The 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was an

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

motor race Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

held on September 26, 2021 at the

Streets of Long Beach The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It ...

. It was the 16th and final race of the 2021 IndyCar Series and determined the 2021 IndyCar drivers' champion.

Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...

Colton Herta Colton Thomas Herta (born March 30, 2000) is an American open-wheel racing driver currently competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Andretti Autosport with Curb-Agajanian. He is the youngest person to ever win an IndyCar Series race. He is the ...

emerged as victor after 85 laps, claiming his third win of the season.

Josef Newgarden Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion. Career Karting Newga ...

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...

finished second, sealing second place over

Pato O'Ward Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion. Early life and care ...

in the drivers' championship.

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...

driver

Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from New Zealand, who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 202 ...

rounded out the podium places with a third place finish, finishing ahead of teammate

Álex Palou Álex Palou Montalbo (; born 1 April 1997) is a Spanish racing driver who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series, where he won the 2021 series championship. He is the first Spanish racing driver to win a National Championship in ...

in fourth, who won the drivers' championship title with the result. As of the

2022 IndyCar Series The 2022 NTT IndyCar Series was the 111th official championship season of American open wheel racing and the 27th season under IndyCar Series sanction. The showcase event was the 2022 Indianapolis 500. It was the third year under Penske mana ...

, this was the final race to feature

Max Chilton Maximilian Alexander Chilton (born 21 April 1991) is a British racing driver who last competed for Carlin Motorsport in the IndyCar Series, before announcing his retirement from IndyCar in February 2022. Prior to IndyCar, he competed in Formula ...

. He has not raced in IndyCar since this race and neither has

Carlin Motorsport Carlin, formerly Carlin Motorsport, is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It currently competes in five championships: FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, F4 British Championship, BRDC British Formula 3 and E ...

, the team he drove for. This was also the final race for six-time race winner

James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...

. He is now a color commentator for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

for IndyCar.

Background

The race was originally due to take place on 18 April 2021 as the third round of the championship, after the 2020 race was cancelled due to a

stay-at-home order A stay-at-home order, safer-at-home order, movement control order (more common in Southeast Asia), or lockdown restrictions (in the United Kingdom) – also referred to by loose use of the terms (self-) quarantine, (self-) isolation, or lockdow ...

caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. On 17 December 2020, the race was rescheduled to 26 September 2021. It was held at the

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, one week after the

Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is an IndyCar Series race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California. The event dates back to 1960, and became an American open wheel race in 1983. The race was part of the CART/Champ ...

Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to: * Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California * Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London * Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California * Laguna Seca, Texas, United States * Rancho La ...

. The event was the final race of the 2021 IndyCar Series and marked the race's 46th annual running and return to the series, after its absence in the 2020 season due to the

Alexander Rossi Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...

was the previous race winner, having won the 2019 event.

Championship standings before the race

Championship leader

extended his lead over

to a 35-point advantage, thanks to a second place finish in the

. O'Ward remained second in the drivers' standings, after finishing fifth at the previous race.

sat third, after finishing seventh at

. Fourth-placed

saw his gap to points leader Palou widen to 72 points, effectively ending his hopes of defending his 2020 title. The trio of Palou, O'Ward, and Newgarden came into the race with a possibility of winning the championship. Palou would win if: * He finished 12th or better. * He finished 13th or better and led a lap. O'Ward would win if: * He won the race and Palou finished 25th or lower. *He won the race and led most laps, with Palou not leading a lap and finishing 13th or lower. * He came second, led a lap, and Palou finished 25th or lower. Newgarden would win the championship if he won and led the most laps in the race, with Palou finishing 25th or lower and with O'Ward finishing second or lower and with Palou and O'Ward not leading a lap of the race.

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

had won their fourth consecutive Manufacturer's Cup in the

over

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

Entrants

28 drivers entered the race, with

Charlie Kimball Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...

returning to run the No. 11 car for

A. J. Foyt Enterprises A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...

, after his appearances at the

GMR Grand Prix The IndyCar Series hosts two races a year on the combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The first, the GMR Grand Prix is held in early May with an inaugural running in 2014. The second race, the Gallagher G ...

and the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

Practice

Practice 1

Practice 1 took place at 6:00 PM ET on September 24, 2021. Championship contenders

and

struggled in practice, as Newgarden spun early in the session (with no damage sustained) and classified ninth, while O'Ward only managed to place 16th.

finished fastest with a time of 01:09.2680. 2016 race winner

Simon Pagenaud Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...

went second fastest, ahead of championship leader

in third.

Practice 2

Practice 2 took place at 12:00 PM ET on September 25, 2021. Colton Herta, who topped the first practice charts, went fastest again with a time of 01:07.9783, despite hitting the wall early in the session.

Will Power William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...

placed second, ahead of

, who won the race in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, in third.

