Kyle Kirkwood makes a ‘crucial’ admission as Alex Palou’s IndyCar reign remains unshaken

The Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood recently spoke about Long Beach being crucial to gain points on the reigning champion Alex Palou. Kirkwood won at the street track in 2023.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver Alex Palou's 2025 season is off to a great start as the Spaniard won the season opener at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg after qualifying in 8th place. Palou went on to qualify in third for the second race at Thermal Club Grand Prix and finished the race in first after passing Pato O'Ward on Lap 56. Heading into the third race of the season Palou is leading the championship with 39 points difference.

Ahead of the 50th Anniversary Long Beach Grand Prix on Sunday, Kirkwood spoke to Eric Smith, IndyCar Staff writer about challenging Alex Palou and Chip Ganassi by winning races and how this is a crucial weekend for the team.

“This is a very crucial weekend for us to turn things around in the championship hunt. Even though it's still early in the season, a lot of people don't look at points. They're like, well, it's only two races in of the 17-race season. But if the guy is 60 points ahead of you, you’ve got to kind of pay attention to that. There is a long way to go. You're also falling behind very early, which is not something you want to do." Kirkwood said.

The car #27 driver further added about how the team needs to win in order to claim the championship.

“We're obviously going to be looking for a win. Honestly, at this time we need wins to be able to win a championship here because Alex Palou is just walking away with (the championships) at the moment. We need to turn that ship around.” he added.

Kyle Kirkwood finished the season opener at Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg held on March 2 in 5th place. He wrapped up the Thermal Club Grand Prix held on March 23 in 8th place and is currently sitting in sixth place in the driver's championship with 54 points. Kirkwood will be looking forward to emulating his 2023 win to gain some points at the ACURA Grand Prix of Long Beach scheduled for April 13.

---

Kyle Kirkwood looks back on his 2023 Long Beach win with Andretti Global.

Kyle Kirkwood recently recalled his maiden win at the Long Beach Grand Prix in 2023. The American driver spoke about how it was special to win with Andretti Global.

Kirkwood claimed the pole position for the race during qualifying. However, his race was a different story altogether. The 26-year-old lost his race lead to Josef Newgarden but was able to gain it back by implementing a very bold strategy of staying out for two laps after Newgarden had pitted. He led 53 out of the 85 laps of the race.

While talking to IndyCar via their X (previously called Twitter) account, Kirkwood recalled how surreal it felt to win with the team.

"Long Beach, for me, was so surreal. I have grown up on the water, so being at Long Beach, where it's near the water, you are racing pretty much through the bay. It feels like it's home to me now. None of the emotions really set in until a day or two afterward, if I'm being honest. I almost couldn't believe that I had won my first IndyCar race. It was a dream come true for me," Kyle Kirkwood said.

"To also do it under the Andretti name, the Andretti brand was another mark in history for that organization. So, it took a while to set in. Now to call myself an IndyCar race winner, it's huge." he added.

Since then, Kyle Kirkwood has secured two podium finishes and a win.