Kyle Kirkwood recalls 'historic' Long Beach win with Andretti ahead of 50th edition race

With the 50th-anniversary Long Beach Grand Prix dawning upon the IndyCar paddock, the 27-car grid will feature multiple race winners, including Andretti's Kyle Kirkwood. The 26-year-old achieved his maiden Grand Prix victory at the sub-2 mile track and reminiscing about the 2023 race that he won, Kirkwood deemed the race historic in the retrospect of Andretti and IndyCar.

The 2023 IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach started with Kirkwood setting one of the fastest times during the two practice sessions. He then built upon the confidence and went into the qualifying round with hopes of getting his first top-10 result with Andretti.

The 26-year-old showcased to the grid why Andretti had initially hired him as he bagged the pole position. However, the race day was not as smooth sailing as he would have hoped.

A caution mid-race helped rival Josef Newgarden take the lead of the race, but his daring strategy calls aided him in getting back the track position. Kirkwood led the most laps out of the field and claimed his maiden race victory.

Recalling the success story, Kyle Kirkwood said (via X/@IndyCar):

"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 afterwards 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."

"To also do it under the Andretti name, the Andretti brand; it 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."

Since the 2023 Long Beach Grand Prix, the Andretti driver has claimed two more podiums and another race victory.

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Would Kyle Kirkwood want to leave the IndyCar series behind for a chance in a different racing series?

Kyle Kirkwood at the INDYCAR Series The 107th Indianapolis 500 - Source: Getty

With such accolades already behind him, no one would imagine the 26-year-old to say goodbye to the open-wheel racing series on a high. However, potential opportunities in other racing series like Formula 1 can often be hard to turn down for drivers.

With Andretti having close connections with the soon-to-be Cadillac F1 team, Andretti drivers are already on the radar for an F1 seat. Subsequently, Kirkwood was asked about whether he would like to move to F1, and he said (via GP Blog):

"Of course, it would be of interest. But at the same time, I love what I do here in IndyCar. It's what I always aspired to be - an IndyCar driver. It keeps me in the US, it keeps me at the place where I grew up."

Kyle Kirkwood sits sixth in the IndyCar standings, with a 48-point gap to championship leader Alex Palou.