Days after Detroit win, Kyle Kirkwood makes it crystal clear what makes a ‘boring’ IndyCar format

Kyle Kirkwood secured his second win of the season and fourth of his career during Sunday's Detroit Grand Prix. Interestingly, he has won all these races on street courses. He highlighted the significance of experiencing diverse tracks, despite his strong results in one particular type.

Kirkwood made a strong comeback at the Detroit Grand Prix, shaking off a challenging week with a standout victory. Earlier, his promising run at the Indianapolis 500 suffered a setback when what seemed to be a seventh-place finish was overturned after his car failed the post-race technical inspection, relegating him to 32nd in the standings.

Speaking about various challenges posed by different courses, he emphasised how it creates a new discipline for drivers. (via SpeedFreaks YouTube Channel)

"I like the format that we have. We kinda bounce around, and this goes back to what we talked about earlier, where it feels like a bunch of ovals together, a bunch of street courses, a bunch of road courses, be a little of a boring format and it wouldn't force the drivers to be very adaptable," said Kirkwood.

"I like this format, I like going from one of the fastest courses we go to to one of the slowest courses we have...I like that it changes things up and creates a new discipline for drivers, and you have to be adaptable to be in the championship because of that," Kirkwood added

Kyle Kirkwood is not too hopeful about clinching the IndyCar championship

AUTO: JUL 02 IndyCar - Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio - Source: Getty

Kyle Kirkwood’s triumph in Detroit on Sunday disrupted what had been a nearly perfect 2025 NTT IndyCar Championship campaign for Alex Palou. Although the victory marked Kirkwood’s second of the season, he remains cautious about his prospects for contending for the overall title.

In a chaotic race, David Malukas collided with Alex Palou going into Turn 1 on a restart, causing Palou’s #10 Honda to slam into the tire barrier. The crash forced him to retire on Lap 72 of the 100-lap race. While Palou wasn’t in contention for a podium finish, he was on track to earn crucial points for the championship.

With Palou out of the race, Kyle Kirkwood, who had earlier claimed the season’s only other win at the Long Beach Grand Prix, saw a rare opportunity to close the gap in the championship standings. Despite his victory, Kirkwood remained realistic and expressed doubts about his chances of clinching the IndyCar title.

“We’re not really still in the hunt, I wouldn’t say. I could imagine. I don’t know what the points actually are, but it at least gives you a taste of, ‘oh, maybe we can claw back at this,’ which is pretty cool. I don’t know where we end up in the championship now. I know we were, I think, fifth coming into this weekend and now we’re second," said Kirkwood (via Pitdebrief).

Kyle Kirkwood is currently third in the championship with 209 points, trailing championship leader Alex Palou by 102 points.