Kyle Kirkwood knows what it takes to win on the Streets of Long Beach. It was the site of the 26 year old’s first IndyCar win back in 2023. Coming off the back of a challenging 2024, Kirkwood has finished the opening two races of the 2025 season inside the top ten. Heading into this weekend, he currently sits in sixth in the Driver’s Championship. But how will he fare in Long Beach? EF1 spoke with him to get his thoughts ahead of the third round of the year.
Thermal Club Grand Prix – Five Key Takeaways
Learning from the Past
In 2023, Kyle Kirkwood had a breakout season after moving from AJ Foyt to Andretti. The American won 2 races that season but in 2024, he had to settle for a best result of the year of second place in Toronto. Despite this, Kirkwood managed to better his overall finishing position of 11th in 2023 to 7th in 2024.
EF1 asked him about this ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix of Long Beach.
EF1: Looking back at last season and coming into this season, is there something specific that you learnt last year that you can apply to this year so that you can try and get back to where you want to be up on the grid, especially at Long Beach?
Kyle Kirkwood: “Yeah, you know, the only thing that I would say is I learned how to be consistent. I learned how to get ourselves in a good position. But I also realised that it takes somewhat of a conservative mindset to get the consistency. So you need a little bit more aggression to be able to get the wins and podiums so trying to balance that is the aim of the game for me this year.”
Happy Hunting in 2025?
With such a consistently strong showing for Kyle Kirkwood at Long Beach (seventh place last year on top of his win in 2023), as well as Andretti Global’s affinity for street circuits, it feels like anything less than a podium for the pairing here will be painted as a disappointing result. Kirkwood’s aim for 2025 is to be more consistent across the board. It’s something he’s already proved to be capable of in the opening rounds at St. Petersburg and Thermal Club. With Long Beach being a strong hunting ground for the Floridian, it’ll be fascinating to see how he gets on.
Long Beach – Steeped in History
Aside from the Indy 500, Long Beach is the longest continuously held event on the IndyCar calendar. Since 1984, races have been synonymous with much of the glitz and glamour that is associated with Hollywood. Not too surprising given how close they are in proximity to one another.
Some of the biggest names in the sport’s history have won on what at Long Beach. Mario Andretti won 3 of the first 4 races held there. His son, Michael, won twice as a driver and 6 times as a team owner. But it’s Al Unser Jr. who holds the record for most IndyCar wins by a driver with an impressive 6.
Can Kirkwood add to his tally here and make a bit more of his own cinematic magic? There’s only one way to find out.
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IndyCar returns this weekend on the Streets of Long Beach.
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Feature Image: IndyCar Media Centre – James Black