“This year feels a little bit different” - Kyle Kirkwood
Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
By Dennis Krause
It was only the first official day of practice for the the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500 but driver Kyle Kirkwood is feeling good about things.
The driver of the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda posted the fastest “no-tow” speed of the day at 220.062 mph, Tuesday, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It was good. We got through the test items that we wanted to get through, just like I'm sure everybody did out there. You never really know what people are doing in the first couple of days of running around here. Once we get to Thursday, we kind of know everybody is doing some qualy stuff before we have Fast Friday, but today went well.
“I think relative pace and speed compared to last year is up for us, which is a positive. Also, did a little bit of race running. I was happy for the time that I had.”
Kirkwood’s new Andretti Global teammate, Will Power, was second on the “no-tow” speed chart at 221.445 in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda.
“He's looking pretty good,” Kirkwood said. “I don't think he got to the level as us. So I think at the same position where he was, we did the exact same speed. We're all comparable, which is good.”
Kirkwood added, “He's been a massive wealth of knowledge to bring into our organization. He's still extremely fast.
“Having Will being able to come in with his track record, the pedigree he comes with, the knowledge that he comes with, and kind of the direction and the push that he has for this group has been really, really good.
“It continues to show every single weekend. I know he hasn't had the finishes that he's wanted. He's had some mistakes. He's had some misfortune, but at the end of the day, he's really elevated this team, and he's been a great asset to us.
Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment
With the weather forecast to be cooler the rest of the week, Monday’s temperatures were probably the closest to what they’ll be like Saturday for qualifying Day One.
According to Kirkwood, the team stuck to their program and aren’t comparing their speeds to others just yet.
“I mean, we put a little bit of emphasis on how we want the car to feel, but not necessarily looking at the speed relative to other people, because we don't really know what other people are doing out there.
“We don't know if they did any semi-Q Sims or anything. We're not really paying attention, if I'm being honest. We're just getting through the items that we've done.
“That was really it. It didn't look like many -- some people just do car compare. Some people trim a little bit. You never really know.
“We were just going off of everything that we've learned in the offseason trying to verify things and then move on from there. Then we'll start to actually hone in on what's good for us and then look at time, speed charts, and understand where we're at.”
As there are only 33 cars entered for the 500, there will be no bumping during Sunday’s qualifications. The fastest nine cars from Day One will be locked into the Top 12 qualifying session on Day Two earning the opportunity to advance to the Firestone Fast Six and a spot to compete for the pole position on Race Day.
Cars ranked 10-15 on Day One will advance to the Final 15 round on Day Two and will have the opportunity to compete for the three spots remaining to fill the Top 12 round. Starting in reverse order of qualifying speeds based on Day One, each of the six cars will have one attempt to post a traditional four-lap qualifying time with the fastest three to advance to the Top 12 qualifying round.
Top 12 Qualifying will begin with the three advancing cars from Final 15 – slowest to fastest – followed by the cars, from ninth to first, that advanced to the round based on speeds from Day One. Like in previous years, the fastest six will advance to the Firestone Fast Six to determine positions one through six and compete for the NTT P1 Award for pole. Those finishing seventh through 12th will fill out starting positions seven through 12 according to their time and speed.
Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment
Even with the new-ish qualifying format, Kirkwood is shooting for a top nine speed on Saturday.
“Our goal is to be solidified in the top 9, to be honest,” he said. “I think that's probably everyone's goal.
“You know, in the past couple of years we've had chances to be at the front and just kind of hasn't materialized when Saturday comes along, but I think this year feels a little bit different. We hope to be really at the front and not having to worry about doing multiple runs. Just kind of get into the Fast Nine. Make sure you're rolling into the Fast Six. That's a big goal of ours.”
Second in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings, it’s the best championship position Kirkwood has been in going into the 500. Looking ahead to Race Day, would Kirkwood race to keep his championship chances intact or do anything to win the 500 over the championship?
“That's a good question. That’s a tough one,” Kirkwood responded. “I think in the case scenario that you have a shot to win this race, the last thing I'm going to be looking at is what points I have at the end of this race, right?
“Winning this race -- I think most drivers will say winning this race is quite a bit bigger than winning the championship. In many ways, yeah, I'm going to throw caution to the wind if it comes down to being able to win.
“Of course, if I'm running between that kind of 10th to 5th range like I've been doing the past few years, then yeah, you're looking at points more so because you don't really have a shot in that final stint if you're in that range unless something crazy happens.
“But if I'm at the front, yeah, points aren't going to be my focus.”
Practice resumes from noon-6 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.