How INDYCAR drivers navigate the Grand Prix of Long Beach's unique 11-turn track

In Driver's Eye with James Hinchcliffe , the six-time INDYCAR winner will bring you inside the mind of a racer while breaking down the nuts and bolts of the sport for fans.

I am itching to get back to the track, and I don't think I'm alone in feeling that way after INDYCAR's two-week break (decidedly not a vacation, though). And what a track we are going to…

The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is the fifth stop for INDYCAR this season, and it is easily near the very top of the best race weekends of the year. 

In Southern California, it’s one of the longest-running races we have, and, after the Indianapolis 500, has to be at the top of the list of races drivers want to win the most. That is in equal parts because of the decades of history, the incredible crowds and atmosphere and the unique challenges of the race track itself. 

Runner-up Sebastien Bourdais pours champagne on race winner James Hinchcliffe after the 2017 Grand Prix of Long Beach.  (Photo by Brian Cleary/Getty Images)

I was fortunate enough to have a lot of success at Long Beach. There, I got my first Indy NXT (then called Indy Lights) pole position and win, my first INDYCAR top-5 finish and podium, and I managed to take the checkered flag back in 2017. That win stands as one of the biggest of my career because of the status that this race holds in motorsports world.

That said, let’s talk about what makes this track so much fun for drivers.

Long Beach has a lot of unique qualities for a street track. Yes, it has walls, bumps and surface changes, which we see on pretty much all street courses. But there are a few standout attributes that make it different — and difficult — from behind the wheel.

First, you have a decent amount of elevation for a