The 2021 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was an IndyCar motor race held on September 26, 2021, at the Streets of Long Beach. It was the 16th and final round of the 2021 IndyCar Series and determined the 2021 IndyCar drivers' champion.
Andretti Autosport's Colton Herta emerged as victor after 85 laps, claiming his third win of the season. Josef Newgarden of Team Penske finished second, sealing second place over Pato O'Ward in the drivers' championship. Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Dixon rounded out the podium places with a third-place finish, finishing ahead of teammate Álex Palou in fourth, who won the drivers' championship title with the result.
This was the final race to feature Max Chilton, Charlie Kimball, Ed Jones and Carlin Motorsport. This was also the final race for six-time race winner James Hinchcliffe. He is now a color commentator for NBC Sports. Lastly, this was the final career IndyCar start for American open wheel racing legend Sébastien Bourdais.
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 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in California. On 17 December 2020, the race was rescheduled to 26 September 2021. It was held at the Streets of Long Beach in Long Beach, California, one week after the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at Laguna Seca. 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 COVID-19 pandemic.
Alexander Rossi was the previous race winner, having won the 2019 event.
Championship standings before the race Championship leader Álex Palou extended his lead over Pato O'Ward to a 35-point advantage, thanks to a second-place finish in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey. O'Ward remained second in the drivers' standings, after finishing fifth at the previous race. Josef Newgarden sat third, after finishing seventh at Laguna Seca. Fourth-placed Scott Dixon 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 had won their fourth consecutive Manufacturer's Cup in the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey over Chevrolet.
Entrants 28 drivers entered the race, with Charlie Kimball returning to run the No. 11 car for A. J. Foyt Enterprises, after his appearances at the GMR Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. KeyMeaningRookiePast winner DriverTeamEngine2 Josef NewgardenTeam PenskeChevrolet3 Scott McLaughlin Team PenskeChevrolet4 Dalton KellettA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet5 Patricio O'WardArrow McLaren SPChevrolet06 Hélio CastronevesMeyer Shank RacingHonda7 Felix RosenqvistArrow McLaren SPChevrolet8 Marcus EricssonChip Ganassi RacingHonda9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi RacingHonda10 Álex PalouChip Ganassi RacingHonda11 Charlie KimballA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet12 Will Power Team PenskeChevrolet14 Sébastien BourdaisA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet15 Graham RahalRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda18 Ed JonesDale Coyne Racing with Vasser-SullivanHonda20 Conor DalyEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet21 Rinus VeeKayEd Carpenter RacingChevrolet22 Simon Pagenaud Team PenskeChevrolet26 Colton HertaAndretti Autosport with Curb AgajanianHonda27 Alexander Rossi Andretti AutosportHonda28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti AutosportHonda29 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner AutosportHonda30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda45 Oliver AskewRahal Letterman Lanigan RacingHonda48 Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi RacingHonda51 Romain Grosjean Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware RacingHonda59 Max ChiltonCarlinChevrolet60 Jack HarveyMeyer Shank RacingHonda77 Callum Ilott Juncos Hollinger RacingChevrolet
Practice Practice 1 Practice 1 took place at 6:00 PM ET on September 24, 2021. Championship contenders Pato O'Ward and Josef Newgarden 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. Colton Herta finished fastest with a time of 01:09.2680. 2016 race winner Simon Pagenaud went second fastest, ahead of championship leader Álex Palou in third. +Top Practice SpeedsDriverTeamEngineLap Time126 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb AgajanianHonda01:09.2680222 Simon Pagenaud Team PenskeChevrolet01:09.4334310 Álex PalouChip Ganassi RacingHonda01:09.4554 Source:
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 placed second, ahead of James Hinchcliffe, who won the race in 2017, in third. +Top Practice SpeedsDriverTeamEngineLap Time126 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb AgajanianHonda01:07.9783212 Will Power Team PenskeChevrolet01:08.1277329 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner AutosportHonda01:08.2250 Source:
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. Will Power 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 Álex Palou and Pato O'Ward, 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 Josef Newgarden 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 in third.
