Until this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway, all of Kyle Kirkwood’s IndyCar wins had come on street courses.
The Andretti Global driver had won four races over the past three seasons, with victories coming in Long Beach, Nashville, and Detroit.
Kirkwood knew that he was more than just a street course specialist; his domination on all course types as he advanced through the multiple Road to Indy series more than showed that.
Sunday night’s victory on the 1.25-mile oval allowed Kirkwood to prove to the world that he could take the top step of the podium at other locations as well
“It’s kind of funny, right?’ said Kirkwood. “You get on this streak where it’s like, ‘Oh, he’s doing so well, he’s winning races on street courses.’
“But then you get your fourth and people are like, ‘Another street course for Kirkwood. It’s not as big of a deal now. When is he going to win something else?’
“It takes away from the street courses, so this was huge for me. This was by far bigger than last weekend [on the streets of Detroit] 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.’
“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.”
Kirkwood still sits third in the championship standings, but he closed the gap to Alex Palou to 75 points.
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