Simpson reverses the slide with career-best finish in Detroit

Kyffin Simpson started the 100-lap Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix from an unremarkable 19th-place position on the 27-car grid.The IndyCar Series sophomore didn’t get the start he wanted, falling to 22nd at the end of the first lap, and on the second, the situation worsened as the No. 8 Honda dropped to 23rd.

Racing with Indy 500 polesitter Robert Shwartzman from the PREMA team, Simpson and Shwartzman chased each other — trading positions along the way — from the back of the field until the first caution on the 14th lap, when the No. 8 Ganassi car had improved to 11th.

Race strategist Taylor Kiel had Simpson on a unique plan, the only one of its kind on Sunday, where the 20-year-old from the Cayman Islands would go extremely long on a new set of Firestone’s sturdier primary tires for the opening stint — 38 laps — and use any early cautions as launching pads to gain positions by staying out when other pitted.

The middle segment of the race is where Kiel went off the reservation by throwing two consecutive sets of new and fast but fragile alternate tires at Simpson, who pitted on the 65th lap. By chance, the limited windows of usage for the alternates meant the two sets were quickly cooked and so the No. 8 came in to return to primaries, fell to 18th during the green-flag visit, and departed to complete his run to the checkered flag.

Two laps later, PREMA’s Callum Ilott crashed, a caution was required, and with most of the field diving in to make their final stop, Simpson found himself taking the restart in second place on lap 76.

He'd get passed by eventual race winner Kyle Kirkwood, Kirkwood’s Andretti Global teammate Colton Herta, and Team Penske’s Will Power before the end of the race, but considering the differences in experience, Simpson’s fifth-place finish — the best of his young career and the best for Ganassi on the day, as Scott Dixon took 11th and Alex Palou was crashed out in 25th — was another reminder of the Caymanian’s potential.

He also earned his second fastest lap of the race this season, adding to the fastest-lap honor he took in his very first IndyCar race at St. Petersburg in 2024, and improved upon his career-best finish of 10th place from Long Beach in April. Simpson is a long way from being mentioned in the same breath as IndyCar’s top young talents, but for a second-year driver who got a late start in the sport and arrived in the series with no fanfare, he’s showing the kind of growth that suggests more impressive results are in his future.

“Kyffin works very, very hard at trying to be better,” Kiel told RACER. “When you look at the situation that he's in right now, he sits at a table with nine IndyCar Series championships, two Indy 500 wins, with Scott and Alex, and when (Ganassi coach) Dario [Franchitti] is in the room, it's a lot more than that. So the guy's sitting there at 20 years old, and he's certainly learning from the best. And next to them, there's a level of ‘you’ve got to bring it.’ And there can be intimidation with that. There can be pressure with all of that.

“But Kiffin just does a really good job of listening and learning and asking questions when he's got questions. And he's certainly not afraid to ask questions and speak up. He’s got a hell of an opportunity with this team and the people that he's surrounded by, and I think he's doing everything that he needs to do to take advantage of that. And the year one to year two jump, we're certainly seeing that.”

Coming off of his 10th at Long Beach, Simpson was 15th in the Drivers’ championship. A strong run to 10th in qualifying was met by a poor race day at Barber Motorsports Park with a finish of 21st which dropped him to 17th in the standings, but he rebounded with another 10th-place qualifying performance at the Indianapolis Grand Prix. A bad remainder of the month of May saw Simpson sitting idle on the GP pre-grid as the No. 8 refused to fire. Unable to compete, he was listed 27th and last in the results.

More misery was awaiting at the big one, the Indy 500, where Simpson started 13th, was running 21st just before the halfway point, and was crashed after Kyle Larson spun and hit the No. 8 car, leaving Simpson 25th in the race and 21st in the championship.

Two consecutive knockouts were tough to accept, and that’s where a clean and fortuitous race at Detroit helped to balance out the string of bad luck. He improved to 18th in the standings after the weekend and is only one or two good finishes away from cracking the top 15. Two fastest laps, two top 10 qualifying runs, and two top 10 finishes from the seven opening races of his second season is lot more than anyone knew to expect from Simpson.

“We were disappointed how that that ended up in the Indy GP race for him was not even be able to leave the grid,” Kiel said. “I think he was really set up for his best performance to date there, and he never got to leave the grid. So for him to have that experience, then go to the 500 and have a really, really rough Indianapolis, and then bounce back like he did in Detroit, it speaks to his skill and his progression.

“On track over the last 12 to 18 months, it’s just consistent improvement, and off-track, too. Holistically, as a driver and a professional, he's doing what he needs to do to continue to progress and put himself in a position for wins and championships going forward.”