Long Beach by the Numbers: IndyCar's Oldest Street Race in 2027
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing IndyCar Track Preview - the numbers, the records, and the data behind every race. The 2026 season is over, so this week is a between-races feature on the street course that hosts race five of 2027.
The Short Version
IndyCar does not race again until March 7, 2027, so this is a between-races data feature rather than a preview. The subject is the Streets of Long Beach, which holds race five of the 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar on Sunday, April 18. It is the second-oldest continuously running event in American open-wheel racing behind only the Indianapolis 500, and the record book there says something that surprises most people: pole position at Long Beach is worth a lot less than you would think.
The Number That Matters
2 of 6 - poles converted into wins since 2021
Kyle Kirkwood did it twice. The other four polesitters all got beaten by somebody who started behind them.
The Track: 1.968 Miles, 11 Turns, No Runoff
Long Beach is a temporary street circuit laid out on public roads along the waterfront in downtown Long Beach, California. It measures 1.968 miles with 11 turns, and the layout has not changed since 2000. The IndyCar race runs 90 laps, or 177.12 miles. Promoter Chris Pook built the thing in 1975 after deciding Southern California deserved its own Monaco, and the first event drew 30,000 people to what was then a depressed industrial port.
What makes Long Beach race the way it does is the combination of a genuine passing zone and absolutely no margin anywhere else. The long Shoreline Drive run into the Turn 1 hairpin is one of the better braking zones on the calendar, and drivers get 200 seconds of push-to-pass with a 20-second cap on any single activation to attack it. Everywhere else the walls are right there, and a wheel in the marbles ends your afternoon.
Tire strategy got a rewrite for 2026. IndyCar now requires every driver at a street race to complete two separate stints on the softer alternate compound plus one on the primary, up from a single mandated alternate stint. Teams used to burn the softs off as fast as possible because the grip fell away so quickly. Firestone built less drop-off into the 2026 alternate, and the new rule forces teams to commit to it twice.
The outright record still belongs to Colton Herta, who put an Andretti Honda around Long Beach in 1:05.3095 at 108.480 mph in 2022 qualifying, beating a five-year-old Helio Castroneves mark by nearly a second. Alex Palou owns the race lap record at 1:07.2359 from that same weekend. Nobody has touched either since, and the 2026 pole of 1:07.4635 was more than two seconds off Herta's number.
The Record Book: Six for Little Al, Two for Everyone Else
Indy cars have raced at Long Beach since 1984, when CART took over from Formula One. Counting the CART and Champ Car years together with the unified IndyCar Series, 2027 will be the 43rd Indy car race on these streets. The all-time win record belongs to Al Unser Jr. with six, including four in a row from 1988 through 1991, which is where the nickname King of the Beach came from.
Since unification in 2009 the story is completely different. Nobody has won more than two. Alexander Rossi, Kyle Kirkwood, Scott Dixon and Mike Conway are all sitting on a pair, and the next driver to get a third would own the modern era outright. Andretti is the team to beat on history alone, with seven wins in the 17 IndyCar-era races there, while Chip Ganassi Racing holds the all-time team record at eight.
Here is the pole-versus-winner data that makes Long Beach worth betting on. Six races, six polesitters, two wins.
| Year | Pole | Pole Time | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Josef Newgarden | 1:08.2241 | Colton Herta |
| 2022 | Colton Herta | 1:05.3095 | Josef Newgarden |
| 2023 | Kyle Kirkwood | 1:06.2878 | Kyle Kirkwood |
| 2024 | Felix Rosenqvist | 1:06.0172 | Scott Dixon |
| 2025 | Kyle Kirkwood | 1:06.1921 | Kyle Kirkwood |
| 2026 | Felix Rosenqvist | 1:07.4635 | Alex Palou |
The 2026 race is the clearest example of why. Rosenqvist started on pole and led 51 of the 90 laps. Palou started third, led 32, and won by 3.9663 seconds. The whole top ten ran the same two-stop strategy, so nobody out-thought anybody on fuel. Palou's team simply did the stops faster, and Dixon made it a Ganassi one-three.
