Kyffin Simpson – Syndication Server

McLaughlin, Simpson latest grid penalty victims at Portland

Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin saw his day go from bad to worse on Saturday as an uncharacteristically poor qualifying run to 14th for the BitNile.com Grand Prix of Portland was compounded by the need to replace the engine in his No. 3 Chevy. The …

The unapproved engine change will give the New Zealander a fresh 2.2-liter twin-turbo V6 powerplant to use for the remainder of the season, but that switch will also come with a six-position penalty, by regulation, and move the No. 3 back to 20th in the grid. Holding a distant fifth in the Drivers’ championship with four races left to go, the Kiwi will need to go on a passing spree on Sunday to minimize the damage in the standings.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson also received a six-spot penalty with his No. 4 Honda; having qualified 25th in the 28-car field, the Cayman Island native will be moved to the back of the field.

Ganassi sponsor Journie launches Canadian karting academy

Journie, the sponsor of the No. 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda driven by Kyffin Simpson, has launched a new venture with the Journie Driving Academy in Canada to focus on identifying and developing homegrown talent at the karting level. The formation …

The formation of the academy by the Canadian gas station and convenience store chain owned by the Parkland Corporation includes oversight and guidance from the Ganassi team, led by Simpson’s race strategist and karting industry veteran Chris Wheeler, along with financial assistance from Journie to continue competing in karts.

With a criteria of selecting three promising drivers from the age of 10-13, Sloan Sterling (pictured above), Marley Chaudhaury, and Nigel Longley were chosen as the first class to represent the academy. A “signing day” event was held for the trio in June, and with IndyCar’s annual trip to Canada taking place this weekend at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto event, Sterling, Chaudhaury and Longley have been embedded with the Ganassi team to learn about the inner working of the team and series.

“In the early stages when we were working with Journie on the development and the structure of what this program was going to be, the messaging internally about how this opportunity could really change the outcome of somebody’s very impactful teenage years, and also potentially their lives, really hit home for all of us in that process,” Wheeler told RACER.

“This is going to give not just this first class, but future generations of this class the opportunity to do things that normally they wouldn’t be able to do. It’s going to allow them to be in a group of their peers and to work within some really good karting teams.”

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Karting was instrumental for Simpson, as it was for most drivers in open-wheel and sports car racing, on the path that led him from the Cayman Islands to IndyCar. The stop in Toronto for the NTT IndyCar Series also serves as a reminder of how large of a presence Canadian drivers once held in the championship, but with no Canadians on the Honda Indy Toronto grid, or on the cusp of reaching IndyCar in its top Indy NXT development series, the need to assist at the grassroots level stood out to the Simpsons.

Through the Journie Driving Academy, a hope is held to see the Sterlings, Chaudhaurys, Longleys and whomever will follow behind them in the next class work their way up the racing ladder to the big leagues.

“The Canadian karting scene has been one of those environments that’s produced such good talent that has found success globally,” Wheeler added. “And so for us to be able to help Journie put a spotlight on the talent coming out of Canada is a really unique opportunity. Oftentimes, I feel like some of the young Canadian talent gets overlooked because they’re not in development programs or some of these other karting series that are in the United States.

“One of my favorite parts about this program is the three drivers that were chosen are attached to three teams we’ll work with that are owned and operated by people who have a lot of experience, they’ve been passionate about karting for decades, and have gone through the stages of their life in karting. They’re dedicated to karting, they’re dedicated to the kids, and they’re dedicated to teaching strong values, to hard work and to have discipline for all the kids that they develop in their program.”

The first class were included in a photo shoot with the team earlier this week and have Wheeler, Simpson, and fellow Ganassi IndyCar driver Marcus Armstrong sharing insights and welcoming the kids into the team’s extended family at Toronto.

“This sport is all about the next generations and supporting them the right way,” Wheeler said. “And that really starts in a meaningful way for everyone throughout the Chip Ganassi Racing team this weekend where we get to have these Journie Driving Academy drivers and their families join us at the track and get to know us a little bit more as we get to know them and really introduce them to the pinnacle of motorsports in North America.”

