat for Palou, but a second place on the streets still gives him a firm grip on the championship, with a gap of 34 points between him and Kirkwood. The Spaniard qualified third before cycling up to second in the opening round of stops. He did not have the pace for Kirkwood, but winning IndyCar championships is about where you finish when you do not win, and once again Palou's formidability was on display excellently at Long Beach.
Team Penske
No.2 - Josef Newgarden: B
It really has not been the 2025 bounce-back that Newgarden was looking for, as a seatbelt failure left the two-time defending Indianapolis 500 champion two laps down and last in Long Beach's running order. He failed to make the Fast 12 again but made good progress after jumping off the alternates after just two laps. However, for the second time in four races, a Penske car had its seatbelts become undone - a source of frustration for Newgarden with a top 10 on the cards.
No.3 - Scott McLaughlin: B+
Long Beach has never been a good track for McLaughlin, whose previous best finish on the streets was 10th. However, unlike his teammates, he made the Fast Six and ran a consistently quiet day within the top five. He dropped down to sixth after being overtaken by Power late-on, but it was a good result for McLaughlin on a track that has traditionally been a struggle.
No.12 - Will Power: B+
It was a second race in succession that Power completed a good recovery drive after failing to advance into the Fast 12 - for the third time this season, despite the Australian topping practice. However, Power finished as the top Penske again in fifth place, which is significant when every single race matters for his Penske future. But if the greatest qualifier in IndyCar history was qualifying at the front more often in 2025, who is to say he will not be fighting for podiums instead?
Andretti Global
No.26 - Colton Herta: B
It was a strange weekend for Herta, who had fantastic outright pace but was let down by clumsiness and frustration. He banged the wall on the exit of the Turn 11 hairpin in qualifying, breaking a toe link in the process, before bouncing back and qualifying on the front row. He later piled into the back of Jacob Abel in warm-up. Race day saw him cycle back in the opening phase of stops and he never recovered, finishing seventh. A scruffy weekend, and based on how his teammate performed, there was more on the table for Herta.
No.27 - Kyle Kirkwood: A+
It would take something special to stop Palou's imperious form and Kirkwood delivered exactly that during the Long Beach weekend. His pole position was dominant - over two tenths clear of anybody else - and his race day performance looked assured. You never felt there would be a chance that Kirkwood would relinquish his lead and he held off Palou masterfully to take a second Long Beach win in three years. Kirkwood now lies second in the standings... could he be the one to take the title fight to Palou?
No.28 - Marcus Ericsson: B-
In a weekend where Andretti showed excellent pace, Ericsson was not really at the same level as his two teammates. He qualified a very decent fifth but cycled back outside the top ten in the opening round of stops. Ericsson was unable to recover track position and was 12th at the flag. He qualified well, but considering the pace the team clearly had, it was an underwhelming day from Ericsson.
Arrow McLaren
No.5 - Pato O'Ward: C+
After a Thermal weekend which indicated good signs of progress for Arrow McLaren, Long Beach was another indication of a lack of underlying pace. Long Beach has always been O'Ward's weakest track on the schedule and, once again, that trend did not buck. He qualified for the Fast 12, but after his teammate's crash, O'Ward was unable to advance. He fell down the pecking order after the first rounds of stops and ended a fairly miserable 13th place.
No.6 - Nolan Siegel: C+
Although it was a weekend that was not fully representative due to food poisoning for Siegel, he continued to show his development, once again reaching the Fast 12 on Saturday. However, when illness kicked in overnight, he had to battle through on Sunday, eventually finishing 20th - the last car on the lead lap.
No.7 - Christian Lundgaard: A
This is a particularly difficult one to grade after Lundgaard's qualifying crash. However, if Lundgaard had not crashed, I do not think he would have gone onto the alternate strategy, which ultimately placed him third at the flag. So, I will give him the benefit of the doubt after executing the alternate strategy excellently which included a superb late-race pass on Felix Rosenqvist to claim a podium position. A continued excellent start at Arrow McLaren for the Dane.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
No.15 - Graham Rahal: C
It was a difficult weekend all round for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL), although Rahal himself was the best qualifier in the team in 16th. His Sunday was plagued by a false vent which meant he saw four gallons short-filled at his stop, seeing him slump to 22nd.