Where Long Beach Sits on the 2027 Calendar
INDYCAR released Phase One of the 2027 schedule in August. St. Petersburg opens the year on March 7, Phoenix Raceway follows on March 13, the Streets of Arlington run on March 21, Barber Motorsports Park is April 4, and then comes Long Beach on Sunday, April 18 as the fifth round, with the full festival weekend running April 16 to 18. After that it is the Indianapolis road course on May 15, the 111th Indianapolis 500 on May 30, and Detroit on June 6.
50 days. 2,400 concrete blocks. A 1.97-mile, 11-turn track. 14 grandstands.
— Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (@GPLongBeach) February 22, 2023
…
Construction starts tomorrow on the city streets comprising the world-famous @Acura #GrandPrixofLongBeach race circuit.
That slot matters more than it looks. Long Beach is the third street race in the first five rounds, and it comes immediately after Barber, the first proper permanent road course of the year. Teams arrive with two completely different setup directions fresh in their notebooks, and the ones who guess wrong on a track with no runoff find out quickly.
Who to Watch When IndyCar Comes Back
Kyle Kirkwood is the Long Beach specialist of this era. Two wins, both from pole, and his worst Long Beach finish in the last four years is a seventh in 2024. He was the 2026 championship runner-up on 545 points with two wins, both on street circuits.
Alex Palou closed 2026 with his fifth title in six seasons on 631 points and six wins, 86 clear of Kirkwood. He is the defending Long Beach winner, he holds the race lap record there, and he has finished on the podium in each of the last three runnings: third in 2024, second in 2025, first in 2026.
Felix Rosenqvist is the data story nobody talks about. Two Long Beach poles in three years, 51 laps led in 2026, and zero wins to show for any of it. He is also the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner, so the speed is not in question.
Scott Dixon won here in 2015 and 2024, nine years apart, which is a reminder that experience around concrete does not expire.
The Bottom Line
Long Beach is 1.968 miles of public road with 11 corners, one real passing zone and a 43-year Indy car history. Al Unser Jr. won it six times and nobody since 2009 has won it three. Pole has converted twice in six years. If you want one stat to carry into April 18, it is that the fastest car on Saturday at Long Beach usually goes home empty-handed on Sunday.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does IndyCar race at Long Beach in 2027?
Sunday, April 18, 2027, as race five of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. The full Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend runs April 16 to 18.
How long is the Long Beach street circuit?
The circuit is 1.968 miles with 11 turns, and the layout has been unchanged since 2000. The IndyCar race is 90 laps, or 177.12 miles.
Who has the most IndyCar wins at Long Beach?
Al Unser Jr. with six, including four straight from 1988 to 1991. Since the series unified in 2009, nobody has won more than two.
What is the track record at Long Beach?
Colton Herta holds the qualifying record at 1:05.3095, an average of 108.480 mph, set in 2022. Alex Palou owns the race lap record of 1:07.2359 from the same weekend.
When does the 2027 IndyCar season start?
Sunday, March 7, 2027, on the Streets of St. Petersburg, followed by Phoenix Raceway on March 13 and the Streets of Arlington on March 21.
Shop the Story
The offseason is the right time to restock. Here is what is actually on the shelf right now:
- Indianapolis 500 heather sapphire logo tee, Medium through XX-Large
- Indianapolis 500 track tee in blue, Medium through XX-Large
- Indianapolis 500 In Motion tee in blue, Medium through 3X-Large
- Indianapolis 500 Back Home Again tee in gray, Medium through 3X-Large
- Indianapolis 500 car flag tee in gray, 3X-Large only
The full IndyCar rack lives at happyhourracing.com/collections/indycar. We restock around the winners, so check back when the season fires up in March.
