Kyle Kirkwood Goes Back-to-Back En Route to First Oval Win at WWT Raceway
- Jeffrey Hrunka
- Jun 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 22
Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor
Kyle Kirkwood claimed his third victory of the season under the lights in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at WWT Raceway. He led the final eight laps en route to his first oval victory, cutting his championship deficit to Alex Palou to 75 points.
"We didn’t start with an amazing car, but we finished with one,” Kirkwood said.
Kirkwood started the race in tenth but quickly made his way inside the top five in the earlier stages of the race, where he stayed for the majority of the race, taking advantage of issues from other cars around him. The 26-year-old’s best finish on an oval was a fourth-place effort at Nashville Superspeedway last season.
Pato O’Ward and Christian Rasmussen rounded out the podium. O’Ward finished second for his fifth podium at the WWT Raceway and his fourth of the season. He remains the bridesmaid at St. Louis, with four second-place finishes around the 1.25-mile oval.
"Happy with the podium,” O’Ward said. “Great points day for us… all we need to do is keep on our wagon and keep pushing forward. We’ll see if we’re sitting pretty at Nashville.”
Rasmussen was the race's biggest mover. He passed 87 cars for a third-place finish, the first of his career. He had to go through the field twice, after he started the race in 25th, and an emergency pit stop forced him to the back on the final restart. Rasmussen had not clocked faster than 19th in each session leading to the Bommarito Automotive Group 500.
"Way to turn this weekend around,” Rasmussen said. “We really struggled in Practice 1 and qualifying, but knew what we needed in our car, and clearly hit some good changes for the race.”
Team Penske dominated the timing sheets, but could not translate that success into the race. Will Power was the first to face issues with a flat tire on Lap 46, while teammate Scott McLaughlin faced a mechanical failure with less than 50 laps to go. Power and McLaughlin ended the race in 24th and 27th, respectively.
Josef Newgarden faced the worst of it, as leading on Lap 129, contact with rookie Louis Foster, who was spinning across the front straightaway, sent him flying across the start-finish line. Foster finished the race in 26th, with Newgarden one position higher in 25th. Newgarden refused to comment after the incident.
Fueled by the chaos, several drivers took advantage.
Prema Racing had a historic night with both of its drivers. Callum Ilott gave Prema an opportunity to win late in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500, as he led five laps before he was forced to pit for fuel with under ten laps to go. Teammate rookie Robert Swartzman finished tenth for the team’s first top ten finish in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Santino Ferrucci continued A.J. Foyt Racing's recent success with his third consecutive Top 5 finish in fifth. Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay finished sixth and seventh as Daly led the fourth-most laps of any driver with 36. Each driver started the race in 15th place or greater.
David Malukas led the most laps with 72, a career-high, but was lost in the late pit stop shuffle for a 12th-place finish.
Palou played damage control after running in 20th place in the early portion of the race. With an eighth-place finish, he holds a 73-point lead over championship foes O’Ward and Kirkwood.
"Today puts a stamp down a little that this kid can contend for a championship,” Kirkwood said. “A step in the right direction, no doubt about it.”
NTT INDYCAR SERIES OFFICIAL Results:
Kyle Kirkwood #27 - (LEADER)
Pato O’ Ward -0.54s
Christian Rasmussen #21 -0.89s
Scott Dixon #9 -4.207s
Santino Ferrucci #14 -8.946s
Conor Daly #76 -10.294s
Rinus Veekay #18 -10.452s
Alex Palou #10 -14.102s
Marcus Armstrong #66 -19.957s
Robert Swartzman #83 (R) -21.41s
Alexander Rossi #20 -23.435s
David Malukas #4 -24.262s
Marcus Ericsson #28 -25.022s
Christian Lundgaard #7 -26.611s
Kyffin Simpson #8 -1 Lap Down
Felix Rosenqvist #60 -1 Lap Down
Colton Herta #26 -1 Lap Down
Callum Ilott #90 -1 Laps Down
Nolan Siegel #6 -1 Lap Down
Sting Ray Robb #77 -1 Lap Down
Jacob Abel #51 (R) -2 Laps Down
Graham Rahal #15 -7 Laps Down
Delvin DeFranesco #30 -43 Laps Down
Scott McLaughlin #3 -44 Laps Down (Mechanical)
Josef Newgarden #2 -131 Laps Down (Contact)
Louis Foster #45 (R) -132 Laps Down (Contact)
Will Power #12 -213 Laps Down (Tire Failure)
NTT INDYCAR SERIES action returns at Road America for the XPEL Grand Prix at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on Sunday, June 22, on FOX.
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