IndyCar News: Another big crowd for the Acura GP of Long Beach
The 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is complete, and preliminary reports show the event’s attendance is trending upward over last year’s 50th Anniversary event.
According to Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President & CEO Jim Liaw, preliminary concession and merchandise numbers reflect strong sales figures as well.
“Judging by the full grandstands, packed walkways, and the number of people that walked through our AAA Travel Lifestyle Expo, the Grand Prix Association projects another record-setting weekend with a marginal increase on last year’s historic crowd,” said Grand Prix Association of Long Beach President and CEO Jim Liaw.
“And more importantly, we delivered a great experience for our fans with incredible on-track action plus the off-track attractions like the concerts, exhibits and fan experiences throughout the venue. The response from our fans, partners and community was tremendous, and it made for a truly memorable weekend in Long Beach. All these events came off just as planned thanks to the efforts of our Grand Prix team, volunteers, sponsor partners and the City of Long Beach staff. Now we can focus on creating another exciting weekend next April 16-18, 2027.”
The race weekend hosted six world-class racing events, highlighted by Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES which was won for the first time by defending series champion Alex Palou (#10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) and Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, won by co-drivers Renger van der Zande and Nick Yelloly (#60 Meyer Shank Racing ARX-06) in the GTP class and Aaron Telitz and Benjamin Pedersen (#12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3) in the GTD class. It was Acura’s first win at Long Beach since taking over the title sponsorship, and its first local win since 2009.
The 2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach featured several new enhancements for the enjoyment of its fans, part of a three-year plan to improve the facility: 10,000 new grandstand seats, a new double-decker Premium Pit Row Suite complex and a Southern California-style car show, Mornings CARnival, curated by Morning Car Club. Thousands of fans enjoyed concerts by Lupe Fiasco on Friday and Kings of Chaos on Saturday.
