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American racing driver (born 1998)

Kyle Kirkwood

Kyle Kirkwood

Key facts

date of birthOctober 19, 1998
occupationracing automobile driver
place of birthJupiter
All data from the card 12
Nationality
American
Born
Kyle MacLean KirkwoodOctober 19, 1998Jupiter, Florida, United States
Categorisation
FIA Gold
Team
No. 27 (Andretti Global)
Best finish
2nd (2026)
First race
2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg)
Last race
2026 Mission Grand Prix of Monterey (Laguna Seca)
First win
2023 Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
Last win
2026 Freedom 250 Grand Prix (Washington, D.C.)
2021 20192019201820182016-17 2015
Indy Lights Euroformula Open ChampionshipIndy Pro 2000 ChampionshipF3 Americas ChampionshipU.S. F2000 National ChampionshipFormula 4 United States ChampionshipF1600 Championship Series
20212019201820182017
Indy Lights ChampionshipIndy Pro 2000 ChampionshipF3 Americas ChampionshipU.S. F2000 National ChampionshipFormula 4 United States Championship
2016
Team USA Scholarship

Kyle MacLean Kirkwood (born October 19, 1998) is an American auto racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 27 Dallara-Honda for Andretti Global.

Kirkwood has won some notable IndyCar Series races including the inaugural runnings of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix and the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, as well as a two-time winner of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Career

Kirkwood after crashing during the 2022 XPEL 375
Kirkwood after crashing during the 2022 XPEL 375
Kirkwood during the 2023 Indianapolis 500
Kirkwood during the 2023 Indianapolis 500
2 images

Karting

Born in Jupiter, Florida, Kirkwood began karting at a young age, often competing alongside fellow Jupiter native Oliver Askew. Throughout his karting career, he amassed multiple titles, including the AM Engines Formula Tag Junior championship in 2012, the SKUSA SuperNationals XVII - S5 Junior championship in 2013, and back-to-back wins at the Florida Winter Tour in 2015 and 2016.

Lower formula

In 2015, Kirkwood made his single-seater debut in the F1600 Championship with Chastain Motorsports. He took victory in the season opener at Road Atlanta and contested a further six rounds to finish sixteenth.

Following his performance in Formula 4 United States, Kirkwood returned to the Formula Ford scene in 2016 to represent Team USA in the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy event, finishing seventh and fourth overall in both respective events.

In 2016, Kirkwood joined the inaugural Formula 4 United States Championship with Primus Racing, which saw him claim a win at Mid-Ohio and finish third in the overall standings. In September 2016, Kirkwood was awarded with the Team USA scholarship.

After competing with them in pre-season testing at NOLA, Kirkwood returned to the championship the following year, switching to newcomers Cape Motorsports. He achieved nine victories, including back-to-back hat-tricks at Indianapolis and Motorsport Park, wrapping up the title in the Formula One supporting season finale at the Circuit of the Americas. During the season, Kirkwood was once again selected as a candidate for the Team USA scholarship.

International Formula 3

In August 2018, Kirkwood joined Abel Motorsports to contest the inaugural season of F3 Americas. The season saw him claim fifteen of the seventeen race victories on offer and seal his third consecutive championship at NOLA with a round to spare.

The following year, Kirkwood made a one-off appearance with RP Motorsport in the season finale of the Euroformula Open Championship at Monza, which saw him take a best-placed finish of sixth in race two.

Formula E

In February 2020, Kirkwood was announced to be participating in the rookie test at Marrakesh with BMW i Andretti Motorsport.

Road to Indy

In December 2016, Kirkwood engaged in the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, but lost out on the scholarship to Askew.

USF2000

In 2017, Kirkwood partook in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test with Swan-RJB Motorsports. In February 2018, he reunited with Cape Motorsports to contest the 2018 championship. In his rookie season, Kirkwood dominated proceedings, taking twelve of the fourteen victories and sealed his second title in a year at Mid-Ohio which matched J. R. Hildebrand's record of wins across a season.

Indy Pro 2000

Kirkwood graduated to the championship in 2019, selecting RP Motorsport Racing as his team. After faltering in earlier rounds, Kirkwood took his maiden victories in both races at Road America. From the second race at Toronto, Kirkwood dominated the season and won his fourth consecutive title at the season finale in Laguna Seca despite being taken out by Danial Frost.

Indy Lights

In December 2019, Kirkwood participated in the post-season test at Sebring with reigning champions Andretti Autosport. The following month, Andretti confirmed Kirkwood would race with them for the 2020 season. Unfortunately, that year's running of the championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kirkwood won the 2021 Indy Lights Championship for Andretti Autosport. In doing so, he became the first driver to win a championship by winning all three steps on the Road to Indy in the Indy series.

