Kyle Kirkwood took another step toward Álex Palou’s championship lead with his first IndyCar win on an oval at Gateway. Kirkwood climbed from P10 to take the lead, surviving the chaos and coming out on top.
It was Kirkwood’s first oval win after being the only driver seemingly capable of besting Palou. However, despite taking three wins while Palou had the other five, Kirkwood is third in the standings, behind Pato O’Ward by just 2 points.
The win around Illinois marked another significant weekend in Kirkwood’s hopes for the 2025 title.
Looking at the race, Kirkwood admitted he was concerned about Ilott and Rosenqvist potentially finishing ahead as they ran deep into the race but ultimately had to pit before they ran out of fuel. A caution with 10 laps to go would have left them 1-2.
“I understood the strategy pretty well. I understood that some of those guys there at the end were trying to make the fuel work and if they got a caution, they would have. It would have been pretty easy for them to make it to the end if there was just one caution.
“As I come down the front straight I look at the pylon, and when you other guys like after you’ve done your stop, and you’re like 10, 15 laps into your stint, and you’re like, those guys are trying to make it, and now you’re looking for those cars. Even though Brian was filling me in on it, I was still paying attention to what was going on out there.“
Cooler conditions and performance
He praised his team and attributed the successful climb to the front of the field to keep calm and focused throughout the long, chaotic race.
“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.”
Kirkwood noted that as the conditions cooled, the balance got better, which allowed him to find his car in a better window.
“I think as the conditions cooled, we picked up some power, and then as the conditions cooled for our car we got a little better, but we also tuned on it, too.
“We were making changes at almost every single stop to get ourselves into a good window, and that played a huge factor in today’s win because in the beginning stages it felt like we have anything.
“So we kept our heads down and stayed calm, cool, and collected, took opportunities where they came, and fortunately came away with that win.”
Road versus Ovals
With all of Kirkwood’s previous wins coming on street courses, he was happy to tick the box of an oval win, dispelling many of the discussions about his ability being solely on street courses.
He mentioned that this weekend was significant in that respect.
“This was by far bigger than last weekend 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.'”
Kirkwood highlighted that you have to be able to win all different kinds of circuits to win a championship in a series as competitive as the NTT IndyCar championship.
“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.”
Championship on the cards
The gap to Palou is now 75 points, the gap down from the three digits it was at before Detroit.
Kirkwood believes he’s still in the championship fight, and bringing the gap down has reinvigorated him.
“It’s double digits again. Triple digits are never a good sign in a championship. Moving closer. It’s still a long ways to go.
“He’s good at a lot of races that we’re coming up to, so those are the ones that are going to really count. This has been a track that we haven’t been amazing at, so, it’s great to claw back some points here.“
However, Kirkwood recognised that Palou is and has been an immovable force this year. Rarely taking a break from the dominance he’s shown in the past few months.
“But everybody knows we’re going to go to Road America next week, and he’s going to put on a show there, and we’ll have to do everything in our power to keep him from looking shiny once again on road courses.”
