Kirkwood Signs Multi-year Extension with Andretti Autosport

Written by Olivia Hicks, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri

Kyle Kirkwood continues at Andretti. Image Credit - Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Andretti Autosport announced the extension of Kyle Kirkwood’s contract with the team on Tuesday. The No. 26 IndyCar driver will drive alongside teammates Marcus Ericsson and Colton Herta for the 2024 racing season.

Kirkwood joined the NTT IndyCar Series in 2022 following a two-year stint representing Andretti Autosport in the Indy Lights Championship. In 2021, Kirkwood made history, becoming the first racing driver to come out on top in each IndyCar feeder series.

With only one season under his belt, the twenty-four-year-old driver secured his maiden win in Long Beach this year. Kirkwood also went on to win the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville, making history yet again as the first American to do so. The Floridian finished the IndyCar season in 11th place, and was the only Andretti Autosport driver to bring home a first-place trophy all season.

Kirkwood expressed his excitement for the years to come:

“I am thrilled to be able to continue with Andretti Global for years to come,” Kirkwood said in a press release. “It’s fantastic that I will now have the opportunity to work with the same group – it’s a luxury I haven’t had the privilege of having since my karting days. Now we can put our heads down and fully focus on winning races and becoming a strong Championship contender. I have such a huge respect for this team and it will be an honor to continue to call myself an INDYCAR driver for Andretti Global.”

While newbie drivers routinely shop around from team to team before finding a solid fit, Kirkwood is one of the few that has stuck with the same team throughout. Building a foundation for success, Kirkwood’s two 2023 top podium finishes only spell promising things for the racing driver.

Michael Andretti, CEO and chairman of Andretti Global, seems to have a clear plan for investing that promise.

“Bringing Kyle into the multi-year plans along with Colton [Herta] and Marcus [Ericsson] will only strengthen the continuity we’ve been looking for in our INDYCAR program,” Andretti said.