No.30 - Devlin DeFrancesco: C-
Bar another bust-up post-race, this time with Rosenqvist, there was not much to report from DeFrancesco's weekend, as he qualified 23rd and finished 24th, the worst of all RLL cars in both sessions.
No.45 - Louis Foster: C+
A weekend described by Foster as his first 'proper result,' the Briton qualified an underwhelming 20th but finished as the top RLL car in 16th. It was nothing fantastic but he continues to match his much more experienced teammates.
Meyer Shank Racing
No.60 - Felix Rosenqvist: A
Rosenqvist's super start to 2025 continued over into Long Beach, as the Swede once again found himself in the Fast Six, this time in fourth. He ran in third the majority of the race before being overtaken by Lundgaard late on. It was not the first Shank podium that Rosenqvist was hoping for but once again a near-faultless weekend.
No.66 - Marcus Armstrong: C+
This felt like the first time as teammates that Armstrong was some way off Rosenqvist. He qualified well once again, this time in seventh, but was practically anonymous on Sunday, finishing in 14th.
Ed Carpenter Racing
No.20 - Alexander Rossi: B-
Race-day execution has seemed to be a bit of a thorn in Rossi's side thus far in 2025, but he once again qualified well in eighth and gained several positions on the opening lap. The opening-stint madness saw him get relegated down the order though, falling to 15th by the flag.
No.21 - Christian Rasmussen: C
Nothing much to report from Rasmussen's weekend as he qualified 18th before finishing quite an underwhelming 23rd.
A.J. Foyt Racing
No.4 - David Malukas: C+
It was a very similar weekend for Malukas to what he had in Thermal, hence the same grade. The Lithuanian-American made the Fast 12 again, this time in 10th, before finishing a fairly average 17th.
No.14 - Santino Ferrucci: C
It may be bizarre for me to give Ferrucci a lower rating than his teammate despite finishing six positions higher. But it was a scruffy weekend. He crashed in qualifying, therefore started last and was on the preferred alternate strategy and finished fifth of the six cars on that strategy. I have given Sting Ray Robb and Simpson credit for it and not Ferrucci, but considering the team were top 10 week-in, week-out in 2024 and Ferrucci said they would fight for a championship, finishing behind the likes of Robb and Simpson is disappointing.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
No.76 - Conor Daly: D+
It was a bit of a strange weekend for Daly, who never really seemed a factor at all, despite his teammate's impressive performance on race day. Daly qualified 21st but finished 25th, two laps down, after a fuel issue at his first stop.
No.77 - Sting Ray Robb: A-
A career weekend for Robb, who equalled his best ever finish with ninth place after executing the alternate strategy fantastically. Robb also believed he had the pace for the Fast 12, ultimately qualifying 19th. Race day was fantastic though as the Idaho native led 12 laps, being the only driver on a black-black-green-black strategy. It was a weekend to momentarily silence his doubters.
Dale Coyne Racing
No.18 - Rinus VeeKay: C-
A bit of a disappointing weekend for VeeKay after early encouraging signs with his new employers. Coyne seemed quite off the pace, with VeeKay the slowest in his group by almost two-tenths in qualifying before finishing 19th on race day.
No.51 - Jacob Abel: D
This was always going to be one of the more challenging weekends in Abel's rookie season being a venue he has never visited before. He was nine-tenths off the next-quickest in his qualifying group and finished two laps down on Sunday. It was not an easy weekend but Abel heads to a set of tracks he has run well at previously in Indy NXT.
PREMA Racing
No.83 - Robert Shwartzman: C
After a difficult weekend at The Thermal Club, Shwartzman needed a clean weekend, which is exactly what he did. He qualified a slightly sub-par 24th and finished last of the alternate strategy runners in 18th come race-day. However, it is continued vital experience for Shwartzman, who showed well against his teammate again.
No.90 - Callum Ilott: C-
Ilott's IndyCar return with PREMA has not been the easiest ride and Long Beach once again showed that the team quite are not at the standards they aspire to be. Ilott qualified a measly 22nd, finished a lap down on Sunday and still is yet to have that impact we have seen him have at smaller IndyCar teams in his career before.
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