Kirkwood’s breakout INDYCAR campaign continues with first oval win at WWTR
Fire lights up the evening sky as the NTT IndyCar Series starting field rolls down the back straightaway prior to the start of the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway. Photo courtesy of A.J. Foyt Racing
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Andretti Global breakout star Kyle Kirkwood erased the label of “street-circuit specialist” from his INDYCAR profile Sunday night at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Kyle Kirkwood – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Matt Fraver
Kirkwood displayed a masterful combination of pace and strategy en route to victory in a chaotic Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on WWTR’s egg-shaped, 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Ill., outside St. Louis.
SEE: Race Results
Kirkwood’s first oval-track victory was his career-best third in eight races this season and fifth of his NTT IndyCar Series career. Kirkwood’s previous four wins were all scored on the series’ “concrete canyons,” including the Streets of Long Beach in April and the Streets of Downtown Detroit earlier this month.
Kyle Kirkwood – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by James Black
“I mean, it’s kind of funny, right?” said Kirkwood, addressing his street-racing prowess. “You get on this streak where it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s doing so well, he’s winning races, street-courses.’ But then you get your fourth and people are like, ‘Another street-course for Kirkwood? It’s not as big of a deal now. When is he going to win something else?’
“It takes away from the street-courses, so this was huge for me. This was by far bigger than last (race) because of that. I think Detroit was one of the most satisfactory wins that I’ve ever had because I actually had to pass some people for some things. But today just like kind of puts a stamp down a little bit more like, ‘Hey, this kid might actually be able to contend for a championship and do things.’
Kyle Kirkwood – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by James Black
“Everybody knows you’ve got to be diverse in this series. You’ve got to win at multiple circuits. You’ve got to win at multiple venues. Whether it’s a short oval, long oval, street-course, road-course, whatever it might be, you’ve got to win at all of them. A step in the right direction for sure.”
A 26-year-old native of Jupiter, Fla., Kirkwood joked in Victory Lane this win added to his job security at a point when the series’ 20-year-olds are making their marks. Indeed, Sunday night’s podium was populated by three former INDY NXT by Firestone champions. Kirkwood drove his No. 27 Siemens Honda fielded by Andretti Global to victory by 0.5398-seconds over Pato O’Ward in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Pato O’Ward – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by James Black
“It’s another P2 for us and a good points day,” said O’Ward, a 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio, Texas. “We’re still working to get that first win of the season, but I’m sure it’s going to come. Our consistency is as good as it’s ever been. I’m happy for the team, and we’re going to keep pushing with all the guys and girls at Arrow McLaren and Team Chevy to get ourselves on that top step of the podium soon.”
Christian Rasmussen of Denmark finished a career-best third in the No. 21 ECR Splenda Chevrolet after starting 25th and logging 62 on-track passes.
Six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon finished fourth in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, the native New Zealander’s best result since he placed second in the season-opener in March on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Santino Ferrucci – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Karl Zemlin
Dallas resident Santino Ferrucci continued the recent resurgence of A.J. Foyt Racing, the Waller, Texas-based organization founded by 90-year-old open-wheel icon A.J. Foyt Jr. of Houston. Ferrucci recorded his third straight top-five finish in the No. 14 Bommarito Automotive Group Chevrolet.
“Honestly, I think the team did a really good job,” said Ferrucci, who started 19th in the 27-car field. “Our car was really phenomenal. Starts and restarts were great, pit stops, everything. We ran a very solid, very clean, very smart race. Taking fuel at the end instead of four tires and fuel and pitting earlier, I think was the right call, and we were able to jump a car. Overall, really happy with the performance and excited to have three top-fives in a row.”
Santino Ferrucci – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Karl Zemlin
Ferrucci finished fifth in the 109th Indianapolis 500 at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 25 and followed with a season-best second on the Streets of Detroit. Ferrucci moved from 14th to 11th in series points via Sunday’s result, one spot ahead of teammate David Malukas in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevy.
The 260-lap/325-mile race _ which saw 14 of 27 drivers take turns leading _ came down to an intriguing gambit between two fuel strategies and navigating thickets of traffic over the last 50 laps. There were 254 passes for position, tying the series record for WWTR set last year.
Scott Dixon – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Karl Zemlin
Dixon, a master of fuel-saving, was the last car not to stop during the second-to-last pit cycle and took the lead on Lap 194. Foyt Racing’s Malukas then brushed the Turn 4 wall on Lap 196 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet, triggering the fourth and final caution. Dixon cruised behind the pace car in the lead, allowing him to save more fuel in a calculated attempt to make just one more pit stop.
Dixon subsequently stopped when the pits opened on Lap 200 and stayed in the lead due to a one-lap gap fashioned before the stop. On the Lap 207 restart, Dixon led O’Ward, Kirkwood and journeyman Conor Daly in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet.
Scott Dixon – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Karl Zemlin
Kirkwood passed O’Ward and stalked Dixon, pressing him to use more fuel, but could not complete a pass for position. Andretti Global then summoned Kirkwood to the pits for his last stop on Lap 233.