Rahal, Simpson penalized for unapproved engine changes

Graham Rahal and Kyffin Simpson will both carry nine-place grid penalties into this weekend’s NTT IndyCar Series doubleheader at Iowa Speedway for unapproved engine changes following the July 7 race at Mid-Ohio. The No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan …

The No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda and No. 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda were both found to be in violation of Rule 16.1.2.3.2., which states that ‘A fifth (5th) Engine is eligible to earn Engine Manufacturer points if a Full Season Entrant has completed the Full Season Entrant Engine Mileage with its first four (4) Engines. Otherwise, a fifth (5th) or more Engine does not earn Engine Manufacturer points and will be considered an Unapproved Engine change-out.’

According to Rule 16.1.6.1.2., the penalty for such infractions is six grid places on road and street courses, and nine places on ovals.

Both entries will serve their penalties in the first race of the weekend on Saturday evening.

XPEL GP at Road America Saturday end of day recap

RACER’s Marshall Pruett recaps qualifying at Road America for the XPEL Grand Prix, and interviews Marcus Armstrong, Kyffin Simpson, Felix Rosenqvist, and Nolan Siegel. RACER’s Trackside Report at Road America is presented by Radical Motorsport. As …

RACER’s Marshall Pruett recaps qualifying at Road America for the XPEL Grand Prix, and interviews Marcus Armstrong, Kyffin Simpson, Felix Rosenqvist, and Nolan Siegel.

RACER’s Trackside Report at Road America is presented by Radical Motorsport. As one of the world’s most prolific sports car manufacturers, Radical Motorsport sets out to create a race-bred thrill-a-minute driving experience on the racetrack. Radical Cup North America is the continent’s premier Radical championship offering exhilarating multi-class Le Mans style racing for a fraction of the price. Click to learn more.

‘It’s just a hard day’ – Palou on CGR’s missing 500 qualifying form

Chip Ganassi entered more cars than any other team owner for the 108th Indianapolis 500. Although there were no expectations for the winner of the last three Indy 500 poles to place all five Ganassi cars in the Fast 12 group that will run for pole …

Chip Ganassi entered more cars than any other team owner for the 108th Indianapolis 500.

Although there were no expectations for the winner of the last three Indy 500 poles to place all five Ganassi cars in the Fast 12 group that will run for pole on Sunday, nobody predicted the Honda-powered team would miss the Fast 12 altogether.

The last time it happened was 2019, and before that, it was 2013 and 1990. In light of Scott Dixon’s poles in 2021 and 2022 and Alex Palou’s in 2023, having at least one of them in the Fast 12 seemed like a foregone conclusion, but Palou was bumped out late on Saturday by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing’s Ryan Hunter-Reay.

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When day one of qualifying was over, Palou was the top Ganassi representative in 14th, followed by rookie Marcus Armstrong in 16th, rookie Kyffin Simpson in 18th, Dixon in 21st, and rookie Linus Lundqvist in 27th. Among the quintet, the 21st-place starting position for Dixon represents his worst in the New Zealander’s 22-year career at the Speedway. His previous 21 starts were all inside the top 20.

“It’s been tough, as everybody…was expecting us to be up front; we always also wanted to be up front,” Palou told RACER. “The team is coming from three poles in a row here at the 500. We wanted to be there; we wanted to fight. Unfortunately, we’re missing speed — still don’t know where, but that’s the truth. Today, it’s just a hard day.”

Simpson comes in sneaky fast in IndyCar debut at St. Petersburg

Kyffin Simpson was the top rookie performer on Sunday in St. Petersburg. And while his run to 14th at the finish might not stand out as praiseworthy, the fact that he avoided the kind of mistakes to took out veterans and newcomers alike during the …

But the part of the teenager’s IndyCar debut that was hardest to ignore was the blistering lap he fired in towards the end of the race which placed his No. 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda second on the day, only behind race-winner Josef Newgarden.

