Long Beach, California - Long Beach Street Circuit

--NBC Broadcast--

"One of the crown jewels of open wheel racing is here. Welcome to NBC's coverage of the 49th Annual Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach."

The picture then cut to the same 3 commentators from St. Petersburg.

"Hi folks, Leigh Diffey here, alongside Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Guys, we are here at one of the crown jewels of the IndyCar schedule, Long Beach. How excited are you?"

"Well Leigh, this is one race other than the Indy 500 that you REALLY want to win. There's a long history with Long Beach, lots of big names have one this race, and it's one of the most iconic street circuits in the country."

"Yeah, you said it, Townsend. Long Beach is the oldest street circuit in the United States right now. It's hosted Formula 1, IMSA, Formula E, and now IndyCar."

"We want to get to some massive breaking news that just came this morning. Josef Newgarden has had his win in St. Pete taken away from him. IndyCar officials have disqualified ALL 3 Penske cars from the St. Petersburg Grand Prix and given Team Penske a MASSIVE penalty for manipulating the push-to-pass system. Which now means Pato O'Ward is the winner of the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Guys, what do you think of this?"

"Well, this is DISASTROUS for Josef Newgarden as it takes him out of the points lead."

"What makes this confusing is that Penske decided to not appeal the penalty despite the fact that the St. Pete was less than 45 days ago."

"Well, Marty Snyder is standing by with the captain to learn more. Marty?"

As the drivers got into their cars, Rara looked around her. Unlike St. Petersburg, where the track was mostly run around a marina and an airport, this street course appeared to be in the middle of Downtown, meaning that many buildings surrounded the track. "If this happens yearly, then how do the public get used to dealing with some of their main streets being closed off?" She asked herself.

"DRIVERS, START YOUR ENGINES!!!"

Rara brought herself out of her thoughts as 28 cars fired up in the pit lane. She sat down and watched as Mike's car rolled off with all of the others.

--NBC Broadcast--

Leigh Diffey: "Last year was Will Power's first year in 17 years that he hadn't won a race, at least a race in a season. That is a thing that bugs him and annoys him. And Will Power is about to put that statistic beyond if he can THIS YEAR! BUT IT'S FELIX ROSENQVIST WHO GETS A GREAT START AT THE ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH!!! THE MEYER SHANK HONDA LEADS THEM DOWN THE FRONTSTRAIGHT!!!"

Townsend Bell: "The pro-show with the jump! WATCH THE YELLOW AND RED CAR OF ALEX PALOU LOOKING 3-WIDE, BUT WILL POWER TO THE OUTSIDE!!!"

Leigh Diffey: "POWER SWEEPS AROUND AND GETS ROSENQVIST IN TURN 1!!!"

James Hinchcliffe: "They get through Turn 1, now they go through the fountain, side-by-side doesn't usually work here. Christian Luundgard sliding in behind Scott Dixon. Being smart about it here, so far. The fireworks have not happened."

Townsend Bell: "But up front, that's exactly what Rosenqvist told us. He wasn't gonna challenge too hard. You gotta be so careful to let Will Power control the pace. Power now can drive as slow as he needs to to protect his softer Firestones."

"You're doing great now, keep going," Mike's race strategist told him over the radio.

Mike kept focused as he made his way around the hairpin turn before going back down the front straightaway along Shoreline Drive.

Lap 15

--NBC Broadcast--

Townsend Bell: "Oh! Christian Rasmussen! Has crashed into the wall at the end of Turn 4!"

Leigh Diffey: "First caution of this race and a big moment for the rookie. That's Jack Harvey in the Invst sponsored Honda for Dale Coyne Racing, looks like he got a piece of that."

Mike saw Rasmussen spinning and crashing and took evasive action just barely avoiding it. "Holy shit," he sighed in relief.

"Yellow. Yellow, yellow, yellow. Is the car alright?" Asked Mike's race strategist.

"Yeah, the car's good," Mike replied.

Meanwhile, up in the pit box, Rara was watching the TV screen on the top of the pit box, which was showing a replay of the incident. Mike was right behind Jack Harvey as he barely snuck through. "Whew! That was a close one," she remarked.

Lap 19

--NBC Broadcast--

Leigh Diffey: "Josef Newgarden trying to get his points lead back after having it been taken away from him this morning. We go back racing as the green flag is back out! And Marcus Ericsson right behind Newgarden!"

Lap 72

Leigh Diffey: "HERE COMES DIXON!!! DIXON TRYING TO TAKE THE LEAD AWAY FROM NEWGARDEN!!!"

Townsend Bell: "WHOA!!! IT'S A LITTLE TIGHT THERE IN TURN 6 AS SCOTT DIXON GOES TO THE INSIDE OF JOSEF NEWGARDEN AND HE TAKES IT!!!"

James Hinchcliffe: "SCOTT DIXON WITH A PHENOMENAL MOVE AS HE STARTS TO PULL AWAY FROM NEWGARDEN!!!"

Leigh Diffey: "Look at this, Mike Rogers in that NAPA Honda for Andretti Global trying to get past Theo Pourchaire for 13th!"

Townsend Bell: "He's currently being scored as the fastest car on the track right now, so he could get to the top 10 with 13 laps to go."

"There you go, COME ON!!!" Mike's strategist shouted over his radio.

Mike smirked to himself as he continued to make moves on the track that even the commentators were shocked by.

