Jupiter native Kyle Kirkwood thinks his third start in Indianapolis 500 will be his best
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Kyle Kirkwood is such an even-keeled, settled soul that it’s almost hard to believe that the Jupiter-native makes a living driving race cars at 230 mph, wheel-to-wheel on the most challenging courses in the country in the ultra-competitive NTT IndyCar Series.
On Sunday, the 25-year old makes his third start in the grandest race of all, the Indianapolis 500.
And true to his demeanor, Kirkwood smiled politely and nodded his head, “yes,” when asked about his chances. He is as optimistic and confident for this year's Indy 500 (12:45 p.m., NBC) as he has ever been. His No. 27 Andretti Global Honda will roll off the 33-car grid from the 11th position – his best start here and one he hopes leads to his best finish.
“This month has gone by very smoothly and that’s something that is pretty rare - to have a whole month that is just smooth,’’ Kirkwood said. “You’re happy with the car. You’re confident in the changes that you do. You’re confident in your qualifying ability, but you’re also confident in your race ability and that’s something that we’ve had all this month.
“That’s something rare. With that, it just gives me a lot of confidence in the race.’’
That confidence isn’t something he takes for granted. Kirkwood turned in an impressive 17thplace effort in his 2022 race debut. Last year, however, his day finished upside down on the track - a late-race incident derailing a solid bid for racing’s most acclaimed trophy. And it’s that promising portion of the experience that Kirkwood chooses to focus on.
“I’m sure everyone knows what happened to me last year, right?’’ Kirkwood said. “Upside down, tire goes over the fence. That’s obviously the highlighted moment for the race for me. It’s what got a ton of publicity.
“For me, that wasn’t the takeaway,’’ he continued. “And I think for our team that wasn’t the takeaway. The takeaway was that we started …16th. … and just like [race winner] Josef [Newgarden][ did, just like Colton [Herta] did at one point in the race, we drove to the front.
“We were running P2 [second position] when we made our last stop. Obviously, it was a little bit off-strategy. But we were running in the front group. We had a shot at winning the race.’’
Kirkwood has been champion at every open-wheel level of racing
And that’s what he is hoping for again this week. Kirkwood has been a champion at every open-wheel level preparing him for the jump to IndyCar, where he is a two-time winner earning his first career trophies at the Long Beach, Calif., street course last year and answering it with another win on the Nashville street course.
He has earned Top-10 finishes in all four races this season with a best showing of seventh at Long Beach last month.
And Kirkwood was 23rd fastest in Friday’s final Indianapolis 500 practice – a two-hour session used more as a check on details than a pure speed test.
“He’s just [got] a calmness,’’ two-time Indy 500 winner and fellow fourth row starter Takuma Sato said of Kirkwood. “Obviously he knows what needs to be done in the cockpit. He knows exactly what it is.’’
Kirkwood goes into the race more confident than ever and will have a plenty of Floridians – his girlfriend, parents, brother, sister-in-law and friends – trackside to support and to cheer him on. And perhaps to celebrate his work later.
“I think it does [plays to his strengths],’’ Kirkwood said of the Indianapolis 500. “It’s not the same as road course or street course racing because it’s all thinking and strategizing to get by people. It’s not just who is the fastest or who can drag up behind someone the closest and make those deep passes.
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“It’s all strategy and timing, which I enjoy. I enjoy that type of racing. So, I do think it plays into my favor, the type of racing and then also the confidence that comes with being with a team that’s won here before and group of people that have won before in a car that’s won in recent years – literally the exact same car.
“It just gives me a lot of confidence so it’s exciting to be back here, especially with the added knowledge I have from running up front last year and knowing how the race plays out. It’s a lot different running 15th to 20th than it is running from fifth to first. It’s a completely different race.’’
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Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, 12:30 p.m., NBC
Defending champ: Josef Newgarden
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Kyle Kirkwood starts Andretti Global Honda 11th at Indianapolis 500
