Kyle Kirkwood earned his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES victory after grabbing his first NTT P1 Award last weekend at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, but those were just two of the interesting statistics surrounding this year’s version of this prestigious Southern California street race.
A look behind the numbers:
1: The number of career victories and poles for Kyle Kirkwood after winning Sunday at Long Beach after earning the NTT P1 Award on Saturday.
1-2: Andretti Autosport finished first and second at this event with Kyle Kirkwood and Romain Grosjean, the team’s first 1-2 finish since Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay went 1-2-3 in September 2020 in the second race of the weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
3: Kyle Kirkwood became just the third pole sitter to win this event since 2008, joining Alexander Rossi in 2018 and 2019.
5: Honda-powered drivers swept the top five spots in this race – Kyle Kirkwood, Romain Grosjean, Marcus Ericsson, Colton Herta and Alex Palou. Reigning series champion Will Power finished sixth as the first driver with a Chevrolet engine.
7: Scott Dixon finished last in an INDYCAR SERIES race for just the seventh time in 370 starts during his legendary career. That’s less than 2 percent of his career starts.
10: Kyle Kirkwood’s previous-best finish before winning at Long Beach was 10th last year at the same event during his rookie season driving for AJ Foyt Racing.
12: The number of positions gained from start to finish by Graham Rahal, more than any other driver in the race. Rahal started 24th and finished 12th.
15: Spots Kyle Kirkwood climbed in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings after his victory. Kirkwood left Long Beach in fifth place after entering Southern California in 20th.
15: Marcus Ericsson’s lead in points over Pato O’Ward in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings after this event. Ericsson regained the lead after finishing third, while previous leader O’Ward placed 17th.
15: The number of drivers with at least one INDYCAR SERIES victory who will race Sunday, April 30 at the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix at Barber Motorsports Park, a number boosted by one due to Kirkwood’s victory at Long Beach.
253: On-track passes at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, the most at this event since INDYCAR started tracking this statistic in 2009.
190,000: The estimated three-day attendance for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach this year, one of the most successful weekends in the event’s 39-year history of hosting NTT INDYCAR SERIES races.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads next to Barber Motorsports Park for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix on Sunday, April 30. Live coverage starts at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE! and the INDYCAR Radio Network.