Kyle Kirkwood recorded a brilliant Top 5 finish at IndyCar's first race of 2025 - the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The No. 27 driver was Andretti Global's best performer. However, he recently admitted the P5 finish felt unsatisfactory as he saw Alex Palou win again from an ordinary position.
Kirkwood had a decent qualifying session on the streets of St. Pete. He lined up P9 on the grid, one place behind defending champ Palou. Both of them started on the alternate tires to make up places swiftly. However, Will Power's Lap 1 crash meant they both pitted in Lap 2 for the primaries. Thereon, it became a game of who managed the race better.
Chip Ganassi Racing used an overcut strategy for Palou, making him come into the pits later than many of their rivals, including Kyle Kirkwood. That's where he got the edge and snatched the race lead from Josef Newgarden and held onto it until the end.
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In a recent episode of the 'Off Track with Hinch and Rossi' podcast, Kirkwood explained his bittersweet feeling.
"I get less and less happy about Top Fives as I continue to not get wins, especially when it's another time I'm racing with Palou and next thing you know, last pit comes around, he overcuts everybody and now he's... I guess he didn't overcut everybody. He kinda undercut (Scott) Dixon, right? One lap as Dixon got caught in traffic, right? Long story short - pretty much watched him win from his gearbox," the Andretti driver said [6:00 onwards]
He also elaborated on his No. 27 team's mistake in the first stint which cost him an edge, saying:
"We put ourselves in a little bit of a corner early on in the race using too much fuel in that first stint. But with that being said, it was still my best finish at St. Pete."
Despite the mixed feelings, he emerged as Andretti's best performer, with Marcus Ericsson finishing in P6 and Colton Herta in P16.
Kyle Kirkwood claims Andretti Global has "Team Penske pace" in 2025
Kyle Kirkwood being frustrated with Top 5 finishes seems justifiable. The Jupiter, Florida native scored his last victory at Nashville in 2023 and has since recorded multiple Top 5 finishes, including a P2 at Toronto in 2024, without crossing the finish line first.
However, in a post-race interview at St. Petersburg, he acknowledged that Andretti Global has a championship-caliber pace, like that of the legendary Team Penske.
"I don't know if we had Ganassi pace, but we definitely had Penske pace today. So, we were really strong, I think we could have gotten a podium out of that if we had played our cards perfectly right," he told reporter Bob Pockrass.
In 2024, Kyle Kirkwood recorded a career-best finish with seventh place in the standings. He expects to rack up more Top 5 finishes in 2025, starting with the second race at the Thermal Club on March 23, en route to podiums and victories.
