"Not been just by luck": Alex Palou makes feelings known on CGR teammate Kyffin Simpson's rise in IndyCar after Mid-Ohio feat

Chip Ganassi Racing has remained a two-car outfit over the past year, but Kyffin Simpson has matured over his sophomore year, leading Alex Palou to shower some appreciation over the 20-year-old. After the Caymanian driver qualified third for the race, the reigning champion opened up on how his teammate has secured a strong string of results in the 2025 season.

Simpson joined the IndyCar field in 2024 with CGR. The Caymanian did not have a strong set of results backing his CV, but he was promoted by Chip Ganassi to the top league of open-wheel racing in the United States.

While Simpson had a torrid rookie season, claiming a best finish of 13th at Milwaukee, he was retained by the Indianapolis-based team for another season. Though his trend of subpar results continued in the early half of the season, he secured his first top-10 result at Long Beach, followed up with two fifth and sixth place finishes in the following six race weekends.

With Kyffin Simpson qualifying third for the Mid-Ohio Grand Prix, Alex Palou talked about how his teammate has developed in the championship due to his skill and not sheer luck, as he said in the post-qualifying press conference:

"Yeah, we need to remember that he's very, very young... He's 20. He's very, very young. He's been picking up a ton of speed, especially this year, as I said. I think he's in front of one Penske car in the championship standings now with a couple of incidents and mechanical issues that he had. If you look at the performance he's had, he's been really, really fast, and it's not been just by luck. I think he just finished in Road America sixth or fifth, so that was pretty good."

"Honestly, I don't think he cares or I care or anybody cares about what they think about him, but yeah, he's good. I'm very happy for him."

Meanwhile, Palou secured the pole position for the Grand Prix, with Arrow McLaren's Christian Lundgaard pairing him on the front row.

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Alex Palou reveals the edge that Kyffin Simpson has over the front row starters at the Mid-Ohio Grand Prix

Alex Palou after bagging the pole position for the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio - Source: Getty

Alex Palou would start the race from the front seat and is expected to have a battle for the lead into turn one with Lundgaard. However, the race will take place over 90 laps, making the strategy a big factor in the event.

On the other hand, drivers like Kyffin Simpson and Nolan Siegel would be starting in the top six and have an extra set of sticker reds for the race, making them a valiant threat for top positions during the 90-lap race, as Palou said in the press conference:

"Even Kyffin [Simpson] has -- he's starting third and he has one more set of alternates than us. It's big. It's big. It's a huge advantage."

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old has amassed 386 points and has a massive 93-point lead in the championship standings.