Simpson’s IndyCar learning paying off after first podium
- Archie O’Reilly
- Jul 22, 2025
- 6 min read
When it was announced that 19-year-old Kyffin Simpson would be graduating to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) for the 2024 season, doubts were raised in some quarters.
His Indy NXT results across two years had been solid but unremarkable, with lots of the talk surrounding the financial value he and his family brought to a powerhouse team which was, at the time, expanding to a five-car operation.
For a rookie so young, his debut season in IndyCar was steady but still saw him finish 21st in the standings. His best race result was 12th in an attritional debut in St. Petersburg, with three of five total top-15 finishes for the season coming in the first four rounds.
It was always going to be a process for Simpson to get up to speed and there was always going to be a baptism of fire element. Patience was going to be required as he developed while competing in a top-tier championship.
He was put through a rigorous testing programme before his IndyCar move, including driving such cars as a former GP2 machine, and gained valuable experience in the sports car realm, where he became a European Le Mans Series champion in the LMP2 category.
Upon stepping up to IndyCar though, a big part would be learning on the job.
But in 2025, maybe sooner than some expected, with CGR refocusing their resources to three entries under the new charter agreement, Simpson has made a major step up. And that was capped with a maiden podium on the streets of Toronto on Sunday.
“It was incredible,” Simpson said. “At Mid-Ohio [two weeks prior], I felt like we very realistically had a chance at a win there. Not even coming away with a podium, I was really upset.
“But the team’s worked so hard helping me out, teaching me how to race IndyCar. I’ve learned so much from Scott [Dixon] and Álex [Palou]. 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.”
Simpson started from 13th in Toronto and his No.8 team opted to stay out on the softer alternate tyres - the only other driver to do so being second-place finisher Rinus VeeKay - during an early caution. He had to take the pain of falling through the order on worn tyres in that opening stint but made the alternates last an impressive 16 laps before pitting.
In the long run, this helped to eliminate a pit stop from the race and make it a two-stop strategy for Simpson. By the time he had stopped for a second time on Lap 58, he had cycled to third place on merit - behind only Pato O’Ward and VeeKay.
By the end of the race, Simpson was struggling significantly with his tyres. But he managed his push-to-pass well and did a stellar job of holding off pole-sitter Colton Herta before a caution came out with three laps remaining, neutralising the race to the finish.
“It was definitely a race that came to us,” Simpson said. “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. 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, third or fourth [caution]. From there on, I just tried not to mess it up really.
“Herta was looking very quick [at the end]. Then I had Sting Ray [Robb, a backmarker] in front of me, which would have been really tough for me to get by him because I was really struggling just in all the brake zones. When I saw that yellow come out, I was super happy because otherwise it was going to be a really tough fight to the end.”
It speaks to Simpson’s progress that this podium was not a major surprise. It marks a fifth top-10 finish of the season - all coming inside the nine road or street course races - and fourth successive non-oval top-10 result.
Within those five top 10s, his first coming on the streets of Long Beach, Simpson has finished inside the top six on three occasions; he achieved his first top five in Detroit before finishing sixth at Road America.
A 10th-place finish then at Mid-Ohio was not representative of a day that could have ended with a podium or even a win if not for stalling in pit lane and being handed a drive-through penalty for clipping the foot of a member of VeeKay’s pit crew.
Considering he finished no better than 12th in a single race last season, Simpson’s rate of development has been stark.
“It’s been a crazy year,” he said. “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 the Indy GP, I felt super fast there. Ever since then, it’s like something’s just clicked and figured it out.
“Since then, I felt super comfortable with the car everywhere we’ve been, just about. It’s been a big thanks to Luke [Goldenstein, engineer]. 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.”
One of the things that has stood out most about Simpson’s season has been his raw pace - not yet faultlessly consistent but not infrequently on a par with six-time champion teammate Dixon and close to runaway championship leader Palou.
Only three times as a rookie did Simpson qualify better than 20th - and only once on a road or street course. But in 13 races this season, Simpson has only qualified 20th or lower on four occasions overall and twice on road or street courses.
His solitary Fast 12 appearance last year was in a wet/dry qualifying session at Road America - that 12th-place start his only qualifying result inside the top 15. But he has already qualified six times in the top 15 and three times in the top 10 this year.
Barber marked a first top-10 start in 10th, repeated one week later at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis - the weekend Simpson views as a major turning point. But disaster struck pre-race for the Indy GP as a mechanical issue robbed him of the chance to even start the race from a joint-career-best position.
But his form only continued beyond May and the Indianapolis 500, headlined by a third-place start at Mid-Ohio and his Toronto podium.
Ovals remain a point for improvement, with Simpson starting no better than 18th across Gateway and the Iowa Speedway doubleheader and yet to crack the top 10 in an oval race. But confidence continues to build for the 20-year-old.
“It’s very high right now,” Simpson said. “As a stand from me to Taylor [Kiel, strategist] to Luke, 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 learned a lot this year, just gotten more and more comfortable. Qualifying has been a big step up this year. Everything’s coming together for us. We’re in a good spot. I think we’re looking pretty good.
“Really ever since Indy GP, we’ve been really strong on all the road courses and street courses. 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.”
Every weekend continues to provide lessons for Simpson. But in the busiest phase of the season, he is taking everything in his stride.
“Having a lot of races back-to-back is always helpful for me personally, just to have the consistency of being in the car,” he said. “I’m still fairly new to the series, still learning every weekend.
“Extra laps are always helpful for me so getting lots of laps close together is super helpful. We’ve got four more races to go now - two more road courses - and hopefully we can get two more solid results.”
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