Qualifying for the Long Beach Grand Prix’s IndyCar race will be held Saturday after Australian Will Power turned in the fastest practice time.
Power had Friday’s top lap of 1 minute, 7.6053 seconds in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda of Andretti Global on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street circuit surrounding the Long Beach Convention Center.
“On the reds, the car was very good,” Power said, referring to the Firestone alternate tires. “We still have things to improve but looking good.”
The two-time Long Beach champion also had the fastest practice time last year, but was not able replicate that success in qualifying, failing to advance past the first of three rounds and started 13th in the 27-car grid. He finished fifth in the race.
New Zealander Scott McLaughlin, had the second-fastest practice time, 1:07.7914 in the No. 3 AAA Travel Team Penske Chevrolet. American Kyle Kirkwood had the third-fastest, 1:07.9861. Kirkwood was the pole-winner and race-winner in 2023 and 2025.
Another practice session will be held from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, with qualifying set from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
The practice session will be televised by FS1 and the qualifying by FS2.
There will be four races run Saturday.
The Historic Sports Car Challenge with American muscle cars that raced from the 1970s through 1991 will begin at 8:30 a.m. The Porsche Carrera Cup race will follow at 9:05 a.m. with identical road car-based Porsche 911 Cup cars competing.
An IMSA sports car race is set to begin at 1 p.m. A Stadium Super Trucks race is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Myles Cheek will start from the pole, Max Gordon, the 17-year-old son of series founder Robby Gordon, second and Robby Gordon third.
The second and final part of the drifting competition is set to start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
In drifting, drivers intentionally maneuver their cars into controlled sideways slides at high speeds through a marked course, with a judging panel determining the winner based on execution and style.
A concert by the international hard rock supergroup Kings of Chaos, including Aloe Blacc, is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on the Terrace Plaza outside the Long Beach Convention Center and is free to Saturday race ticket holders.
Autograph sessions will be conducted by IMSA drivers from 10:30 to 11 a.m. in the IMSA Paddock and by Porsche Carrera Cup drivers from 11:45 a.m to 12:15 a.m. in the Porsche Carrera Cup Paddock in the Main Expo Hall.