Kyffin Simpson had a dream race at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto climbing from 13th on the grid to take his first IndyCar podium.
In a race marred by cautions and crashed, Kyffin Simpson kept it clean around the streets of Toronto to take a surprise podium for the young driver.
In just his second season in the NTT IndyCar Series, Simpson has taken a step-up in performances for the 2025 season. Moving from fighting at the back of the field to finding himself in contention for top ten finishes.
However, Simpson wasn’t satisfied with just a top five or ten finish searching for his elusive first podium. With chaos littered throughout the race, up and down the order Simpson benefitted hugely. Taking the chequered flag with P3.
Simpson said after the race that the result had come as a surprise considering the pace of the Andrettis, O’Ward and others through the day.
“I mean, it was definitely kind of a race that came to us. I at no point thought we were one of the quickest cars. I think we had pace. We weren’t one of the slowest cars.
“Yeah, I mean, early on it was looking like it wasn’t going to be a very good race for us. Got that turned around real quick. We ended up with a really good spot after that. I guess it was third safety car, third or fourth safety car. From there on I just tried not to mess it up really.“
With a caution coming in the final laps following contact between Rosenqvist and Siegel, Simpson admitted he was slightly relieved, especially as he had the Andretti of Colton Herta closing in. The driver of car #26 was flying at the end, having a pace advantage on the top 3.
“I was for sure happy. Herta was looking very quick. At that point I was really struggling with my tyres. Then I had Sting Ray in front of me, as well, which would have been really tough for me to get by him because I was really struggling just in all the brake zones for the most part.
“Yeah, when I saw that yellow come out, I was just super happy ’cause otherwise it was going to be a really tough fight to the end. I had quite a bit of push to pass, if you can’t brake late, you’re not in a good position.”
The achievement
Simpson couldn’t hide his excitement at reaching the significant milestone in his career. The driver from the Cayman Islands has clearly moved a step forward this year, even if the results have not always shown it.
“It was incredible. At Mid-Ohio, I felt like we very realistically had a chance at a win there [he stalled on pit road after running 3s behind Dixon]. Not even coming away with a podium, I was really upset.”
Simpson has driven with Chip Ginassi for both his rookie year and in 2025, and he noted their support and advice as an instrumental part of his podium.
“But yeah, the team’s worked so hard, Chip Ganassi Racing, helping me out, teaching me how to race IndyCar. I’ve learnt so much from Scott and Alex. They’ve just helped me develop so much over the last two years, year and a half. I owe a lot of thanks to them.”
For Kyffin Simpson the season really shifted after the Indy 500. Taking a fifth place, sixth and 10th before taking the podium in Toronto, the Chip Ginassi driver was elated at the performance over the last two months.
“Yeah, I don’t even know (smiling). It’s been kind of a crazy year. I think we started off a little bit slower than we wanted to. We had that top 10 in Long Beach, which was great. That was more off strategy than anything else. Then at Indy GP, I felt superfast there. Ever since then, it’s like something’s just kind of clicked and kind of figured it out.
“Since then I felt super comfortable with the car everywhere we’ve been just about. Yeah, it’s been a big thanks to Luke. Luke has been doing a great job on giving me a car I want every single race. We’ve been working really well together recently.”
A step forward
Kyffin Simpson has made strides since his rookie campaign, with him singling out his qualifying performances as one of the biggest areas of improvement. Alongside just becoming more comfortable in general.
He admitted his confidence levels after Toronto are high.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s very high right now. As a stand from me to Taylor to Luke, my engineer, to all the pit guys, we’ve all been making big strides all year. Pit stops have gotten better and better with each race. Strategy has been on point all season. I feel like I’ve learnt a lot this year, just gotten more and more comfortable. Qualifying has been a big step up this year.
“Yeah, just everything’s kind of coming together for us. We’re in a good spot. We got some work to do on the ovals. As far as road and street courses go, I think we’re looking pretty good.”
Road and street courses have seemed to be where Simpson has been able to find the highest level of performance, with him put an emphasis on how important just getting as many laps as possible in.
“Yeah, I think really ever since Indy GP this year we’ve been really strong on all the road courses and street courses. Yeah, I think just having a lot of races back to back is always helpful for me personally, just to have the consistency of being in the car.”
“I’m still fairly new to the series, still learning every weekend. Just extra laps is always helpful for me. So getting lots of laps close together is super helpful. We’ve got, what is it, four more races to go now. Two more road courses, and hopefully we can get two more solid results.”
The Chip Ginassi driver noted that he thinks Ovals are where he struggles the most, but with more time in the series and around the tracks.
“On the ovals we’re going to have to do some work because that’s definitely a point where I feel weaker. I’m sure we can figure it out.”