Qualifying classification Driver Team Engine Time Round 1 Group 1 Group 2 1 2 Josef Newgarden Team Penske Chevrolet 01:08.5080N/A 01:08.5673 01:08.2241 1 2 9 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:08.5705N/A 01:08.3110 01:08.4422 2 3 06 Hélio Castroneves Meyer Shank Racing HondaN/A 01:08.6995 01:08.5561 01:08.4827 3 4 22 Simon Pagenaud Team Penske ChevroletN/A 01:08.6641 01:08.5307 01:08.6514 4 5 7 Felix Rosenqvist Arrow McLaren SP ChevroletN/A 01:08.6223 01:08.6294 01:08.7461 5 6 51 Romain Grosjean Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing HondaN/A 01:08.7144 01:08.1776 01:08.7577 6 7 29 James Hinchcliffe Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport HondaN/A 01:08.8436 01:08.7143N/A 7 8 5 Pato O'Ward Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet 01:08.7717N/A 01:08.8339N/A 8 9 18 Ed Jones Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan HondaN/A 01:08.8772 01:08.8797N/A 9 10 10 Álex Palou Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:08.7114N/A 01:08.9464N/A 10 11 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 01:08.8576N/A 01:09.1330N/A 11 12 2 Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 01:08.8509N/A 01:09.2279N/A 12 13 3 Scott McLaughlin Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:08.8611N/AN/AN/A 13 14 26 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb Agajanian HondaN/A 01:09.1094N/AN/A 14 15 27 Alexander Rossi Andretti Autosport Honda 01:08.9946N/AN/AN/A 15 16 30 Takuma Sato Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing HondaN/A 01:09.3814N/AN/A 16 17 8 Marcus Ericsson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:09.1368N/AN/AN/A 17 18 77 Callum Ilott Juncos Hollinger Racing ChevroletN/A 01:09.4360N/AN/A 18 19 15 Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 01:09.3998N/AN/AN/A 19 20 11 Charlie Kimball A. J. Foyt Enterprises ChevroletN/A 01:09.6793N/AN/A 20 21 20 Conor Daly Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 01:09.5816N/AN/AN/A 21 22 14 Sébastien Bourdais A. J. Foyt Enterprises ChevroletN/A 01:09.7022N/AN/A 22 23 59 Max Chilton Carlin Chevrolet 01:09.7525N/AN/AN/A 22 24 21 Rinus VeeKay Ed Carpenter Racing ChevroletN/A 01:09.7602N/AN/A 24 25 60 Jack Harvey Meyer Shank Racing Honda 01:10.4664N/AN/AN/A 25 26 4 Dalton Kellett A. J. Foyt Enterprises ChevroletN/A 01:09.9144N/AN/A 26 27 48 Jimmie Johnson Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 01:10.5127N/AN/AN/A 27 28 45 Oliver Askew Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing HondaN/A 01:10.0178N/AN/A 28 Source: 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, Alexander Rossi and Hélio Castroneves 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. Colton Herta topped the session with a time of 01:08.4762. Previous race winners Scott Dixon and Simon Pagenaud came second and third respectively. +Top Warmup SpeedsDriverTeamEngineLap Time126 Colton Herta Andretti Autosport with Curb AgajanianHonda01:08.476229 Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi RacingHonda01:08.6507322 Simon Pagenaud Team PenskeChevrolet01:08.8029 Source:
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 Pato O'Ward's No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP 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 experienced a puncture in his right rear tire after contact with Colton Herta, prompting Hunter-Reay to pit, and Sébastien Bourdais 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 Hélio Castroneves leading the pack. One lap later, another caution was triggered, which lasted four laps, as Marcus Ericsson crashed into the tire wall in Turn 1, after dueling with Alexander Rossi. On lap 34, Juncos Hollinger Racing's Callum Ilott 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 and Conor Daly 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.