Kyle Kirkwood Dominates Thrilling IndyCar Detroit GP Win

Kyle Kirkwood claimed his fourth career IndyCar Series victory after a wild race on the streets of Detroit. The 100-lap contest was filled with yellow flag periods and a dramatic red flag, keeping fans guessing who would come out on top.

Kirkwood, driving for Andretti Global, started from third on the grid after a difficult qualifying session but showed both speed and smart decision-making to take the checkered flag. This win marked his second victory of the 2025 season and continued his streak of success exclusively on street circuits.

Early in the race, teammate Colton Herta grabbed the lead, with Kirkwood dropping back to fourth position. It didn’t take long for Kirkwood to make moves, passing both Indianapolis 500 champion Alex Palou and Christian Lundgaard to take over second place.

Herta led the initial laps, but a round of pit stops and bold racing moves shuffled the order. Kirkwood seized the net lead from Nolan Siegel and became the driver to catch as Will Power and Herta followed closely behind.

The race included two early cautions, first for a spin involving Felix Rosenqvist and later when Devlin DeFrancesco lost a wheel. Scott McLaughlin briefly led under yellow but spun Siegel on the restart and was given a drive-through penalty.

A later incident, where Callum Ilott also lost a wheel, set up another strategic shuffle as Santino Ferrucci, Kyffin Simpson, and Marcus Armstrong cycled to the front. Kirkwood kept his focus, quickly moving into third place with 24 laps to go and then into the lead just two laps later after overtaking Ferrucci.

A tense episode occurred when Kirkwood and Simpson made contact twice while fighting for position. This left Kirkwood with damage to his front wing, but the car retained enough speed to keep him in contention. This struggle echoed challenges seen in other racing series with aerodynamic damage, similar to discussions around the flexi wing debate in Formula 1.

He said after the race the car lost a little performance, but it still felt fine. The final restart came after a hard crash between Rosenqvist and Louis Foster, which caused a brief red flag with 13 laps remaining.

On the restart, Kirkwood managed to maintain his gap and pulled away, finishing 3.5931 seconds ahead of the field. Ferrucci made the most of his pit strategy to take second, bouncing back after being overtaken by Power, while Herta completed the podium in third.

Power and Simpson rounded out the top five, with Armstrong, Pato O’Ward, Lundgaard, Josef Newgarden, and Alexander Rossi finishing in the top ten. The race ended with only 20 cars running, as attrition and several accidents took out seven drivers.

Rosenqvist was taken away by stretcher after contacting the barrier hard but was able to climb from his car with help. Alex Palou, who had shown dominance earlier in the season, saw his day cut short after contact with David Malukas.

Palou ended up in the wall and out of contention, while Malukas received a drive-through penalty and finished 14th. The mix of caution periods, contact, and changing strategies made for one of the season’s most unpredictable events so far, reminiscent of the dramatic moments that often unfold in top-tier motorsport events such as those involving Ferrari hype in Formula 1.

With the Detroit Grand Prix wrapped up, teams and drivers now get a week off before the series returns on June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway. Kirkwood’s performance has added to the excitement in the championship fight as the summer stretch approaches. Fans will be watching closely, similar to the anticipation seen when top drivers like Lewis Hamilton respond to championship claims in other racing categories, including his recent response to Ferrari claims.

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.