Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: While it feels as though the new IndyCar season started ages ago, we are in fact just 2 races into the new season, with only one of those races actually counting toward the championship points total
MyBookie Best IndyCar Series Betting Site | Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
That is the way in which IndyCar works, though, as we sometimes have a few weeks between races over the course of the season.
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach: While it feels as though the new IndyCar season started ages ago, we are in fact just 2 races into the new season, with only one of those races actually counting toward the championship points total
MyBookie Best IndyCar Series Betting Site | Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
That is the way in which IndyCar works, though, as we sometimes have a few weeks between races over the course of the season. Combine that with the fact that the 2nd race on the schedule was a big-money, non-points affair, and we are basically heading into the 2nd official weekend of the season. The upcoming race, which is set for Sunday afternoon at 3 PM EST, is the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. It will be good to see points up for grabs again, so with that in mind, let’s look at some of the drivers who might be in position to pick up a win.
Josef Newgarden +790
As we already mentioned, there has been only one race that counts toward the points total this season, and it was Newgarden who came out on top in that one. He will almost certainly feel as though he has something to prove this season. While finishing 5th overall is certainly not a bad performance, it is well below the bar that he has set for himself. Prior to that showing last year, Newgarden had a championship and 3 3nd place finishes to his name in the 4 years prior, so 5th certainly does feel like a step down. He did not have a great run in Long Beach last season, but he won there in 2022, so look out this weekend.
For some, the championship crown can feel heavy on the head, which is perhaps how it looked to fans when Palou finished out of the top 5 in St, Peterburg in Week 1 after winning his 2nd World Championship last season. It is worth noting, though, that he has a worse showing in that race in 2022, when he went on to become the champion, so perhaps we should not read anything into it. Combine that with the fact that he won the Thermal event in the last race weekend, and you get the sense that there is nothing to worry about. Palou finished in the top 5 in each of the last 2 runs in Long Beach.
During his 4 years racing in IndyCar, O’Ward has been consistently good without ever really threatening to win it all. There is a sense, though, that better things are coming, so why not this season? O’Ward saw his season get off to a very good start with a 2nd place finish in St. Petersburg, and while he did not qualify for the Thermal event, that means little in the grand scheme of things. He did not perform that well in Long Beach last season, failing to crack the top 10, but he ran 5th the year prior. I think a top 5 finish is worth a look here.
This is another driver that has been knocking on the championship door over the last couple of seasons and given the start that he has made to this season, he could prove to be a major player in 2024. McLaughlin landed on the podium in the opening race of the season and followed that up with another podium finish at the Thermal event. He landed in the top 10 in Long Beach last season, but I think we can expect a better finish this time around.
When: Sunday, April 21 at 3:00pm ET Where: Streets of Long Beach TV / Streaming: USA Network, Peacock Practice 1: Friday, April 19, 5:50 pm – 7:05 pm ET Practice 1: Saturday, April 20, 11:25 am – 12:25 pm ET Qualifications – Round 1 Group 1: Saturday, April 20, 2:25 pm – 2:35 pm ET Qualifications – Round 1 Group 2: Saturday, April 20, 2:50 pm – 3:00 pm ET Qualifications – Round 2: Saturday, April 20, 3:15 pm – 3:25 pm ET Qualifications – Firestone Fast 6: Saturday, April 20, 3:40 pm – 3:55 pm ET Warmup: Sunday, April 21, 12:00 pm ET – 12:30 pm ET Race: Sunday, April 21, 3:30 pm ET
2024 IndyCar Full Schedule
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Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Alabama
April 28
5
Sonsio Grand Prix
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Speedway, Indiana
May 11
6
108th Running of the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
May 26
7
Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix
Streets of Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
June 2
8
Grand Prix of Road America
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
June 9
9
Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, California
June 23
10
Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington, Ohio
July 7
11
Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend Race 1
Iowa Speedway
Newton, Iowa
July 13
12
Hy-Vee Indycar Race Weekend Race 2
July 14
13
Honda Indy Toronto
Exhibition Place
Toronto, Ontario
July 21
14
Bommarito Automotive Group 500
World Wide Technology Raceway
Madison, Illinois
August 17
15
BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland
Portland International Raceway
Portland, Oregon
August 25
16
Milwaukee Mile Race 1
Milwaukee Mile
West Allis, Wisconsin
August 31
17
Milwaukee Mile Race 2
September 1
18
Big Machine Music City Grand Prix
Nashville Street Circuit
Nashville, Tennessee
September 15
I have read enough, I need to place my bet now. What to do?
We are just two races into the new IndyCar season, so you would certainly expect things to still be tight at the top, which they indeed are. That said, it is some very familiar faces sitting atop the driver standings at the moment, which tells us that we might be in for another great championship battle this season, which seems to be the case every single year. Where F1 and other motor sports seem to have 1 or 2 dominant drivers, IndyCar has a bunch who could potentially win it all every season. As we head to Long Beach for the 3rd race of the season, which is set to go this Sunday afternoon, we are going to take a moment to look at the current drivers sitting at the top of the standings, so you can bet against the IndyCar odds.
IndyCar Betting Analysis and Prediction for Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach | IndyCar Odds
When: Sunday, April 16 at 4:00 pm ET Where: Long Beach TV / Streaming: NBC, Peacock
Pato O’Ward
For a couple of seasons, O’Ward got himself on the brink of a championship, only to come up a little short both times. Last season, he was never really in the hunt, finishing 7th overall in what was a truly disappointing season. It looks as though he may have already shaken that off, though, as he is out to a fast start in 2023, finishing 2nd in both races to this point, which is good enough to have him on top of the driver standings. He is still looking for that elusive first win of the year, but given that he finished 5th in Long Beach last year in a down season, he might be one to watch on Sunday.
Marcus Ericsson
After a breakout 2021 season, where he finished 6th overall and won a couple of races, Ericsson made the next big step forward last year by winning the Indianapolis 500. The extra points gathered by winning the biggest race of all kept him at or near the top of the standings for most of the season, but he failed to build on that momentum, slowly slipping down the standings to once again finish 6th for the second straight season. Ericsson did not have to wait for his first win of the season this year, getting it in the opening race of the season.
Scott Dixon
With 6 world championships under his belt, you cannot deny that Dixon is one of the best drivers ever to hit the track in IndyCar. Even when he doesn’t win it all, he always seems to be in the hunt all the way to the finish, running 4th and 3rd overall in the last 2 seasons. He is in a familiar spot after the first 2 races of the year, sitting in 3rd in the driver standings. He ran 5th in Texas in the previous race after a podium finish in Round 1. In this corresponding race in 2022, Dixon ended up finishing 6th.
Josef Newgarden
There has to be some level of frustration for Newgarden, as he has finished 2nd overall in each of the last 3 seasons, something that will certainly not sit well with a 2-time champion. Newgarden has made a habit of having a poor run in the opening race of the season, which he did again this year, only to bounce back quickly. He did that with a win in the second race of the year, and he may be set to win again, just as he did last year on the Long Beach circuit.
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