The Field is Set for the 50th Anniversary of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
50th Anniversary Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Round 3 of 17 in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – Saturday, April 12, 2025

THE FIELD IS SET FOR THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH

1)         Kyle Kirkwood             1:06.1921 / 107.034 mph          (Group 2; Round 3)         
16)       Graham Rahal              1:07.3806 / 105.146 mph          (Group 2; Round 1)
20)       Louis Foster                1:07.5295 / 104.914 mph          (Group 2; Round 1)
23)       Devlin DeFrancesco    1:08.0824 / 104.062 mph          (Group 1; Round 1)

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fleet Cost & Care Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We just missed progressing to the next round by half of a tenth (of a second), we know gearing probably cost us about a tenth (of a second) and one half; out of the hairpin onto the front straight, the gears are just a little too long and boggy but everywhere else we were actually as good if not a little quicker than Rossi and those guys but look, it’s a game of nothing (minimal time) now and unfortunately we didn’t progress. You look at Power and Newgarden and I’m sure they thought they would advance too and here we all are. The field is just so tight. It’s going to be a very interesting day tomorrow. I’m not happy with the setup and actually feel like we almost over-achieved in qualifying based on what I expected but we’re working hard to get better.”

• FAST FACTS: Will be his 18th Champ/Indy car race here and 19th overall. His best IndyCar start here is fifth in 2007 and best finish is second place in 2013. In 2024, he started 12th and pit from fifth place on an alternate strategy for his second stop and a fueling issue added an additional 12 seconds, which dropped him four spots at the time and valuable track position. A top-10 finish was in sight but he had to settle for 17th place. In 2023, he started 24th and finished 12th and in 2022, he started 13th and on the final lap he had a run on Dixon but was unable to pass and took the checkered flag in seventh place. In 2021, he ran as high as second place two times and led four laps but the timing of a caution while he was on his in-lap for his final pit stop dropped him to 20th. He came back to finish 16th… A recap of results is available on request… He also competed in the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Series race here… Has SIX IndyCar Series wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2) and FIVE poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street; 2024 IMS road course 2, Portland) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015. He is currently ranked 12th in series point standings with 37.

DEVLIN DEFRANCESCO, No. 30 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We seem to be struggling to turn the tires on. The grip on the alternates just feels like it doesn’t come on so we need to analyze that overnight and see what we can do tomorrow in the race. We’re better on the primary tires so that will play into our strategy.”

• FAST FACTS: This will be his third start here. His highest start is 17th in 2022 and highest finish is 16th in 2023 – both with Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport. His season highlight to date in the first two races, was being the top team qualifier in St. Pete in 14th place and was on target for a top 10 finish there until a punctured tire forced him to pit and lose valuable positions. He ultimately finished 22nd in the race… He is ranked 22nd in series point standings with 18 points.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Mi-Jack Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We just missed maximizing the tire basically. We thought we would get a second lap on it but we didn’t. I’m just disappointed because I feel like we should have been able to transfer. We’ve had a quick car all weekend so far, but we just missed the balance just a tiny bit. We had too much understeer on the first lap and on the second lap, the tires are gone so I’m quite disappointed to not transfer honestly. It doesn’t really show how strong we are but on the bright side, we can move forward tomorrow. I think we’re around slower cars than us so I think we should have a good race.”

• FAST FACTS: This will be his first time to race on the streets of Long Beach. He earned his first top-10 start in the series at the previous race at The Thermal Club but wasn’t able to maintain that position by the checkered flag.  After having lived in LA while attending college, he is looking forward to his first race in the legendary event and creating some momentum… He is ranked 27th in series point standings with 11.

3 POLES, 6 PODIUMS FOR RLL IN 24 INDY CAR RACES AT LONG BEACH: The 2025 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (AGPLB) marks the 25th time for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) to compete in the event.  Although the team didn’t compete in Indy car races here from 2004-2011 while they fielded a fulltime entry in the Indy Racing League (2004-2008), they did compete in the 2003 and 2004 Atlantic races with Danica Patrick and in the 2007 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race. In total, the team has won three poles (Herta 1998, Vasser 2002, Jourdain, Jr. 2003); made five front row starts including an all-Team Rahal front row in 1998 (2nd – Rahal 1998, Brack 2001); earned their best finish of second place four times (Rahal 1992-1993, Vasser 2002, G. Rahal 2013) and earned six podiums here (2nd – Rahal 1992-1993, Vasser 2002 & G. Rahal 2013; 3rd – Herta 1998-1999). From 2009-2019, the team competed on the streets of Long Beach in the GTLM class of the ALMS/IMSA with BMW Team RLL and as finished on the podium each year but 2016-2019 although they started from pole in 2016 and led all three of those races. The venue is still the most successful for the team on the current IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship schedule with wins in 2011, 2013 and 2015, nine podium finishes and five poles in 13 years. BMW M Team RLL has a two-car entry in the GTP class of IMSA and is starting 1-2 in the GTP class of today’s race.

NEXT UP: Warm-up will take place Sunday morning from 9:00-9:30 a.m. PDT and be televised on FS1. Timing and Scoring information is available for all sessions from www.indycar.com. The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be televised live on FOX beginning at 4:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, April 13.