On lap 64, the Team Penske driver clocked a 1m00.6795s lap during his dominating performance, and on lap 88, the kid from the Cayman Islands threw down a 1m00.8779 to show he’s got serious speed to offer.

“It was a great first day,” Simpson told RACER after improving nine positions. “All this weekend, I haven’t been so comfortable in the car, but in the race, I just felt like having lots of consistent laps was going to help me, and I just kept going and getting comfortable with the track. I felt like that all helped a lot. And then by the end, when we got on the alternate [tires], I felt so much confidence to just push and push. I was really happy with the strategy and just having that ability to really push it to the end.”

Simpson’s No. 4 program was loaded with debut experiences as Danielle Shepherd had a successful first event as an IndyCar race engineer, as did Chris Wheeler, who called race strategy for the program after spending more than a decade as a spotter.

“That’s what we were hoping for,” Shepherd said. “We came into it and said, ‘Be good and get your first one under your belt and finish strong.’ And he did that; highest finishing rookie. He has a lot of experience elsewhere, so now we need to build that experience up here.”

Wheeler had a simple plan for Simpson that turned out to be the perfect strategy across the 100-lap contest.

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“There’s a lot of people on pit lane that have been doing this for a lot longer than I have, that would have loved to have Mike O’Gara and Sebastien Bourdais up there helping me,” he said. “It was just one of those things where we thought there’s gonna be some desperation going on, and I think we saw that from a few cars. I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be a fully-loaded yellow race, like we’ve seen the last couple years. And we just decided, ‘Hey, let’s just keep it basic. Let’s keep it simple. We don’t need to be anything extra here. It’s literally race one of 18 — race one of an IndyCar career. Let’s keep it basic.’

“Kyffin did a great job and did everything we asked of him. Hauled the car from 23rd to 14th and put in the fastest lap of the race, only behind the guy who won. We’re super impressed.”

Simpson’s endurance racing experience was helpful on Sunday as he managed risks when necessary and turned up the speed when the time was right.

“It was pretty tough, especially on the start,” he said. “Colin Braun and I went side by side, all the way from Turn 5 through Turn 9, and it was really tight all through that section at the start, just trying to keep it out of the wall. When I was pushing it at the end, and the tires started to get a little hot, I started to make some mistakes, so then I just had to remind myself to calm down. I had Chris on the radio telling me to calm down and just bring it home. The goal for today was just to finish all the laps, and that’s what we did.”

Wheeler was understandably proud to see how far the reconfigured team has come during the offseason and wants to get back to work once the second event of the year at The Thermal Club later this month.

“A lot of this goes back to all the questions that we’ve heard in the offseason about going to five cars, having some rookies, and we just went to five cars and this rookie driver went from P23 to P14,” he added. “I think that says volumes for all the people that Chip Ganassi Racing that really bought into this program and have dedicated so much to the five cars over the last four or five months. Honestly, I’m kind of bummed that it’s over. I wish we were here doing a doubleheader so we could go again tomorrow with Kyffin, but I’ll have to wait ’til Thermal.”

Ganassi adds fifth IndyCar for Indy NXT grad Simpson in 2024

Chip Ganassi Racing has chosen to elevate Kyffin Simpson to the NTT IndyCar Series in a fifth Honda-powered entry. Driving for the back-to-back champions at HMD Motorsports since the middle of 2022, the 18-year-old from the Cayman Islands trained in …

Chip Ganassi Racing has chosen to elevate Kyffin Simpson to the NTT IndyCar Series in a fifth Honda-powered entry.

Driving for the back-to-back champions at HMD Motorsports since the middle of 2022, the 18-year-old from the Cayman Islands trained in the Indy NXT series where he placed second at Mid-Ohio and third on the Indianapolis road course on the way to finishing 10th in the 2023 championship. Under Ganassi’s direction, Simpson also races in the European Le Mans Series where he and his LMP2 teammates have won a race and hold second in the standings.