IndyCar

Throughout 2021, Kirkwood was coveted by different teams in the IndyCar Series paddock. Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti stated he intended to keep Kirkwood in the Andretti Autosport stable and reiterated this after Kirkwood won the Indy Lights championship. Andretti stated that he was considering moving Kirkwood to Formula E if a seat did not open up in IndyCar.

As part of winning the Indy Lights championship, Kirkwood was guaranteed to compete in three IndyCar races in 2022, including the 2022 Indianapolis 500.

On November 10, 2021, it was announced that Kirkwood would drive the No. 14 entry, full-time, for A. J. Foyt Enterprises during the 2022 IndyCar Series season. He had a best finish of tenth at Long Beach, and ranked 24th in points.

On June 1, 2022, Kirkwood and Andretti Autosport announced he would return to the Andretti stable for the 2023 season to replace the departing Alexander Rossi. Kirkwood took his first IndyCar win at the 2023 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Kirkwood took a second win at the 2023 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

The 2024 season saw Kirkwood's season end up without a win, but he was competitive in many races and ultimately finished seventh in the overall championship. In 2025, Kirkwood registered three wins which included races at Long Beach, Detroit, and Gateway. For his efforts, he finished fourth in the championship standings in 2025. The next year in 2026, he won the inaugural runnings of the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington and the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.

Sports car racing

With the 2020 Indy Lights season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kirkwood drove four races in the IMSA Prototype Challenge and also joined AIM Vasser Sullivan Racing for a limited GTD schedule.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season Series Team Position
2008 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals USA - Minimax 13th
2009 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Nationals USA - Minimax 6th
South West Regional Cup - Mini Max 19th
2010 Florida Winter Tour - Mini Max 5th
2011 South Florida Rotax Max Challenge - Mini Max 12th
WKA Manufacturer's Cup - Yamaha Jr Heavy 3rd
2012 Florida Winter Tour - Rotax Junior 5th
Florida Winter Tour - TaG Junior 1st
WKA Manufacturer's Cup - Yamaha Jr Heavy 3rd
WKA Manufacturer's Cup - Yamaha Jr Lite 9th
Rotax Max Challenge Pan American Championship - Junior 4th
2013 Florida Winter Tour - Rotax Junior 3rd
SKUSA SuperNationals XVII - S5 Junior Ocala Grand Prix 1st
Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals - Junior Max Maxspeed Group 12th
2014 Florida Winter Tour - Rotax Senior OGP 2nd
Florida Winter Tour - Stock Moto 8th
SKUSA SuperNationals XVIII - S2 Ocala Grand Prix
SKUSA Pro Tour - S2 3rd
2015 Florida Winter Tour - Rotax Senior 1st
Florida Winter Tour - Senior ROK 1st
Florida Winter Tour - Shifter ROK 9th
ROK Cup International Final - Super ROK 11th
Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals - Senior Max Maxspeed Group 4th
2016 Florida Winter Tour - Shifter ROK 1st
Florida Winter Tour - Senior ROK 1st
SKUSA Pro Tour - S1 25th
SKUSA SuperNationals XX - X30 Senior PSL Karting 38th
SKUSA SuperNationals XX - S1 Pro Stock 22nd

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2015 F1600 Championship Series Chastain Motorsports 7 1 0 1 2 181 16th
2016 Formula 4 United States Championship Primus Racing 15 1 1 1 9 183 3rd
Formula Ford Festival Cliff Dempsey Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 7th
Walter Hayes Trophy - Heats/Semis 4 1 0 1 2 0 NC
Walter Hayes Trophy 1 0 0 0 0 0 4th
2017 Formula 4 United States Championship Cape Motorsports 20 9 6 10 15 345 1st
2018 F3 Americas Championship Abel Motorsports 17 15 5 15 16 405 1st
U.S. F2000 National Championship Cape Motorsports 14 12 5 6 13 374 1st
2019 Indy Pro 2000 Championship RP Motorsport Racing 16 9 5 7 11 419 1st
Euroformula Open Championship 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
2020 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD AIM Vasser Sullivan 2 0 0 0 0 42 37th
IMSA Prototype Challenge Forty7 Motorsports 4 1 0 4 2 109 16th
2021 Indy Lights Andretti Autosport 20 10 7 9 14 537 1st
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Vasser Sullivan Racing 5 0 1 0 0 898 29th
2022 IndyCar Series A. J. Foyt Enterprises 17 0 0 0 0 183 24th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Racing 3 1 1 0 1 999 9th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD 1 1 1 0 1 385 45th
2023 IndyCar Series Andretti Autosport 17 2 1 1 2 352 11th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Racing 2 0 1 0 1 617 13th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD 1 0 0 0 0 284 50th
2024 IndyCar Series Andretti Global 17 0 1 0 1 420 7th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan 3 1 1 0 1 817 19th
2025 IndyCar Series Andretti Global 17 3 1 0 3 433 4th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Racing 3 0 0 0 0 722 19th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD 1 0 0 0 0 188 77th
2026 IndyCar Series Andretti Global 18 2 1 1 6 545 2nd
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Racing 2 0 1 0 0 465 11th*

