Acura GPLB: Kirkwood Provides a Glimpse of Indycar's Future

Michael Andretti won his first Indycar race on the historic streets of Long Beach, so one can only imagine the pride the 42-time Indycar winner felt when Kyle Kirkwood claimed his first career pole position on Shoreline Drive on Saturday for the 48th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

In only his third start with the Andretti Autosport team in the NTT IndyCar Series, Kirkwood -- a 24-year-old from Jupiter, Fla. -- aced a Fast 6 qualifying group that included (in order) defending Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, former Formula One driver Romain Grosjean, 2021 champion Alex Palou, six-time champion Scott Dixon, and the weekend's dominant driver, Pato O'Ward, who had finished atop the timing charts for both practice sessions.

"He's the real deal," Andretti said after watching Kirkwood clock 1 minute 6.2878 seconds -- an average of 106.879 mph -- around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile layout. "It's been a pleasure to have him on the team. We're really excited, really happy with the results."

There's no way Andretti could have been happier than Kirkwood, though.

"Our car is on fire this weekend," Kirkwood said. "We're doing really good. I'm ecstatic. We're just constantly chipping away at it, getting better and better, and I couldn't be any happier than this. Third weekend with the team and I already got a pole."

It is the second race since Valencia's Bryan Herta -- himself a road racing specialist back in the day -- was named the strategist for Kirkwood. Herta had previously been the strategist for his son, Colton Herta, who finished fifth in last year's championship. The elder Herta is known for his ability to coax the most out of drivers; he was on the radio when Alexander Rossi massaged the throttle en route to an Indianapolis 500 victory in his first race at the Brickyard, and when Dan Wheldon led only the final lap in his last trip in a one-off effort. It is expected that the pairing will expedite Kirkwood's development.

Through two rounds of knockout qualifying on Saturday, Kirkwood was the only driver with a set of the faster sticker alternate tires available for the Fast 6 session to determine the pole winner for the 85-lap race on NBC and Peacock.

Kirkwood was the first of five Hondas in the field. Andretti Autosport teammate Grosjean will start third. Chip Ganassi Racing had three drivers in the Fast 6, with St. Petersburg winner Ericsson starting second, Palou fourth, and Dixon fifth. Arrow McLaren's O'Ward was the only Chevrolet, and stood between Herta making it a Honda sweep in the first three rows. Team Penske's Josef Newgarden, the defending race winner who is coming off a victory two weeks ago in Texas, will start eighth in his Chevrolet, and teammate Scott McLaughlin will start ninth.

Notable drivers who may need a Herculean effort to win include Relix Rosenqvist in 10th, Alexander Rossi in 11th, Will Power in 13th, Simon Pagenaud in 14th, Helio Castroneves in 16th, and Graham Rahal in 24th.

As a rookie last season, Kirkwood finished 24th in the championship with AJ Foyt Racing, where he learned some important race craft while being on loan from Andretti Autosport. "It was huge," Andretti said of Kirkwood getting to drive his rookie season for Indy's all-time winningest driver. "As a rookie, you're definitely going to make mistakes. To have that year, and then come drive for us, it worked out great."

Kirkwood finished 15th at St. Petersburg to open this season and 27th after a crash at Texas Motor Speedway after qualifying fifth, his previous best qualifying effort.

Kirkwood, too, appreciates his time at Foyt, which for several years has been one of the worst-performing teams in the series. "It was extremely beneficial," he said. "There wasn't a ton of media, a ton of sponsors. It was all on track where I could learn what an Indycar does. Having that year with AJ was crucial. If I would have gone to Andretti in 2022 (as a rookie), I feel like I would have been thrown into the deep end with sharks."

Coincidentally, Kirkwood's best finish was last year at Long Beach when he finished 10th. After Indianapolis, this is the race that he aspires to win.

"In my mind, this is the second-biggest race of the year," he said. "It's a massive event. Big venue, lot of people show up, lot of history behind it. For me to get my first win here would be huge."

He will lead a field of 27 drivers to the green flag on Sunday, 12:45 p.m. It would not be surprising for him to be leading at the checkered flag either. Kirkwood is a proven winner; he won championships in USF2000 in 2018, USF Pro 2000 in 2019, and INDY NXT in 2021. It's only a matter of time before he wins in the big series.

"Last year it was mind-blowing to me how many fans show up to this race," he said. "When I was racing Indy Lights for Andretti Autosport and they had the season finale here and Colton (Herta) won, I got to see it from outside the car. You see the fan reaction, you understand what it means. When you get in the car you kind of lose that; you ignore the fans, the flags, the buildings. But I know the aura that this place represents."