“It’s been incredible working with Chip Ganassi Racing as their development driver over the last couple years and I’ve been able to learn so much,” Simpson said. “I am very excited to be making the next step to IndyCar with this team. I had a great time at the test and I can’t wait to get back in the car.

“It’s been my dream to race in the NTT IndyCar Series and it’s an honor to make it happen now with one of the best teams in the series. I’m really looking forward to working more closely with the entire team and the drivers. I want to give all the glory to God, and I also want to thank Chip and Mike [Hull] for giving me this opportunity, Ridgeline Lubricants and The American Legion for their support, and of course my family.”

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Simpson’s graduation to IndyCar comes one year earlier than expected, but the move to IndyCar — in 2024 or 2025 — has been in the works as part of a long-term plan the CGR team crafted for the talented teen.

“We welcome Kyffin as a teammate to our IndyCar program,” said CGR managing director Mike Hull. “He has been integrated into a Chip Ganassi Racing multi-year defined development program which now provides the opportunity at open-wheel’s highest level. He has already tested an IndyCar with more to follow as an Indy NXT graduate. In addition, he is already a proven winner in IMSA at the 12 Hours of Sebring in LMP2 and on an LMP2 global stage in the [Asian and European Le Mans Series].”

RACER understands the team will run all five cars from under the same expansive tent.

Simpson earns first Indy NXT pole with new Road America track record

Kyffin Simpson earned his first career pole and broke the track record at the Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America on Saturday. Chip Ganassi Racing development driver Simpson, from the Cayman Islands, turned a top lap of 1m49.1028s in …

Kyffin Simpson earned his first career pole and broke the track record at the Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America on Saturday.

Chip Ganassi Racing development driver Simpson, from the Cayman Islands, turned a top lap of 1m49.1028s in the No. 21 HMD Motorsports with CGR car. That time was nearly three seconds quicker than the previous record, 1m52.0034s set by Colton Herta in 2017. The entire 14-turn, 4.014-mile circuit was repaved last fall, hiking speeds dramatically.

Simpson’s previous best starting spot was fourth in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course race.

“It was incredible,” Simpson said. “It was a crazy session. We had a red flag early on, and after that, it was just chaos on track with everyone going by. We had a plan to stick in line as a team, but that kind of went out the window when the Andrettis caught us. It was awesome to be able to get the lap.”

Colin Kaminsky qualified a career-best second at 1:49.4151 in the No. 57 Abel Motorsports with Slick Locks car. His previous best start was seventh earlier this month for the second race of the Detroit doubleheader.

Rookie Reece Gold tied his career-best qualifying position by ending up third at 1:49.4828 in the No. 10 HMD Motorsports with DCR car. Fellow rookie Nolan Siegel – two points out of the championship lead – also will start from the second row after qualifying fourth at 1:49.5238 in the No. 39 HMD Motorsports with DCR machine.

Louis Foster is one of four rookies in the top five on the starting grid, fifth at 1:49.5239 in the No. 26 Copart/USF Pro Championship car. Veteran Jacob Abel rounds out row three, qualifying sixth at 1:49.5634 in the No. 51 Abel Motorsports entry.

Championship leader Christian Rasmussen, who has a 178-176 edge over Siegel, qualified seventh at 1:49.5878 in the No. 6 HMD Motorsports with DCR car.

Simpson hung on to the pole during a one-lap shootout created when Matteo Nannini spun into the gravel trap outside Turn 1 with 20 seconds remaining in the session, triggering a red flag. INDYCAR officials allowed the rest of the field to turn one final qualifying lap when the track reopened.

“I was just really hoping that today would be the day that I would finally get my first pole,” Simpson said. “It was, so it’s truly incredible. We weren’t able to improve on that last lap, but no one else did, so that worked out well for us.”

UP NEXT: The 20-lap race is scheduled for 11:10am ET Sunday (Peacock)

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