The third round of both the IMSA and IndyCar championships, the 2024 edition of the Long Beach Grand Prix, had many storylines leading into it. Porsche took home a monumental victory at the 2024 Daytona 24h, and Wayne Taylor Racing brought their Acura to victory in Sebring. Cadillac, still left winless since last year’s race in Monterey, was extra hungry for a victory. The 01 Chip Ganassi Cadillac however, broke its curse, securing the victory.
On the open wheel side, the series sweetheart Josef Newgarden and team Penske lost the championship lead after a cheating scandal at the series opener in St Petersberg. Although Josef had a fast car, and was ready to prove to the world that he wasn’t a cheater, but a fantastic driver, lost out on the race win when Colton Herta kicked his rear end up causing Josef’s car to stall out through the hairpin. Throughout the chaos, one Scott Dixon drove away into the distance to a dominant victory.
The fantastic part of Long Beach is that HMSA brings out some historic race cars every year. This year, historic IndyCar, a seldom seen class due to how few people know how to run these engines. Despite this, some legendary cars showed up to party such as the Parnelli Jones X Wing, Bourdais’ dominant 2008 Champ Car, Fittipaldis ‘87 car, and some of Rutherfords McLarens.
As Always, I had a blast shooting this race even from a spectators perspective. As it becomes increasingly difficult to shoot as one (due to overzealous security staff) it forces you to experiment and find ways to work around limitations.
The racing was good, the photos were good, the vibes were good and its always fun seeing my friends trackside.