Felix Rosenqvist delivered a near‑perfect lap under late‑afternoon pressure to claim pole position for the 2026 IndyCar Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, edging out Pato O’Ward by just 0.044 seconds.
The Swede, driving the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, clocked a blistering 1m07.4635s in IndyCar’s first‑ever qualifying run under the new single‑car, single‑lap format for street‑circuit events, securing his seventh career pole and the first hard‑earned P1 for the MSR camp in Long Beach.
O’Ward attacked from the outset with his sector times matching or bettering Rosenqvist but a microsecond hesitation at Turn 10 dashed his hopes of pole position.
Alex Palou snagged the third spot on the grid despite a lock up heading into the final hairpin, beating defending race winner Kyle Kirkwood who lost time after a momentary slide at Turn 4 and another unsettled wobble at Turn 10, dropping his best lap to fourth.
David Malukas in the No. 26 Team Penske Chevy ended up fifth after several sideways moments during his run, as six-time IndyCar series champion Scott Dixon rounded out the Fast Six.
Will Power settled for seventh after he was bumped out of the final transfer spot by Dixon, and will start from the fourth row alongside Scott McLaughlin.
Kyffin Simpson hammered down a solid qualifying run for Chip Ganassi in ninth, while Graham Rahal took tenth ahead of Christian Lundgaard and Rinus VeeKay.
Full 2026 IndyCar Long Beach Qualifying Results and starting grid
| Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Time/Gap | Speed (MPH) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian | 01:07.4635 | 105.017 |
| 2 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren | 0.0441 | 104.948 |
| 3 | 10 | Alex Palou | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0.0654 | 104.915 |
| 4 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Andretti Global | 0.1564 | 104.774 |
| 5 | 12 | David Malukas | Team Penske | 0.1873 | 104.726 |
| 6 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0.3931 | 104.408 |
| 7 | 26 | Will Power | Andretti Global | 0.2716 | 104.935 |
| 8 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Team Penske | 0.3600 | 104.797 |
| 9 | 8 | Kyffin Simpson | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0.3730 | 104.777 |
| 10 | 15 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 0.4172 | 104.709 |
| 11 | 7 | Christian Lundgaard | Arrow McLaren | 0.4771 | 104.616 |
| 12 | 76 | Rinus VeeKay | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 0.4836 | 104.606 |
| 13 | 66 | Marcus Armstrong | Meyer Shank w/ Curb-Agajanian | 0.3018 | 104.540 |
| 14 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 0.2044 | 104.608 |
| 15 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | Andretti Global | 0.3825 | 104.416 |
| 16 | 21 | Christian Rasmussen | Ed Carpenter Racing | 0.3169 | 104.434 |
| 17 | 45 | Louis Foster | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 0.4333 | 104.338 |
| 18 | 20 | Alexander Rossi | Ed Carpenter Racing | 0.3526 | 104.379 |
| 19 | 19 | Dennis Hauger | Dale Coyne Racing | 0.7451 | 103.861 |
| 20 | 4 | Caio Collet | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 0.4052 | 104.298 |
| 21 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 0.7780 | 103.811 |
| 22 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 0.4110 | 104.289 |
| 23 | 18 | Romain Grosjean | Dale Coyne Racing | 1.0783 | 103.356 |
| 24 | 77 | Sting Ray Robb | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 0.7620 | 103.753 |
| 25 | 6 | Nolan Siegel | Arrow McLaren | 1.0867 | 103.262 |
READ MORE:
New IndyCar single-car Fast Six qualifying format confirmed for remaining street races
2026 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach schedule: Times, TV, streaming
