‘My God, we needed this so bad’: Andretti delivers powerful rebound in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, California – The lasting impression of Andretti Autosport after the IndyCar season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 5 was from a camera on the team’s pit stand that showed team owner Michael Andretti dealing with a series of frustrations.

Whether it was Devlin DeFrancesco going airborne in the infamous first-lap crash in Turn 3 to Kyle Kirkwood also going airborne over Jack Harvey in a multicar crash in Turn 4 on Lap 41, each time the camera caught Andretti reacting in frustration.

But wait, there’s more.

FIRST-TIME WINNER: Kyle Kirkwood wins Long Beach

FULL STATS PACKAGE: Results and points from Long Beach

Colton Herta hit the tire barriers on Lap 50 — leaving pole-sitter Romain Grosjean as Andretti Autosport’s last hope of saving the day for the team.

But then Grosjean got caught in a side-by-side battle with Scott McLaughlin for the lead, the two cars touched, and both ended up in the Turn 4 tire barrier.

The lasting memory of that race for Andretti Autosport was Michael Andretti pounding his fist onto the counter of the timing stand, taking off his headset and slamming it on the counter.

Four cars, four crashes and an “Oh-for-Four” performance to start off the season.

Six weeks later, Andretti Autosport achieved redemption on the streets of Long Beach.

Kirkwood started on the pole and drove to his first career NTT IndyCar Series victory, leading 53 laps to win in his third IndyCar start for Andretti Autosport.

Grosjean was 0.9907 seconds behind as the runner-up in a 1-2 sweep for Andretti Autosport.

The team also claimed three of the top four positions as Herta took fourth, just behind Chip Ganassi Racing driver and NTT IndyCar Series points leader Marcus Ericsson.

When the 48th