Kirkwood Passes Champion Palou to Win in Arlington

• Kyle Kirkwood started seventh, overcame a 9.5-second pit stop that left him 2.2 seconds behind Alex Palou, and made a decisive move through Turn 13 on Lap 55 to win the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington.
• Andretti Global placed three drivers in the top four, with Will Power third for his first podium at his new team and Marcus Ericsson fourth after starting from pole.
• Kirkwood leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings by 26 points over Palou after three races, with Phoenix winner Josef Newgarden falling to third after finishing 15th.

Kirkwood Wins as Andretti Global Sweeps the Top of the Field

Kyle Kirkwood won the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington on Sunday, tracking down four-time series champion Alex Palou after a slow final pit stop and making one of the boldest moves of the young season to take the lead and the championship top spot.

Kirkwood, starting seventh in the No. 27 JM Bullion/Gold.com Honda for Andretti Global, moved past Palou on Lap 55 and held the position through a pair of late-race cautions to take the 70-lap win on the 14-turn, 2.73-mile street circuit around AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers.

“That was so incredible,” Kirkwood said. “Man, did we have some pace. This JM Bullion Honda, Andretti, all these guys right here, they gave me the tools today. It’s because of this race car we won today, because of teamwork.

“One-three-four (finish) for Andretti; we’re just so stacked here. I’m so stoked.”

Andretti Global’s day went as well as any team could ask. Will Power placed third in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda for his first podium at his new team after 16 full-time seasons at Team Penske. Marcus Ericsson, who earned his first career pole on Saturday, finished fourth in the No. 28 InPwr Honda. Pato O’Ward completed the top five in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, the highest-placed Chevrolet driver on the circuit.

“This Andretti Honda camp is fricking strong on street courses,” O’Ward said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to start winning races on outright pace against them.”

How a Slow Pit Stop Made Kirkwood’s Victory More Impressive

Palou and Kirkwood both made their final stops on the preferred three-stop strategy on Lap 49, running first and second at the time. The Chip Ganassi Racing crew serviced Palou in 7.7 seconds, while Kirkwood’s team required 9.5 seconds after a slow change of the right rear wheel. Palou returned to speed with a 2.2-second lead.

The gap closed quickly. By the start of Lap 55, Kirkwood had cut it to 0.323 seconds. He did not wait any longer, diving under Palou from a considerable distance through Turn 13 late in that lap and making the pass stick for the lead.

“He did an awesome pass; hats off to him,” Palou said. “It was super clean, and it was pretty impressive. We’ll get them in a couple weeks.”

Kirkwood pulled away to a five-second lead by Lap 66 before Christian Rasmussen nosed his No. 21 Java House Chevrolet into the tire barrier at pit exit on Lap 68, bringing out the first full-course caution of the race. A one-lap shootout followed. Kirkwood cleared Palou on the restart before a second caution ended the race, triggered by contact between the No. 18 BMax Honda of Romain Grosjean and the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Nolan Siegel.

Championship Standings and What Comes Next

Kirkwood, Palou and Power each led 16 laps to share the race high, with Ericsson fourth at 15 laps led. Caio Collet was the top finishing rookie in 12th in the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing.

When asked whether he thought he could have caught Kirkwood on the final lap, Palou was direct.

“Not today,” he said. “I was pushing really hard on the first and second stint, and I could see that the 27 (Kirkwood) and the 12 (Power) were a little bit faster than us. I was like, ‘Oh, man, it’s going to be quite hard.'”

Kirkwood enters the championship lead by 26 points over Palou after three of 18 races. Phoenix winner Josef Newgarden, who began the Arlington weekend as series leader, fell to third after a difficult event that started with a practice crash and ended in a 15th-place result.

“It’s only race number three, so I’m not looking at the championship,” Kirkwood said. “But it is nice to say it’s the first time I’ve ever led the championship in the INDYCAR SERIES.”

The NTT INDYCAR SERIES takes a short break before resuming with the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst on March 27-29 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

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