The Associated Press reported that Kyle Kirkwood claimed his first career IndyCar win at the Long Beach street course race, giving Andretti Autosport a 1-2 finish. Teammate Romain Grosjean finished second and Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing came in third. Kirkwood led the race to win after his teammate Romain Grosjean was protecting him from Ericsson at the end. The race was a significant milestone for Kirkwood, who won his first pole position and then proceeded to get his first career victory. The victory was also crucial for Andretti Autosport, which had a frustrating start to the season, with all four of their drivers crashing out of the race at last month’s season-opener. Michael Andretti, the team owner, had faith in Kirkwood, and two weeks ago, he made a personnel change to move Bryan Herta to Kirkwood’s timing stand as strategist.
