Nick Yelloly’s 1:11.626-second lap around the streets of Long Beach was the fastest of anyone’s qualifying session on Friday. It was precise, committed, and just enough — by three hundredths of a second — to deny Marco Wittmann and the WRT BMW the top spot for Saturday’s 100-minute IMSA sprint race.
It was also set on a day when questions about whether Acura will even continue racing in IMSA hung in the air like Southern California smog.
Yelloly’s pole in the #93 Acura ARX-06 is Meyer Shank Racing’s second of the 2026 season and Acura’s first at Long Beach since 2023. The car wore a special blue and orange livery honoring Phillips 66’s 76 brand, part of a California swing that continues at Laguna Seca in two weeks. The timing is conspicuous: Acura is celebrating 40 years as a brand, yet the celebration arrives wrapped in uncertainty about how many more IMSA seasons will follow.
Yelloly was the first driver to break the 1:12 barrier, posting a provisional 1:11.756 before finding another tenth on his final flyer. Wittmann’s response in the #25 BMW came after the checkered flag — a 1:11.656 that fell agonizingly short. Louis Delétraz put the #40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac third, separated from fourth-place Jack Aitken’s sister Cadillac by just eleven thousandths.
The factory Porsche 963s, recently hit with Balance of Performance adjustments, still showed teeth. Julien Andlauer qualified the #7 Penske entry fifth, while Dries Vanthoor managed sixth in the #24 WRT BMW despite going off track twice. Ross Gunn slotted the Aston Martin Valkyrie seventh — a quiet but notable result for the THOR Team program still finding its feet among established heavyweights.
The other MSR Acura had a miserable day. The #60 car crashed in Practice 2 hard enough to require a swap to a backup chassis, which meant Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun never turned a qualifying lap. They’ll start 11th in class, buried at the back of the GTP field for a race where track position on a street circuit is almost everything.
In GTD, the story nearly belonged to Robert Wickens. The Canadian, now in his second season with DXDT Racing after his remarkable return to racing, held provisional pole on his final lap with a 1:18.562 in the Corvette Z06 GT3.R. It lasted seconds. Frankie Montecalvo snatched it away with a 1:18.411 in the Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 — the team’s third consecutive Long Beach GTD pole.
That Montecalvo pulled it off despite losing five minutes at the start of the session for a torque sensor compliance issue makes the lap even more impressive. Wickens will start from the front row regardless, a strong position on a circuit where overtaking opportunities are scarce. Danny Formal qualified the Wayne Taylor Lamborghini third, with super-sub Spencer Pumpelly an impressive fourth in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin alongside championship leader Eduardo Barrichello.
The session’s lowlight belonged to Orey Fidani, who spun his Autosport Corvette at Turn 11, then drove the wrong way on a live street circuit to turn around. IMSA parked him for the remainder of qualifying. He’ll start from the back.
Acura hasn’t won at Long Beach since returning to prototype racing in 2018. Eight years, title sponsorship of the event, and zero victories at their home race. Yelloly’s pole gives them the best possible shot at ending that drought in a 100-minute sprint where starting first matters enormously.
Whether it becomes a celebration or a bittersweet footnote depends on what happens at 1:05 PM Pacific on Saturday — and on whatever decisions are being made about Acura’s IMSA commitment behind closed doors. The pole lap was spectacular. The context surrounding it is complicated. That’s where Acura lives right now: fast on track, uncertain about everything else.
Share this Story