Kyle Kirkwood credits Michael Andretti's replacement as Andretti Global dominates IndyCar & Indy NXT races at WWTR

Kyle Kirkwood took his first oval victory in IndyCar at the World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday. The Andretti Global driver claimed his third win of the season under the lights in IndyCar's first Sunday night prime-time race on FOX. After the chaotic race, he addressed how team owner Dan Towriss, who took over from Michael Andretti last year, has contributed to the team's success.

Kirkwood sealed a clean sweep for Andretti Global after the team's Indy NXT driver, Lochie Hughes, won the Indy NXT race in the evening. Indy NXT is the topmost rung of the IndyCar junior ladder, where Andretti has won five of five races this season. Dennis Hauger has been the team's lead driver, winning four.

In the press conference after the IndyCar race, Kirkwood spoke about the team's phenomenal run in the two categories. He said, via ASAP Sports:

"Well, obviously, we're two very separate entities, even though we work under one umbrella. They're very separate in engineers and the way things are spread out there. But in regards to Lochie and Dennis Hauger, they've been doing a great job, a phenomenal job, racing hard. They've got, I think, very bright futures in them, both of them, they do, and I look forward to competing against them in INDYCAR here in the future."

Kirkwood then elaborated on the management changes in the IndyCar team, crediting Dan Towriss for the turnaround.

"But if you look at the IndyCar stuff, we're doing everything right now. It's been a lot of development. Dan Towriss has taken over TWG Motorsports. Big effort has been put in to make sure that we're producing race-winning cars, and that goes to every single track that we go to, and efforts are paying off now."

Towriss was a minority owner of the team until September 2024, when IndyCar legend Michael Andretti departed the team. The 65-year-old had bought a stake in the team in 2002 and assumed full ownership in 2009.

Andretti led the team to six Indy Lights (now Indy NT) championships, four IndyCar championships, and five Indy 500 victories. He stepped down from his position as CEO and chairman of his namesake organization, citing the desire to pay more attention to his family and build other business ventures.

Kyle Kirkwood gives full credit to Pato O'Ward for nearly 'charging' him down for the win at WWTR

Pato O'Ward and Kyle Kirkwood on the podium after the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

The 2025 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 was an unpredictable race. The ever-dominant Team Penske struggled at the 1.25-mile oval, with unfortunate incidents taking out Josef Newgarden and Will Power. Kyle Kirkwood, who started in P10, found himself in the Top 3 before the final round of pit stops.

Kirkwood's No. 27 Andretti Global crew's swiftness in the pits allowed him to make a successful undercut on Pato O'Ward and Scott Dixon. Thereon, he defended his lead and overcame lapped traffic to keep O'Ward in his rear-view mirror.

However, after the race, Kirkwood credited his Arrow McLaren rival for keeping the pressure on until the end.

"He made a good charge there at the end, I'm not going to lie. And I had his teammate sticking in front of me, making sure I didn't get by him," Kirkwood said, via ASAP Sports.

McLaren's Nolan Siegel was one of the lapped cars ahead of Kyle Kirkwood. If he'd played his part perfectly, O'Ward could've won the race. However, Siegel was "sleeping" on the wheel, as O'Ward bluntly admitted post-race.

"It would have been really hard to hold them off when Siegel was right in front of me, I'm not going to lie. Because I know Pato, and he's going to do everything in his power to win a race," Kirkwood added.

In eight races this season, Kyle Kirkwood has been the only driver to beat Alex Palou, who won five of the first six. After Sunday, the Andretti driver reduced his 90-point championship gap to Palou, who finished the race in P8, to 73.