11 Laps to Go

As the laps winded down, Mike passed cars one-by-one with his race strategist calling his positions.

"12th."

10 Laps to Go

"11th."

9 Laps to Go

"10th."

8 Laps to Go

"9th."

7 Laps to Go

"8th."

6 Laps to Go

"7th."

5 Laps to Go

"6th."

4 Laps to Go

"5th."

3 Laps to Go

"4th! COME ON, MIKE!!! PUSH IT!!!"

Mike greatly obliged and made another move on another car.

--NBC Broadcast--

Townsend Bell: "I think Rogers has got himself a video game mode as he gets passed Alex Palou!"

Leigh Diffey: "HE DOES!!! HE JUST TURNED IN A NEW LAP RECORD!!!"

"OH!!!!" Mike's race strategist and pit crew all cheered as they saw the graphic appear on the TV screen in the pit box.

Rara was jumping and cheering in excitement as she also witnessed the events unfolding.

Final Lap

--NBC Broadcast--

Leigh Diffey: "We now find ourselves on the final lap! Scott Dixon still holds a half second lead over Josef Newgarden!"

"How many push-to-pass you've got left?" Asked Mike's race strategist.

"I've only got one left," sighed Mike.

"Colton Herta is only 3 seconds ahead I think you better save it. Whoa, wait a minute Newgarden looks like he made a mistake in Turn 6!"

--NBC Broadcast--

Leigh Diffey: "A couple more corners to go. OH, NO!!! JOSEF NEWGARDEN HAS STALLED!!!"

Townsend Bell: "HE GOT TRAPPED BEHIND THE LAP CAR OF NOLAN SIEGEL!!! THAT'S GONNA ALLOW THE 2 ANDRETTI CARS OF COLTON HERTA AND MIKE ROGERS TO PASS HIM!!!"

James Hinchcliffe: "HE GETS IT GOING AGAIN BUT IT'S NO USE!!! THERE GOES HERTA AND ROGERS FOR 2ND AND 3RD!!!"

Leigh Diffey: "AND IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, JOSEF NEWGARDEN HAS LOST THE PODIUM!!!"

"YOU MIGHT BE GOING FOR 2ND ON THAT PODIUM!!! YOU HAVE TO FIGHT HERTA!!!"

Mike had never had a IndyCar podium before. This could be his very first one. Hearing his race strategist only motivated him to use his last remaining push-to-pass. As he neared Turn 9, Mike's race strategist gave him the order.

"NOW!!!"

Mike pressed the push-to-pass button on his steering wheel and made his move on his teammate.

--NBC Broadcast--

Leigh Diffey: "Coming out of the hairpin for the final time, SCOTT DIXON TAKES THE CHECKERED FLAG!!! HE WINS THE ACURA GRAND PRIX OF LONG BEACH!!!"

The picture then cut to the 2 Andretti cars.

Leigh Diffey: "MIKE ROGERS MAKES A MOVE ON COLTON HERTA!!! AND HERE THEY COME WITHIN SIGHT OF THE GRANDSTANDS THIS IS ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL!!! THIS RACE IS FAR FROM OVER!!!"

"COME ON!!!" Mike shouted to himself.

Up in the pit box, Rara was chewing on her fingernails as she watched Mike trying to get into 2nd place. "Come on. Come on!" She said.

Everyone watched as the two cars crossed the finish line.

--NBC Broadcast--

Leigh Diffey: "IT'S ROGERS!!! MIKE ROGERS GETS HIS FIRST EVER CAREER INDYCAR PODIUM!!!"

Townsend Bell: "I AM SPEECHLESS!!!"

"YOU'VE DONE IT!!!" Mike's race strategist called on his radio.

"YES!!! YES!!!" Mike screamed.

After the cooldown lap, Mike parked his car in the pit lane. He climbed out of his car and took his helmet off, only to be tackled to the ground by Rara. Mike was surprised at first, but gave in and hugged her back.

"You did it," Rara said.

"I know I did," Mike sighed, obviously tired from the race.

A few minutes later, the podium ceremony began as the 3 drivers walked onto the podium and took their trophies. Mike got his 2nd place trophy and held it up for everyone to see it. Rara watched proudly as he did so. After the 3 drivers got their trophies, they sprayed champagne.

--NBC Broadcast--

"It's been an absolutely filled weekend of celebrations here in Long Beach. With Scott Dixon winning this race, it now puts him in the lead of the championship, meaning he will be trying to chase his 7th IndyCar title. Congratulations to all of the drivers and from all of us here at NBC Sports, I'm Leigh Diffey. Thanks for Watching our coverage and we'll see you next time at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama."

That night, Mike and Rara returned to Manehattan and while they were sitting in bed, they were still trying to get over what had happened.

Mike sighed. "I can't believe it. My first podium in IndyCar and at Long Beach no less."

"Well, maybe you might get a win sometime soon," said Rara.

"Well, with this being my final year in motorsports, maybe," Mike said as he kissed Rara. "Alright, we should get some sleep. We've got another long day of song practicing tomorrow."

"Right," Rara replied.

Mike turned off the light as the two pulled the blankets over them.

"Goodnight," said Mike.

"Night," replied Rara.

The two settled down on their respective pillows before falling asleep.

To Be Continued.

Author's Note

This is a fictionalized version of the 2024 Long Beach Grand Prix. If you want to see what happened in the REAL 2024 Long Beach Grand Prix, you can do so by watching this video here.