IndyCar News: Rosenqvist Grabs the Pole for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

On a sunny afternoon in Long Beach, Felix Rosenqvist delivered a standout performance in the new Firestone Fast Six single-car qualifying format, securing the pole position for the 51st running of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

The Swedish driver, piloting the No. 60 Sirius XM/Acura Honda for Meyer Shank Racing, chose to run third in the six-car shootout and posted the fastest lap of the session with a time of 1m07.4635s. His effort edged out the competition and earned him the top starting spot for tomorrow’s race.

MSR won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race earlier today at Long Beach after capturing the pole for that event, too.

“What a day for us,” Rosenqvist said. “Meyer Shank Racing wins the IMSA race from the pole followed by pole here. Pretty lost for words.”

Rosenqvist commented on the new format.

“I love the one-lap shootout. When they announced it, I was like I really want to be part of that because I think it’s such a cool thing when you’re doing the one-lap dash. Watching it was nerve-wracking. That was probably the worst part of it.”

“Amazing day for us at Meyer Shank Racing. They got the pole yesterday in IMSA and the win today on the 93 car. Huge congrats. We’re rocking the Green Day Acura livery.”

“That was nerve-wracking to watch,” Rosenqvist said. “My old buddy Pato there at end, that was close. That was a good lap.”

“It’s been a tough start of the year,” Rosenqvist said. “We said we wanted to do a little bounce-back here, and we did. Phenomenal day for us.”

Pato O’Ward, driving the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, elected to run fifth and responded with a strong lap of 1m07.5076s, securing second place on the grid alongside Rosenqvist. The Mexican star will line up alongside Rosenqvist on the front row.

O’ward commented on his qualifying effort.

“Stellar day for me in Long Beach. This is by far the best qualifying day I’ve had. I’ve been happy with the car I’ve been given from practice one. Hats off to Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy. I know we’re leading their pack.”

“I think the new Fast Six single-car qualifying is a great addition to the show. Like I’ve mentioned before, it’s great to see the pole laps. That’s usually everything that kind of shows off after the normal qualifying sequence we’ve had in the past.”

“I think this way you can also appreciate the laps second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth have done. Someone in fourth has done a pretty impressive lap with a car that probably shouldn’t be there. There are always those instances during weekends.”

Reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou, in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, chose the second spot out of the pits and clocked a 1m:07.5289s, good enough for third on the starting grid and lining up behind Rosenqvist on the grid.

Defending Long Beach winner Kyle Kirkwood started his run fourth in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda and recorded a 1m07.6199s, placing him fourth for the race.

David Malukas, who was the first driver to leave the pits, set a time of 1m07.6508s in the Team Penske No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.  His time did not stick, and the American will start fifth.

Six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon rounded out the Fast Six, running fifth out of the pits and posting a 1m07.8566s in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. The New Zealander will start sixth on Sunday.

2026 Acura GP of Long Beach Qualifying Results

Lucille Dust reporting live from Long Beach