IndyCar Return to Long Beach
The IndyCar season concluded at Long Beach last season, and the race did not disappoint. Colton Herta took home the win on his hometown course, but he was an afterthought in the race. Since it was the season’s final race, the NTT IndyCar Series title was on the line.
Alex Palou entered the race with a substantial lead in the series, and he delivered. Palou did what he needed to do to take home the title. Both drivers will be in the mix this weekend in Long Beach.
The weekend starts on Friday with an afternoon practice session. This will continue on Saturday, and then qualifying will occur. The green flag in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will wave at 3 p.m. ET.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, reports, and Motor Sports odds for IndyCar. We’ve plenty of IndyCar predictions for you to consider.
The Course
The most important thing for betting on racing is knowing the course and how drivers react. Team Andretti has dominated at the course in the past few years, with Herta taking home the title in 2021. There was no race in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, in 2018 and 2019, Alexander Rossi took home the title for Team Andretti. History tends to repeat itself in Long Beach, so I expect the Andretti cars to run strong.
The course is challenging because it’s short, but there are a lot of areas to gain speed. Some of the turns on the course have given drivers some trouble. However, it should be a fairly clean race on Sunday.
The IndyCar website describes the course as a “1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street circuit encircles the Long Beach Convention Center — which houses a Family Fun Zone and numerous displays during the race weekend — and runs down scenic Shoreline Drive. It offers numerous overtaking opportunities, including Turn 1, getting the hairpin turn just before the frontstretch right is critical.”
Early Season Results
There have been two races. One of the races took place on a street course similar to Long Beach. The other race was on an oval which was a totally different type of race. Jimmie Johnson had a tremendous race in the oval, but he is a non-factor on a street course. Keep this in mind when looking at IndyCar odds today.
Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske has been the hottest driver. He won the year’s first race and then finished second to his teammate Josef Newgarden at the Texas Motor Speedway.
McLaughlin won the 2021 Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year awards. He is a driver you should keep an eye on this weekend.
However, the Andretti cars have been strong in Long Beach, so the team of Herta, Rossi, and Grosjean. Grosjean is still looking for his first win in the sport, and Long Beach would be a likely fit.
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Information
- Game: Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
- Location: Long Beach Temporary Street Circuit
- Day/Time: Sunday, April 10th, 3 p.m. ET
- Live stream: indycar.com
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Betting Lines
| ODDS TO WIN INDY CAR ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH | MONEYLINE |
| Colton Herta | 500 |
| Scott McLaughlin | 600 |
| Josef Newgarden | 700 |
| Scott Dixon | 800 |
| Alex Palou | 800 |
| Patricio O’Ward | 800 |
| Will Power | 900 |
| Romain Grosjean | 1000 |
| Rinus Veekay | 1400 |
| Alexander Rossi | 1600 |
| Graham Rahal | 2000 |
| Kyle Kirkwood | 2500 |
| Felix Rosenqvist | 2800 |
| Simon Pagenaud | 2800 |
| Marcus Ericsson | 3300 |
| Helio Castroneves | 4000 |
| Callum Ilott | 6000 |
| Takuma Sato | 6000 |
| Jack Harvey | 6600 |
| Christian Lundgaard | 6600 |
| David Malukas | 6600 |
| Conor Daly | 10000 |
| Devlin Defrancesco | 10000 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 25000 |
| Dalton Kellett | 40000 |
| Tatiana Calderon | 40000 |
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Prediction
If you are looking to bet online, you cannot go wrong with a few drivers. Team Penske has looked the best this season, so I would examine McLaughlin and Newgarden. These two drivers have been tremendous this season through two races.
BETUS Sportsbook also has good odds for the Andretti drivers considering they have been so good at Long Beach. As much as I love Herta and Rossi, I have to go with Grosjean to earn the first victory of his IndyCar career.
