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50th Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach, CA - April 13, 2025

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 ASTEMO CHEVROLET

START: 15TH  
FINISH: 27TH  
POINTS: 10TH (-64)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet team finished 27th in Sunday's Grand Prix of Long Beach, their day undone when a seatbelt issue forced an unscheduled pit stop just past the halfway point of the 90-lap event. After starting the race from the 15th position after getting held up on his qualifying lap, Newgarden made a strong move around the No. 9 of Scott Dixon on the opening lap before race strategist Tim Cindric called him down pit road on the second lap to remove the disadvantaged Firestone alternate compound tire. The early call to switch to the harder Firestone primary compound netted the 2022 Long Beach winner several positions through the first stint as he pushed his way inside the top 10 as he rode in the tire tracks of his teammate, Scott McLaughlin. Cindric called his driver down again on Lap 60 for a second round of pit stops when it was discovered that the belts on the No. 2 Chevrolet had loosened significantly. This forced Newgarden to come back down pit lane to tighten them, losing a lap in the process. As Newgarden worked to get back on the lead lap, the belts loosened again to force another trip down pit lane to drop another lap before the checkered flag. 

NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "That was one of the best cars I've had at Long Beach, no doubt and it is terrible to be talking about finishing in last place with it. The Astemo team executed extremely well today and did everything right. We were moving forward and to have this happen with the belts is just a punch in the gut. We have Barber next to get back on the right side of the momentum before the month of May." 

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 DEX IMAGING CHEVROLET

START: 6TH  
FINISH: 6TH  
POINTS: 8TH (-73)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet team nearly brought home a top-five finish in Sunday's 50th running of the Grand Prix of Long Beach before a late-race pass by teammate Will Power dropped them to sixth at the checkered flag. For the first time in his career, McLaughlin qualified for the Firestone Fast Six at Long Beach and led the Team Penske effort with a sixth place starting position. Like his teammates, McLaughlin also began the race on the Firestone alternate tires and quickly removed them on Lap 4 after fulfilling the mandatory usage requirement. He was unable to jump the competitors that started on the primary Firestone tire on this first round of stops, but McLaughlin was able to power around Scott Dixon following the second pit cycle to jump into the top five. Unfortunately for the No. 3 Chevy team that advance in positioning came from hitting pit lane a couple laps earlier than the field, resulting in McLaughlin needing to save fuel to make it into his final fuel window. As the laps wound down and drops of fuel became scarce, Power was able to make it past with plenty of fuel to spare to drop McLaughlin from the top five. 

MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS: "We were just locked out a little bit there early, and then getting caught up with some guys that came out of pit sequences and stuff like that. So, lost some track position where we were in a really good spot at the start, but it is what it is. I mean, that was the most solid race I've had at Long Beach for a long time. So, it's a P6 for me. I got a little bit of work before we come back here next year to be better. I feel like I've always had a couple of bad results to start the year. So, if we go to Barber with a formula we've had in the past, and have a win, we'll get ourselves right back in it and see where we're at. It's like big focus. I can't wait for it. Yeah, we're ready for that place."

WILL POWER No. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET

START: 13TH 
FINISH: 5TH 
POINTS: 9TH (-79)
 

RACE RUNDOWN: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team finished fifth in Sunday's Grand Prix of Long Beach, passing a double-digit number of competitors for the second race in a row after starting the race from the 13th position. Race strategist Ron Ruzewski called Power down pit lane on Lap 6 to swap the Firestone alternate rubber for the harder, primary compound. During the pit cycle, Power would gain two positions to place his No. 12 Chevrolet on the doorstep of the top 10. A front wing adjustment on the team's second pit stop of the day on Lap 36 continued to improve the handling on the No. 12 machine to put Power in a position to capitalize on McLaughlin's misfortune of having to save significant fuel to make it to the end of the 90-lap event. With less than 10 laps remaining, Power made the move around McLaughlin to score his second consecutive, top six finish of 2025. 

POWER'S THOUGHTS: "Very good day. Very good day. Just methodically getting to it, but it was methodical. I was driving very hard, biding my time, used up the perfect amount of push-to-pass in the race to finish it off on the last pass. Love those sorts of days. I didn't feel very good, to be honest. Felt sick. I could feel myself getting achy in the car but drove the crap out of it. Man, we have a good Verizon Chevy, we just have to start at the front. On days like this, get the points. Pretty cool we got a top five.”

The fourth round of the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season takes place Sunday, May 4 when the series heads to the beautiful Barber Motorsports Park just outside Birmingham, Alabama for the Children's of Alabama Indy Grand Prix. Coverage can be seen live at 1:30 pm ET on FOX.