IndyCar News: O’Ward tops opening Long Beach GP Practice

Pato O’Ward topped opening practice Friday for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with a lap of 1m6.6874s in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet on the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni

O’Ward finished second in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding, as he seeks to earn his first series victory since July 2022 at Iowa Speedway, a dry spell of 24 races.

“This was a really solid start to the weekend for the team,” said O’wWard.

“It’s similar to last year where we had strong pace. I say that knowing it is an NTT INDYCAR SERIES weekend, though, where you need to execute in every single session and maximize every opportunity that you have.

“You need to really find which direction you need to go because there is so much track evolution. We’ll continue to work toward a strong qualifying tomorrow.”

Two-time series champion Will Power was the quickest of three Team Penske drivers in the top five Friday, ending up second at 1m06.7811s in the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet.

Scott McLaughlin helped Chevrolet-powered teams sweep the first three spots on the time sheet, as he was third at 1:06.8258 in the No. 3 Odyssey Batteries Team Penske Chevrolet on the streets of Long Beach.

McLaughlin and Power finished in the top three despite both brushing the concrete barriers lining the tricky street circuit in separate incidents during the 75-minute Long Beach practice session, which was divided into an all-car session to start and finished with two separate groups.

Felix Rosenqvist was fourth at 1m06.8600s in the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing.

St. Petersburg GP winner and series points leader Josef Newgarden rounded out the top five at 1m06.8976s in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet.

Less than a second separated the top 15 drivers in the session Friday, setting up an exciting Saturday of practice and NTT P1 Award qualifying. Practice starts at 11:25 a.m. ET, followed by three rounds of qualifying starting at 2:25 p.m. Both sessions will be broadcast on Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE and the INDYCAR Radio Network.

IndyCar Long Beach GP Practice 1 Results