Veteran IndyCar race engineer Jeremy Milless has seen a lot of young talent develop in the cars he’s overseen, and after watching Kyle Kirkwood score his second NTT IndyCar Series victory of the year for Andretti Autosport, he’s come to appreciate how far the Floridian has come in their first season together.
“You could just tell in his voice today how he was super calm and knew he had it under control and no worries, right?” Milless told RACER. “Obviously he’s gaining confidence every weekend and knows that if it weren’t for a few mistakes that we’ve made this year, we’d have been in the top five in points based on where our pace has been. So if we can put all of this together, next year will be a really good year.”
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Kirkwood’s win at Long Beach — a runaway performance — was the first of the season for Andretti, and his second, secured in tricky conditions at Nashville that saw him keep polesitter Scott McLaughlin and championship leader Alex Palou in check with ease, was another testament to the strong technical bond he’s formed with Milless in just 13 races.
“From the start, we understood each other on the road and street courses,” Milless added. “We’re still learning each other on the ovals, so I think that’s where we need to button things up a little better. But we’re making progress for sure. On the roads and streets, he knows what he wants so it’s really easy to give him what he wants. Whereas on the ovals, he’s still learning exactly what he needs to have a good race car and qualifying car. So as he learns that, we can do a better job of giving him what he needs.”
Paired with the No. 27 Honda’s former driver, Alexander Rossi, Milless was a frequent race winner before a dry spell kept the car out of victory lane for nearly three years. Taking two wins with Kirkwood — the only triumphs for an Andretti IndyCar driver to date in 2023 — feels wonderful, but like most racers, Milless is greedy.
“It’s good,” he said, looking ahead to Saturday’s race on the Indianapolis road course. “But the best thing is to do two in a row. I would like to do that again.”