Honda Power Wins the 2024 Long Beach Grand Prix

IndyCar legend Scott Dixon uses a daring fuel strategy to win his 57th on the streets of Long Beach, California.

The Long Beach Grand Prix is a bonafide holiday here at Honda–Tech, right up there with Christmas and the Independence Day. The streets of Long Beach, California get transformed into a race track, and we get to watch thoroughbred racing machines run the roads we commute on every day.

It’s about as cool as motorsports gets, which is saying a lot. If you’re a fan of IndyCar racing (and you should be), you know that Honda and Chevrolet face off each race weekend. Penske is a dominant force in the series in their Chevrolet-powered machines.

This past weekend, we were lucky enough to see a Honda-powered car triumph over two Penske machines to take the checkered flag. Scott Dixon executed an expert fuel-saving strategy this past weekend. That strategy, combined with some bad luck for Josef Newgarden and Will Power, guaranteed Dixon’s 57th career IndyCar win.

Dixon has two decades of experience in IndyCar. That experience allowed him to stretch his fuel for 34 laps at the end, when it really mattered. His competitors were awestruck – nobody does it quite like Dixon.

Hard Fought on Fuel

Towards the end of the run, it seemed like Newgarden could make a run to lead the race. However, a charging Colton Herta ended his hopes with a bump in the hairpin at Turn 11. Herta finished 2nd, while Newgarden finished 4th.

Earlier in the race, Will Power, who had started outside pole, seemed poised to win, but slipped back and finished 6th. In the end, a Honda took home the trophy. With Colton Herta and Alex Palou finishing second and third, it was an all-Honda podium.

Dixon is currently second in championship points behind Newgarden. Dixon has won the championship six times, most recently in 2020. Sunday’s win extends his streak to twenty season with at least one win.

The series is poised for an incredible championship battle, as well a battle at the legendary Indy 500. Both Newgarden and Dixon have won the coveted Borg-Warner Trophy.

As much as we love Indianapolis, nothing beats the sound of twin-turbo Honda V6 engines screaming past us on the same roads we travel to buy groceries. If you’ve got the chance to go to an IndyCar race near you, you should jump on the opportunity. You won’t regret it.

Photos: Derin Richardson

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Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.
When he's not busy working on his Harley-Davidson bike, the vastly experienced writer has covered an array of features, reviews, how-tos, op-eds and news stories for Internet Brands' Auto Group and is also a co-founder and co-host of the popular podcast Cammed & Tubbed.

Check him out on Instagram at: Camvanderhorst.

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