IndyCar: Kirkwood wins pole for Acura GP of Long Beach

24-year-old Kyle Kirkwood turned a lap of 1m06.2878s in his #27 Andretti Autosport Honda to win pole position for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

It was Kirkwood’s first-ever NTT IndyCar pole and he did it in only his 3rd race with Andretti Autosport.

Kirkwood earned his spot in the Firestone Fast Six on a pair of used alternate guayule Firestone tires in the Round of 12, saving his brand-new tires for the final round. That strategy paid off and was just part of the drama that engulfed the latter stages of the second round of qualifying.

“We did our lap on the used tires, I thought, “Man, the car feels really good on Lap 2, but it’s going to be hard to get it done on Lap 1, which is what you saw right there in the Fast Six,” Kirkwood said.

Marcus Ericsson will start 2nd in the Chip Ganassi Racing #8 Honda, just 0.03s behind

Kirkwood’s Andretti teammate Romain Grosjean was third fastest.

Alex Palou, Ganassi Racing #10 Ridgeline entry, will be starting fourth on the grid.

Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, winner of the  2015 Grand Prix, will start fifth, and Arrow McLaren’s young driver, Pato O’Ward, will start sixth tomorrow.

Honda-powered cars will start 1-2-3-4-5.

In the second round, Marcus Armstrong ran into the tire barrier in Turn 9 in the No. 11 The American Legion Honda, triggering a red flag with 53 seconds remaining.

Armstrong, who will start 12th, wasn’t the only driver to make contact during qualifying. David Malukas crashed out of the first round after contact in Turn 4 in the No. 18 HMD Honda. He was unhurt and will start 25th in the 27-car field.

Kyle Kirkwood

“I’m feeling pretty good. That’s no doubt. I knew we had it, though since after practice two I was like there’s 2/10ths left in it, I think we can do this right now.”

“One thing about how car is we needed that second lap. If we didn’t have that second lap, it would have been more of a struggle. I feel like there were a lot of other cars that were able to do it on the first lap. Us not so much. Our car was extremely fast.”

“I’m ecstatic, right? Starting in the front of a field in a street course is always super beneficial. That first pole is extremely meaningful to someone. To have it here at Long Beach with such a big crowd is such a cool thing.”

Marcus Ericsson

“I think we’re doing all right. Had a good start to the year. We’re making progress. Like I said, our weakness or my weakness has been qualifying in INDYCAR so far. I think our form this year, with Thermal, I think that shows we’re making progress. All my INDYCAR career has been about making progress, getting better and better, stronger and stronger. Now we’re a better package, better driver this year again.”

“I think everyone should look out because we’re in it and we’re going to fight it all the way through.”

Lucille Dust reporting live from Long Beach

Qualifying Results