Dixon and veteran Ganassi strategist Mike Hull knew even “The Iceman” could not stretch one tank of fuel for 60 laps without significantly more caution laps, so Dixon pitted on Lap 236 and handed the lead to O’Ward. Pato made his final stop on Lap 238, with Ferrucci taking P1. When Dixon, Kirkwood and O’Ward cycled through their final stops, Kirkwood ended up the leader among that trio due to speedy/spot-on work by his Andretti Global pit crew.
Ferrucci led a group of four cars needing to make their final stops, all running ahead of Kirkwood, O’Ward and Dixon. But Ferrucci, Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson in the No. 28 Fresh Connect Central Honda of Andretti Global, Callum Ilott of Great Britain in the No. 90 PREMA Racing Chevrolet and Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian, all pitted from the lead by Lap 256, handing the lead back to Kirkwood. Despite pressure from O’Ward, Kirkwood never trailed thereafter.
Kyle Kirkwood – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Matt Fraver
“The starts and the restarts were big,” Kirkwood said. “We were not too happy with the car (Saturday), and we got some help from the teammates and made the car really good. In the beginning, I really didn’t think we had it, but as it got dark and it cooled down, this No. 27 Andretti Global Honda just came alive.
“Everything worked to plan accordingly. If I’m being honest, we didn’t start with an amazing race car; we finished with one. That was just due to the work that the crew did and due to the work that Honda did.”
Will Power – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Karl Zemlin
NTT P1 Award-winner Will Power, a two-time series champion, saw his bid to end Team Chevrolet’s 0-for-7 start to the 2025 season abruptly end when he crashed in Turn 4 on Lap 4 due to a right front Firestone Firehawk tire puncture on his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. A 44-year-old native of Australia in the final year of his contract with team-owner Roger S. Penske, Power was hoping to embellish his bid for an extended deal with INDYCAR’s winningest organization.
Instead, Power’s early departure was only the beginning of a brutal night for Team Penske, which owns a record nine wins at WWTR. The facility formerly known as Gateway International Raceway hosted a primetime INDYCAR race on a Sunday for the first time.
Josef Newgarden – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Chris Jones
Five-time WWTR winner Josef Newgarden crashed-out in spectacular fashion while leading on Lap 130. A two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, Newgarden was swept-up in a frightening collision triggered by rookie Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Foster brushed the wall in Turn 4, damaging his steering, and careened backward into the path of the onrushing Newgarden _ who hit and then climbed Foster’s No. 45 Droplight/Desnuda Tequila Honda at full-speed along the inside wall and SAFER Barrier.
Newgarden’s No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet slammed down onto the inside wall, scraping the pavement and spewing debris before eventually rolling to a stop upside-down on its roll hoop and aeroscreen. Both Foster and Newgarden, the defending event winner and a two-time series champ, were uninjured.
Louis Foster – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Karl Zemlin
“We were in the high-line all race,” Foster said outside the track’s medical center. “The No. 45 Honda was really, really quick. I think it was one too many laps too long trying the high-line. I got up behind Ferrucci and got a bit of a wiggle; I had wiggles all race there. But I just got a bit too high onto the dark stuff and got a wiggle and then I just got into the marbles and was a passenger. At that point I bent my toe link and just couldn’t stop the car from spinning there.
“Obviously, it was a pretty scary impact for both myself and Josef; I’m glad he’s OK. We were really, really fast so it’s a shame it had to end that way. The marbles caught me out.”
Two-time WWTR pole-winner Scott McLaughlin of New Zealand, who started second and led 51 laps, was eliminated on Lap 216 after a mechanical problem in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet.
Alex Palou – Bommarito Automotive Group 500 – Photo by Karl Zemlin
Kirkwood and point-leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing (five victories) remain the only drivers to have won in eight races this season. Honda also remained unbeaten as an engine manufacturer.
Palou _ the three-time/reigning series champion from Spain _ finished eighth in the No. 10 Ridgeline Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, trimming his lead over O’Ward from 90 to 73 points. Kirkwood remained third, two points behind O’Ward and 75 behind Palou.
“Pato is still P2 (in points) and driving a hell of a championship,” Arrow McLaren Team Principal Tony Kanaan said. “Most years, with his consistency, he could be leading the series but that’s not the case this season. Pato is doing his job and the team are doing their jobs. We’ll debrief as a team and look to next week.”
Next race is the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., on Sunday, June 22. Live race coverage from the 4.014-mile natural terrain road-course will start at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) on FOX Sports, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Lochie Hughes – INDY NXT By Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway – Photo by Karl Zemlin
Rookie Lochie Hughes mounted a late-race rally to win Sunday’s INDY NXT by Firestone event at World Wide Technology Raceway. A 23-year-old native of Gold Coast, Australia, Hughes scored his second win in INDYCAR’s developmental series by 4.3521-seconds over Myles Rowe, who earned a career-best second place in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy machine.
