LONG BEACH — It was just two years ago, in 2021, that Kyle Kirkwood was the series champion for Indy Lights, IndyCar’s support series.
On Saturday, in just his second season in IndyCar, Kirkwood won the pole position at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
It is the first IndyCar pole of Kirkwood’s young career.
Kirkwood will start first Sunday when the race begins at 12:45 p.m. Marcus Ericsson will start second, Romain Grosjean third, Alex Palou fourth, Scott Dixon fifth and Pato O’Ward sixth.
Qualifying began with two groups going 10 minutes each. The top six with the fastest laps in each group advanced to the top 12 for another 10-minute session. The Fast Six moved into the final round, where they duked it out for the pole.
Kirkwood had a top lap time of 1:06.2878 in the final round, slightly ahead of Ericsson’s 1:06.3253.
“I couldn’t be any happier than this,” Kirkwood, 24, of Andretti Autosport, said immediately following the session in a trackside interview. “Third weekend with the team and I already got a pole. I’m so happy.”
After winning Indy Lights for Andretti Autosport, Kirkwood’s path to IndyCar was to sign with A.J. Foyt Enterprises – not because he wasn’t wanted by Andretti.
“I knew we had something special when he was driving Indy Lights … for us, so I feel like he was the real deal then,” team owner Michael Andretti said. “Unfortunately, at that point we couldn’t give him a ride (in IndyCar) because there was not a seat open.
“But we did have it in the back of our minds (that) we’re going to make a seat open for him the next year and that’s what we did and he’s doing exactly what we thought he would do. And I think there’s a lot to come out of Kyle.”
Kirkwood said he loves street courses, so he drove like he felt quite at home on the streets of Long Beach.
“They’re super enjoyable,” said Kirkwood, of Jupiter, Fla. “Something about the walls just brings me comfort.”
He said he…
Read the full article here