† As Kirkwood was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. * Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 4 United States Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2016 Primus Racing MOH1
1

2
MOH1
2

2
MOH1
3

2
MOH2
1

1
MOH2
2

Ret
MOH2
3

2
NJMP
1

2
NJMP
2

11
NJMP
3

Ret
ATL
1

2
ATL
2

3
ATL
3

3
HMS
1

5
HMS
2

9
HMS
3

6
3rd 183
2017 Cape Motorsports HMS
1

Ret
HMS
2

8
HMS
3

10
IMS
1

1
IMS
2

1
IMS
3

1
MSP
1

1
MSP
2

1
MSP
3

1
MOH
1

7
MOH
2

2
MOH
3

1
VIR
1

8
VIR
2

2
VIR
3

1
COTA1
1

2
COTA1
2

3
COTA1
3

2
COTA2
1

2
COTA2
2

1
1st 345

American open–wheel racing results

U.S. F2000 Championship

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points
2018 Cape Motorsports STP
1
STP
5
IMS
2
IMS
1
LOR
1
ROA
1
ROA
1
TOR
1
TOR
1
MOH
1
MOH
1
MOH
1
POR
1
POR
1
1st 440

Indy Pro 2000 Championship

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rank Points
2019 RP Motorsport Racing STP
14
STP
2
IMS
2
IMS
13
LOR
4
ROA
1
ROA
1
TOR
8
TOR
1
MOH
1
MOH
1
GTW
1
POR
1
POR
1
LAG
1
LAG
14
1st 419

Indy Lights

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Rank Points
2021 Andretti Autosport ALA
9
ALA
5
STP
1
STP
2
IMS
4
IMS
4
DET
1
DET
1
RDA
1
RDA
12
MOH
1
MOH
1
GTW
2
GTW
2
POR
2
POR
1
LAG
1
LAG
1
MOH
1
MOH
5
1st 537

IndyCar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points Ref
2022 A. J. Foyt Enterprises 14 Dallara DW12 Chevrolet STP
18
TXS
25
LBH
10
ALA
22
IMS
26
INDY
17
DET
24
ROA
20
MOH
26
TOR
22
IOW
15
IOW
25
IMS
23
NSH
19
GTW
17
POR
13
LAG
21
24th 183
2023 Andretti Autosport 27 Honda STP
15
TXS
27
LBH
1*
ALA
12
IMS
14
INDY
28
DET
6
ROA
9
MOH
17
TOR
15
IOW
7
IOW
11
NSH
1*
IMS
9
GTW
15
POR
10
LAG
25
11th 352
2024 Andretti Global STP
10
THE
DNQ
LBH
7
ALA
10
IMS
11
INDY
7
DET
4
ROA
5
LAG
5
MOH
8
IOW
7
IOW
16
TOR
2
GTW
22
POR
10
MIL
12
MIL
8
NSH
4*
7th 420
2025 STP
5
THE
8
LBH
1*
ALA
11
IMS
8
INDY
32
DET
1*
GTW
1
ROA
4
MOH
8
IOW
26
IOW
18
TOR
6
LAG
16
POR
20
MIL
12
NSH
6
4th 433
2026 STP
4
PHX
2
ARL
1*
ALA
5
LBH
4
IMS
9
INDY
16
DET
2
GTW
6
ROA
10
MOH
3
NSH
10
POR
5
MRK
21
WSH
1*
MIL
15
MIL
6
LAG
2
2nd 545

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
2022 Dallara Chevrolet 28 17 A. J. Foyt Enterprises
2023 Honda 15 28 Andretti Autosport
2024 11 7 Andretti Global
2025 23 32
2026 25 16

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2020 AIM Vasser Sullivan GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY DAY SEB ELK VIR ATL MOH CLT PET
8
LGA SEB
12
37th 42
2021 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY
16
SEB
7
MOH DET WGL
6
WGL LIM ELK LGA LBH VIR PET
15
29th 898
2022 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Pro Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.0 L V8 DAY
4
SEB LBH LGA WGL
4
MOS LIM ELK VIR PET
1
9th 999
GTD MOH DET
1
45th 385
2023 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.0 L V8 DAY
5
50th 284
GTD Pro SEB
2
LBH LGA WGL MOS LIM ELK VIR IMS PET
8
13th 617
2024 VasserSullivan GTD Pro Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.0 L V8 DAY
11
SEB
1
LGA DET WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET
13
19th 817
2025 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Pro Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.0 L V8 DAY
11
SEB
11
LGA DET WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET
6
19th 722
GTD DAY
14
LBH 77th 188
2026 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Pro Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR-GSE 5.4 L V8 DAY
10
SEB
11
LGA DET WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET
24th* 465*

* Season still in progress.

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