SEE: Race Results
“I was starting fifth, and pretty angry with yesterday (after qualifying Saturday),” said Hughes, driver of the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car. “So, I honestly didn’t really care. I just thought I’d send it and try something with the setup and send it and see what happens.”
Caio Collet of Brazil finished third in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car after leading 58 of the first 61 laps in the 75-lap/93.75-mile race, the series’ first oval event this season. Salvador de Alba of Mexico finished fourth in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car fielded by Andretti Global, just 0.0676-seconds behind Collet and the final podium position.
Lochie Hughes – INDY NXT By Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway – Photo by James Black
Pole-sitter and championship leader Dennis Hauger of Norway completed the top-five in the No. 28 Nammo machine, the third Andretti Global car to finish in the top-five. Hauger’s lead over Hughes in the standings was trimmed to 19 points after he carried a 38-point lead into this race weekend.
Hughes, who qualified fifth, made a stunning charge toward the front after deciding to try to use his higher-downforce setup to find speed on the high-line around the egg-shaped, 1.25-mile oval. The risky ploy, as pieces of worn tire rubber can accumulate in the upper groove and reduce grip, began to pay off when Hughes passed the No. 14 HMD Motorsports car of Josh Pierson to climb from sixth to fifth on Lap 46.
The boldest, most decisive moves by Hughes occurred in a four-lap span from Laps 59-62, when he blazed a trail on the high-line to jump from fourth to first. Hughes was in second at the start of Lap 62 when he approached the leading car of Collet, who was running behind the No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot car of Ricardo Escotto of Mexico, who was on the tail end of the lead lap. Hughes swept past both cars on the outside of Turn 2 and powered away, never trailing thereafter.
Lochie Hughes – INDY NXT By Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway – Photo by Karl Zemlin
“It was mega,” Hughes said of his car. “I still can’t really believe it, to be honest. I was so, so disappointed after (Saturday). I thought we had thrown away a good result. We did it somehow. I just thought I’d try the high-line one lap, and it worked. I was like, ‘Oh, found something,’ and then just kept running it and ended up with a win. It’s awesome.”
Collet, the 2024 series Rookie of the Year, opted for a low-downforce setup for speed, noting, “I thought I had it with 50 to go, but once I caught traffic, I really lost the tires and it was really hard to hang on. And they just came flying by.”
Hughes averaged 157.199 mph in the caution-free race _ the first without a yellow flag this season and first oval race without a caution in the series since this event in 2022. There also were 165 on-track passes in a feverish race, an INDY NXT record at WWTR.
Next INDY NXT by Firestone race is Sunday, June 22, the Grand Prix at Road America (11 a.m. EDT) with broadcast coverage on FS1, FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
NTT IndyCar Series Point Standings _ 1, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 335; 2, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 262; 3, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 260; 4, Christian Lundgaard, Arrow McLaren, 221; 5, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 206; 6, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 190; 7, Will Power, Team Penske, 181; 8, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 171; 9, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 170; 10, Marcus Armstrong, Meyer Shank Racing, 153;
11, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 149; 12, David Malukas, A.J. Foyt Racing, 147; 13, Alexander Rossi, Ed Carpenter Racing, 144; 14, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 138; 15, Rinus VeeKay, Dale Coyne Racing, 137; 16, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 132; 17, Conor Daly, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 125; 18, Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 123; 19, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 114; 20, Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 112;
21, Nolan Siegel, Arrow McLaren, 104; 22, Robert Shwartzman, PREMA Racing, 99; 23, Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 88; 24, Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 81; 25, Devlin DeFrancesco, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 71; 26, Callum Ilott, PREMA Racing, 63; 27, Jacob Abel, Dale Coyne Racing, 49; 28, Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 36; 29, Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing, 20; 30, Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 16;
31, Jack Harvey, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, 12; 32, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports, 10; 33, Kyle Larson, Arrow McLaren with Henrick Motorsports, 6; 34, Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta with Marco & Curb-Agajanian, 5.
FOX SPORTS’ 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES BROADCAST COVERAGE SCHEDULE
Sunday, March 2 _ Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, March 23 _The Thermal Club, Thermal, Calif. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, April 13 _ Streets of Long Beach, Calif. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)
Sunday, May 4 _ Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Ala. (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Saturday, May 10 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, May 25 _ Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval (Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing)
Sunday, June 1 _ Streets of Detroit (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)
Sunday, June 15 _ World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, Ill. (Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global)
Sunday, June 22 _ Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis. (FOX, 1:30 p.m.)
Sunday, July 6 _ Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington (FOX, 1 p.m.)
Saturday, July 12 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 1 (FOX, 5 p.m.)
Sunday, July 13 _ Iowa Speedway, Newton, Race 2 (FOX, 1 p.m.)
Sunday, July 20 _ Streets of Toronto, Canada (FOX, noon)
Sunday, July 27 _ WeatherTech Raceway, Laguna Seca, Monterey, Calif. (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 10 _ Portland (Ore.) International Raceway (FOX, 3 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 24 _ The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wis. (FOX, 2 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 31 _ Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tenn. (2:30 p.m.)
NOTE _ All times Eastern. Dates and times subject to change.
