IndyCar Long Beach results and points standings: Colton Herta closed the 2021 season with his second consecutive victory, and Alex Palou clinched his first championship Sunday in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Unlike his other two victories this season (which came from the pole position at St. Petersburg and Laguna Seca), Herta charged from the 14th starting position after a surprising elimination in first-round qualifying. The native of nearby Santa Clarita, California, said his sixth career victory was his most special in IndyCar.
“This is the biggest race for me outside of (the Indy 500),” Herta said. “This is the first race I ever was able to come to; I was two weeks old when I first came to Long Beach. My father (Bryan, now his strategist) was driving in 2000. It was the only race I could go to because I was so young, and I couldn’t fly yet. Lucky enough that it came around.
YES YES YES! Win at home in Long Beach! Thank you to my team for everything, and an amazing cap on this year! #Gainbridge // #PoweredByHonda // #AllAndretti pic.twitter.com/bgIUnaIkwk
— Colton Herta (@ColtonHerta) September 27, 2021
“I remember growing up around here, coming to this race every year when I was 5, 6, 7, all the way up until I was racing in IndyCar in 2019. I can’t believe I won it on my second try. I’m super happy. This is a big one for me.”
Palou, who had three victories this season starting with the season opener at Barber Motorsports Park, became the first IndyCar champion from Spain.
“I’m happy to see that,” he said. “I’m happy to see the success here. It’s going to open some eyes in Spain, and more people (are) going to discover IndyCar. They are going to fall in love with it. That’s amazing. Exactly what we needed.”
The ride of @AlexPalou's life.
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) September 27, 2021
An unforgettable season for the @CGRTeams driver. Thanks for sticking with us all season long, @IndyCar fans! pic.twitter.com/fthK4LROWn
Here are the IndyCar results and points standings Sunday after the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach:
RESULTS
Click here for the box score from the 85-lap race on the streets of Long Beach. Click here for the lap leader chart.
Here is the finishing order in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach with starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out:
1. (14) Colton Herta, Honda, 85, Running
2. (1) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
3. (2) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
4. (10) Alex Palou, Honda, 85, Running
5. (4) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 85, Running
6. (15) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 85, Running
7. (25) Jack Harvey, Honda, 85, Running
8. (22) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 85, Running
9. (16) Takuma Sato, Honda, 85, Running
10. (12) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
11. (13) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 85, Running
12. (9) Ed Jones, Honda, 85, Running
13. (5) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevrolet, 85, Running
14. (7) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 85, Running
15. (23) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 85, Running
16. (19) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
17. (27) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 85, Running
18. (20) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 85, Running
19. (26) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 85, Running
20. (3) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 85, Running
21. (21) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 84, Running
22. (28) Oliver Askew, Honda, 83, Running
23. (11) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 83, Running
24. (6) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 75, Contact
25. (24) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 48, Mechanical
26. (18) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 47, Mechanical
27. (8) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 43, Contact
28. (17) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 25, Contact
Winner’s average speed: 91.935 mph; Time of race: 1:49:10.3764; Margin of victory: 0.5883 seconds; Cautions: 4 for 13 laps; Lead changes: 7 among 7 drivers; Lap leaders: Newgarden 1-18; Castroneves 19-33; Herta 34-54; Dixon 55; Harvey 56; Askew 57-59; Rahal 60-63; Herta 64-85.
POINTS
Click here for the points tally in Sunday’s race.
Through 16 races, here are the final points standings for:
Top 10 in the standings: Palou 549, Newgarden 511, O’Ward 487, Dixon 481, Herta 455, Ericsson 435, Rahal 389, Pagenaud 383, Power 357, Rossi 332