Qualifying

Qualifying took place at 3:00 PM ET on September 25, 2021. The first group in Round 1 saw their session end under a red flag, as Jack Harvey crashed into the tire barriers in Turn 8, in his final race for

Meyer Shank Racing Meyer Shank Racing (formerly Michael Shank Racing) is an American auto racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and IMSA SportsCar Championship. History Atlantic Championship Michael Shank as an owner of Michael Shank Racing, he ...

proceeded to make contact with the stationary Harvey, critically damaging his rear wing and right rear wheels. Despite this, Power advanced to the next round. In the second group, Colton Herta, who was fastest in both pre-qualifying practice sessions, failed to advance to the next round, as he initially attempted to set a time with the primary Firestone tires, which led him to not have enough time to set a top 6 lap with the alternate tires. At the end of the Firestone Fast 12, Will Power stopped in Turn 10 after hitting the wall, triggering a local yellow flag. This forced championship contenders

and

, along with other drivers, to slow down in the area and abort their fast lap, eliminating them from the contest for pole. O'Ward and Palou would start eighth and tenth in the race respectively. Ed Jones, who had initially set a time that would have put him in the Firestone Fast 6, had his lap deleted, as he was judged to have failed to slow down during the local yellow. In the Firestone Fast 6, championship hopeful

took pole position with a time of 01:08.2241, ahead of 2015 race winner Scott Dixon in second and Meyer Shank Racing's

Hélio Castroneves Hélio Castroneves (; born Hélio Alves de Castro Neves; 10 May 1975) is a Brazilian auto racing driver. He has won the Indianapolis 500 a record-equalling four times: in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021. He won the 2021 24 Hours of Daytona wit ...

in third.

Qualifying classification

; Notes * Bold text indicates fastest time set in session.

Warmup

The pre-race warmup session took place at 12:00 PM ET on September 26, 2021. Ten minutes into the 30-minute session,

and

collided at the fountain section, causing terminal damage to Castroneves' suspension, ending his warmup session prematurely. Rossi was able to continue and finish the session.

topped the session with a time of 01:08.4762. Previous race winners

and

came second and third respectively.

Race

The race started at 3:00 PM ET on September 26, 2021. The first lap saw the first caution of the day being triggered, as Ed Jones hit the rear of

's No. 5

Arrow McLaren SP The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren Racing competes under the banner of Arrow McLaren SP. This entry is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former driver Sam Schmidt as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Fellow ex-driver Davey Hamilton joined as ...

car at the hairpin in Turn 11, causing O'Ward to spin in the wrong direction. Jones received a drive-through penalty for the incident. At the same lap,

Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...

experienced a puncture in his right rear tire after contact with

, prompting Hunter-Reay to pit, and

Sébastien Bourdais Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...

spun and stalled his car. The caution lasted two laps and the race went underway again on lap 4. On lap 17, O'Ward came to a halt on the main straight and eventually retired from the race, due to a broken driveshaft sustained from the first-lap incident, effectively ending his championship hopes. A second caution was brought out, prompting numerous drivers to pit. On lap 25, the race was green flagged, with

leading the pack. One lap later, another caution was triggered, which lasted four laps, as

Marcus Ericsson Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson (; born 2 September 1990) is a Swedish professional racing driver. He competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 8 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing and is the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner. Ericsson previously ...

crashed into the wall in Turn 1, after dueling with

. On lap 34,

Juncos Hollinger Racing Juncos Hollinger Racing, formerly Juncos Racing, is an Argentine-American racing team competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000 Championship series in the Road to Indy ladder for IndyCar. Owned by Ricardo Juncos, who for ...

Callum Ilott Callum Benjamin Ilott ( ; born 11 November 1998) is a British racing driver competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Juncos Hollinger Racing. He was the official reserve driver for Alfa Romeo for the 2021 Formula One World Championship season an ...

spun his No. 77 into a run-off area. Ilott's spin prompted Castroneves to make his pit stop, in anticipation of a caution being brought out, but only a local yellow was flagged instead. As a result, Colton Herta took the lead from Castroneves. On lap 62,

Oliver Askew Oliver Clark Askew (born December 12, 1996) is an American-Swedish race car driver who races under the American flag. He previously competed in the Formula E World Championship for Avalanche Andretti Formula E. He is the 2019 Indy Lights champ ...

and

Conor Daly Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet C ...

made contact on the back straight, causing Askew to crash into the tire barriers and Daly to wander into the run-off area. The incident brought out the fourth and final caution of the race, which lasted three laps. Colton Herta took the victory, finishing half a second ahead of polesitter

took the final podium spot, with teammate

finishing fourth behind him, clinching his first championship win.

Race classification

Championship standings after the race

won his first IndyCar drivers' title with his fourth-place finish.

finished the season as championship runner-up, with him finishing second and

dropping down to third in the standings, after O'Ward only scored five points due to the premature end to his race.

closed out the season in fourth.

jumped to fifth after his win, demoting

to sixth.

Scott McLaughlin Scott Thomas McLaughlin (; born 10 June 1993) is a New Zealand racing driver. He currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 3 Dallara-Chevrolet for Team Penske. He previously raced in the Supercars Championship, in which he won ...

was the highest-placing rookie in the final standings and was therefore crowned Rookie of the Year, finishing 14th in the standings with 305 points over fellow rookie

Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously spent nine ...

in 15th with 272 points. ;Drivers' Championship standings ;Engine manufacturer standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included. * Bold text indicates Championship Winners.

References

External links

{{IndyCar Series on NBC Grand Prix of Long Beach Long Beach, California Acura Grand Prix

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...