Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach wraps up Sunday with IndyCar’s 90-lap main event on a 1.968-mile temporary street circuit around the Long Beach Convention Center. (indycar.com) The 2026 race weekend runs April 17 to 19, with spectator gates opening at 7:30 a.m. Sunday and the command to start engines scheduled for 2:40 p.m. before the 2:45 p.m. green flag. (gplb.com) Long Beach is not a one-race ticket. The same weekend includes the IMSA SportsCar Grand Prix, Stadium Super Trucks, Porsche Carrera Cup North America and the Historic Sports Car Challenge, plus autograph sessions and a free AAA Travel Lifestyle Expo inside the event grounds. (gplb.com 1) (gplb.com 2) The headliner is IndyCar, North America’s top open-wheel series, where single-seat cars race on road courses, ovals and street circuits. At Long Beach, organizers say those cars reach about 185 miles per hour on Shoreline Drive before braking into the first turn. (indycar.com) (gplb.com) That street course is part of why Long Beach stands apart. IndyCar lists 11 turns and 177.12 total race miles, with passing chances into Turn 1 and a tight hairpin leading back to the frontstretch. (indycar.com) This year is the event’s 50th edition, a milestone that follows Penske Entertainment’s November 14, 2024 acquisition of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. Penske said the purchase would bring more investment to the race weekend and its fan experience. (indycar.com) The grand prix has been running since 1975 and began as a Formula 5000 race before switching to Formula One in 1976. The event site calls it the longest-running major street race in North America. (gplb.com 1) (gplb.com 2) Tickets span from $58 for Friday general admission to $151 for three-day general admission, while Sunday reserved seats start at $127 and run to $144 with fees included. The ticket office also lists a 10% military discount and a 10% group discount for orders of 25 or more. (gplb.com) The weekend also doubles as a waterfront festival. Friday’s concert bill listed Lupe Fiasco, while Saturday’s featured Kings of Chaos with Ed Kowalczyk, Nick Hexum and Aloe Blacc, all included for that day’s ticket holders on a first-come basis. (gplb.com) (gplb.com) By late afternoon Sunday, Long Beach gets what it has staged for five decades: fast cars between concrete walls, packed grandstands along Shoreline Drive and one more winner added to the race’s history. (gplb.com) (indycar.com)