2024 Acura Grand Prix Odds: Favorites, sleepers for IndyCar in Long Beach

The 2024 IndyCar season is back in championship action after a one-off race at the Thermal Club. Defending IndyCar champion Álex Palou won from pole position in a dominant showing early on in the season. This week, the IndyCar grid returns to a familiar street course: Long Beach. And the 2024 Acura Grand Prix Odds give Palou a slight edge this time around.

2024 Acura Grand Prix Odds: Favorites in Long Beach

Álex Palou (+400)

Palou leads the odds after that dominant win in Thermal. He’s never won in Long Beach GP but has a strong track record there. Three career races have yielded three top-five finishes and a combined 24 laps led. He’s consistently raced well in street courses; 17 career races in that format have seen him average sixth place. He has just one career IndyCar win on street courses, though, with a dominant run in Detroit last year. There’s no reason to think he won’t contend for a win again.

Pato O’Ward (+450)

O’Ward finished second in the season opener in St. Petersburg for the second consecutive year. He didn’t qualify for the race in Thermal, so there’s just one race on his resume this season. Unfortunately, Long Beach is one of his worst tracks on the IndyCar schedule.

It’s his worst average finish (15th) on any track he’s raced on at least twice. He has just one top-10 result—fifth in 2022—and finished a lap down last year. O’Ward needs to bank a win sooner rather than later to establish his championship hopes, but it may not be this weekend.

Kyle Kirkwood (+550)

Kirkwood earned his first pole position in IndyCar qualifying and race win at this event last year. It preceded strong results in multiple street courses that season, including top-10 finishes in Detroit and Nashville. He started 2024 off with 12th place in St. Petersburg and will look to improve this weekend.

Even before his win from the pole last year, Kirkwood had a solid run in Long Beach in 2022, from 12th on the grid to 10th by the chequered flag. In his short career at this level, his best IndyCar results routinely have come at street courses. The last driver to win consecutive races at Long Beach was Alexander Rossi in 2018-19. Kirkwood could be the next one to do it.

Josef Newgarden (+650)

The championship leader took a dominant win from pole position in St. Petersburg and followed it with eighth place in Thermal. He’s in good form to start 2024 after fading away from the championship fight last season.

Newgarden’s been consistent in Long Beach lately. He’s finished in the top 10 in each of the last eight races there, including a win in 2022. Last year was one of his below-average results – ninth after starting eighth on the grid – but he already has a street course win under his belt in 2024. He should be strongly considered for the race win.

Colton Herta (+750)

Herta’s already off to one of his best starts in his IndyCar career, with fifth in St. Petersburg and fourth in Thermal. That marks his best average results over the opening two rounds since his rookie year in 2019.

Long Beach is Herta’s home race, and the Santa Clarita native is usually a strong performer there. He won this race in 2021 and led the most laps. Last year, his fourth-place finish in Long Beach was one of just three top-five results of the year. The potential is there, and he already looks in good shape to start the year. It would be a surprise if he wasn’t fighting for a win or at least near the front.

2024 Acura Grand Prix Odds: Sleeper picks

Scott McLaughlin (+1200)

McLaughlin’s been the best IndyCar driver on the grid in 2024. He’s the only one with two podium results with third in St. Petersburg and second in Thermal. His track record is solid but unspectacular in Long Beach, with 11th in 2021, 14th in 2022, and 10th in 2023. This is more of a bet on his recent form than his history at this event.

Scott Dixon (+1400)

When in doubt, go for one of the most accomplished drivers on the grid. A mechanical failure last year ended an incredible run of consistency in Long Beach. From 2015 through 2022, Dixon finished in the top 10 all but one time and won the race in 2015. Dixon typically races better on road courses than street courses, but it would be unwise to rule him out of contention.

Alexander Rossi (+2000)

Sleepers with multiple wins at this track are always a strong bet for a flyer. Rossi won this event in 2018 and 2019 but hasn’t found the same success since then. He finished 22nd last year, eighth in 2022, and sixth in 2021. It’d be a change from that run, but he’s off to a good start in 2024. Eighth in St. Petersburg and seventh in Thermal give confidence that he can race well this weekend.

2024 Acura Grand Prix Odds: Predictions

The Long Beach street circuit is a fixture of the IndyCar races calendar and gives fans an exciting spectacle in close quarters. Passing will be tough but not impossible for the drivers, and qualifying will be especially important.

Of the favorites, we like Herta to break through in his hometown race with great IndyCar odds. Of the sleepers, we like McLaughlin but Rossi’s a great option for an even better payout.

For IndyCar news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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