Kirkwood closes career-best IndyCar season with Monterey podium
Kyle Kirkwood ended his strongest IndyCar season yet with second place at the Grand Prix of Monterey, securing the same position in the championship after a controlled drive at Laguna Seca.
It was a well-deserved end to a season in which Kirkwood continued to build confidence and consistency, giving him plenty to be proud of as he looks ahead to the next challenge.
Kirkwood entered the 95-lap finale in a four-point battle with Arrow McLaren teammates Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward for runner-up honours behind five-time champion Álex Palou.
Kirkwood finished 1.3 seconds behind race winner Scott McLaughlin and 10 championship points ahead of Lundgaard, completing his progression from seventh in 2024 to fourth in 2025 and second in 2026.
“It’s big, right?” Kirkwood said after the race. “Every year we halved the points to the lead or position to the lead. Two years ago seventh, last year fourth, this year second. It’s constantly improving. That was a big, big moment for us and the team to then now finish second.”
That objective influenced how Kirkwood approached the finale. Starting behind polesitter McLaughlin, he passed Felix Rosenqvist for third on Lap 5 and remained near the front throughout the afternoon.
“Yeah, it was,” Kirkwood said when asked whether securing second in the standings had been the goal. “Yeah, we played it a little bit safer than I might have hoped for the last race of the season, but we had to for the championship. We made all the decisions based on that.”
Kirkwood still showed aggression when opportunities appeared. After running behind McLaughlin and Palou through the first pit cycle, he attacked the champion on Lap 32 and completed the pass for second. Alexander Rossi followed shortly afterwards, while Palou stopped at the end of the lap and dropped down the order as his strategy moved away from those at the front.
The pit strategy became the deciding factor. Kirkwood and McLaughlin stopped together on Lap 20 before making their final visits on Lap 70, when Rossi also returned to the pits in the same sequence. With Kirkwood still within reach of the leader, the temptation was there to attack, but protecting his tyres and finishing the race took priority.
“Probably could have had a go at Scottie [McLaughlin] at the end on the first few laps on reds,” Kirkwood said. “The number one goal was to make the tyres last. That’s what we did. Came home with a second, which is something to be proud of.”
That was a different kind of drive for a driver known for attacking, especially on street circuits. With second place in the championship within reach, Kirkwood chose to manage the final stint instead of risking everything for a shot at the win. “We’ve had a very successful year,” Kirkwood said.
“So have obviously Palou, but also Lundgaard and Pato have had a very successful year. We want to consider ourselves as the second most successful car. That was the biggest moment.”
The result also gave Andretti Global another measure of its progress during 2026. Kirkwood led the organisation’s charge throughout the year, while teammates Will Power and Marcus Ericsson became stronger threats as the season developed.
With Kirkwood ending the campaign directly behind Palou in the standings, Andretti has moved closer to the standard set by Chip Ganassi Racing.
“It’s big, right? I hope people consider us as the second best team,” Kirkwood said. “We have a lot to build off of, right? We made a huge jump year over year. Now second in the championship.”
That improvement became more apparent during the second half of the season. Power and Ericsson began collecting stronger finishes alongside Kirkwood, giving Andretti three cars capable of competing near the front rather than relying on one driver to produce its strongest results.
“Will and Marcus have come on very strong at the end of the year,” Kirkwood said. “We have a lot of momentum going into the off-season. We have a direction. Hopefully we can work on it and better ourselves for next year.”
Kirkwood believes that having all three cars near the front provides a better representation of Andretti’s underlying pace. Strong performances across the organisation also provide more information and experience for the team to carry into its winter development programme.
“I think things are just starting to click, right?” Kirkwood said. “Will and Marcus started doing exceptionally well in the second part of the season, getting solid finishes everywhere except at Milwaukee, right? They’re right there in the hunt. You shine when you have all three cars up there. Our performance was starting to show as the second part of the season came around.”
Despite his career-best result, Kirkwood already knows where improvements need to come from. His season included strong performances across different circuit types, but mistakes and weaker weekends cost points against Palou. Rather than searching for one major change, Kirkwood sees several smaller areas where he and Andretti need to improve.
“I think I’ll look at myself, figure out which ones I need to be better at, whether it’s driving, performance, but also mistakes,” Kirkwood said. “Markham definitely didn’t help our championship run whatsoever.”
Indianapolis Motor Speedway sits high on that list. Andretti showed competitive pace across much of the schedule, but Kirkwood identified the Indianapolis 500 as one of the organisation’s weakest events when comparing average finishes across its cars.
“We can also get better at some circuits, too, right?” Kirkwood said. “Indy 500 is probably the biggest circle on our calendar for everybody to get better at, but specifically for us because if we look at average finish across the team, that’s our worst track.”
Kirkwood also sees opportunities on other parts of the calendar, particularly short ovals and road courses. Those gains now involve refinement rather than rebuilding an entire programme after Andretti showed a broader level of competitiveness in 2026.
“Maybe cleaning up some of the short oval stuff. Maybe even some of the road course stuff we can get better at,” Kirkwood said. “Yeah, across the board we’re solid. Getting better every season. It’s just little things now that will make the difference in the championship.”
Kirkwood’s season also placed him alongside drivers he has raced for much of his career. Team Penske’s David Malukas entered Laguna Seca with an outside opportunity to reach second in the standings and finished fifth after a late battle with Rosenqvist. For Kirkwood, seeing both drivers competing near the top of IndyCar carried added significance because their history stretches back to karting.
“I actually saw his dad, Henry, before the race,” Kirkwood said. “I said it’s cool if you look back at when we were in karting together, we were on the same team in karting many years ago. It’s pretty cool to look and be like, hey, we’re fighting for positions in a championship, pretty high positions, in a championship in IndyCar. It’s cool to see if you look back at the history of it.”
Their different strengths have also given Kirkwood areas to study. Malukas has established himself among the series’ strongest young oval racers, while Kirkwood has developed from a street-course specialist into a more complete contender across the calendar. Racing against one another at IndyCar’s highest level has given Kirkwood another reference as he continues his own development.
“It’s been fun competing against him. He’s a phenomenal driver,” Kirkwood said. “He definitely does the things that I do poorly extremely well. I’ve learned a lot racing against him over the years. Proud to be part of the era he’s in because he’s an exceptional driver. I think for many years to come he’s going to be someone knocking on the door of a championship.”
With the season finished, Kirkwood has little interest in spending months away from racing. His attention has already shifted towards 2027, with testing and sports car commitments set to keep him active during the IndyCar off-season.
“I don’t think there’s time for mental resets, to be honest,” Kirkwood said. “We’re going to go straight into the off-season. I’ll be driving here in a few weeks. You’re already focused on the next season. I’ve got sports car stuff going on. I’m going to stay active.”
Remaining behind the wheel is part of Kirkwood’s preparation rather than something he needs to escape from after a long season. “In sport, if you need to take long breaks from something, it’s probably beating you down too hard,” Kirkwood said. “Quite honestly, I think it’s important to stay active.”
Laguna Seca was a fitting way for Kirkwood to finish his best IndyCar season yet. He made up ground early, passed Palou on track and stayed close enough to McLaughlin to keep the pressure on. In the closing laps, though, he chose to protect his tyres rather than force a risky move. Second place gave Andretti the result it needed and sent Kirkwood into 2027 closer to the championship fight than ever before.
Edited by Morgan Holiday
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