Jack Harvey’s car will appropriately feature Acura branding for this weekend’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, marking the return of Acura colors to Indy car racing for the first time since 1994. The one-off design for the No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda celebrates the start of Acura’s tenure as title sponsor of the iconic NTT IndyCar Series race.
ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH: Entry list
In place of the usual Honda logo on the engine cover and “Circle H” Honda badge logo on the car’s nose, the Meyer Shank Racing with Arrow SPM entry will carry Acura branding on the engine cover and rear wing endplates, with the “Caliper A” logo on the nose and upper front-wing elements.
“Given our long-running, successful relationship with Meyer Shank Racing in sports-car competition, it seemed only natural to mark our first year as title sponsor of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach by extending our brand to the MSR Indy car,” said Jon Ikeda, Acura vice president and brand officer.
The only previous time Acura was featured on an Indy car entry was in 1994, when the division served as primary sponsor of the Comptech Racing Lola/Honda driven by Parker Johnstone (shown at right). The car took part in six Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) events that season.
In addition to its NTT IndyCar Series program, Meyer Shank Racing fields a pair of Acura NSX GT3 Evos in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and has scored four class victories and two poles in the highly-competitive GTD category since 2017.
"We’ve had a great history for four years now with Acura and we couldn’t be more proud to represent them on the NSX side in IMSA, and now we can do a little something for them at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in INDYCAR,” said Michael Shank, MSR team co-owner. “This is really just a proud moment in my time, I think it’s great."
Free ‘victory taco’ for fans if Herta wins at Long Beach
Long-time Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach sponsor King Taco will serve as a primary sponsor this weekend on Colton Herta’s No. 88 Harding Steinbrenner Racing Honda and offer fans a free “victory taco” if Herta wins the NTT IndyCar Series race Sunday on the Southern California street circuit.
Should Herta, a native of Valencia, California, win, fans may bring their race-day ticket stub into any participating King Taco location in Southern California and present it to receive a free free taco until April 30.
“Super happy to have King Taco on board for Long Beach as a primary sponsor for the No. 88 Indy car,” said Herta, whose family has a tradition of celebrating race wins by dining on tacos. “King Taco has always supported the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and INDYCAR as a whole. Their tacos are amazing, and being from Los Angeles … I know what a street taco should taste like!”
Herta and Al Unser Jr., the six-time Long Beach winner who will be the honorary starter for Sunday's race, will appear at the King Taco at 1841 Long Beach Blvd. in Long Beach at 2 p.m. ET Thursday to kick off the promotion by signing autographs.