Kyle Kirkwood podiums in IndyCar return to Phoenix

• Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood drove his #27 Honda Indy car from 11th to second at Phoenix Raceway
• Marcus Armstong gives Meyer Shank Racing a top five finish in the Good Ranchers 250
• Four of five Honda-powered teams finish in the top 10

Kyle Kirkwood led the way for Honda in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES' return to Phoenix Raceway-scoring a second-place finish aboard his #27 Andretti Global machine.

Kirkwood started 11th and worked his way to the front of the field via an alternate pit strategy, leading 47 laps in the later stages of the Good Ranchers 250. It was only the gamble to take fresh tires on the final yellow flag for eventual race winner Josef Newgarden that allowed him to move forward and drop Kirkwood back to second place with a mere 8 laps to the finish.

The podium finish moved Kirkwood into second in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings, just five points behind the leader.

Meyer Shank Racing's Marcus Armstrong finished fifth in a strong showing after starting 13th on the grid.

Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon, a previous winner in Phoenix, finished seventh, while Rahal Letterman Lanigan's Graham Rahal finished ninth-making it four Honda-powered teams in the top 10.

Two strong Honda contenders for the win had their days cut short by contact. Alex Palou drove from 10th into the top five before contact with Rinus VeeKay ended his day on lap 22. The incident ends Palou's championship leading streak which began in July of 2024.

Will Power started at the very rear of the grid following a crash in qualifying and powered himself to the front of the field-leading 10 laps in his second start for Andretti Global before contact with the #21 dropped him down to 16th at the flag.

Good Ranchers 250 Honda Race Results

R - Rookie

Quotes

Kyle Kirkwood (#27 Andretti Global Honda) finished second: "I'm really happy with our JM Bullion Honda and our result today. We had a really good shot to win there up until the final handful of laps, that's just what 20-lap fresher tires can do. And today we scored a huge second place for our #27 team. We typically haven't been that good on short ovals and hopefully this is a turning point for all of us at Andretti Global to really bring the fight on these types of tracks. Shout out to Honda-our fuel economy and overall power were incredible all race long. Just a good day for our JM Bullion Honda team."

Marcus Armstrong (#66 Meyer Shank Racing Honda) finished fifth: "I'm happy to see the end of that one really. It was a tricky day because I was basically just sliding the whole day. I was really happy to see the checkered flag. I honestly had such a great time battling it out with Scott (Dixon). He's someone that I grew up watching on TV being a fellow Kiwi and I really looked up to him. So, to be able to be racing right next to him on track was something really fun and special. Phoenix Raceway is honestly such a fun track and I'm hoping that this is a regular on the INDYCAR schedule."

Kelvin Fu (Vice President, Honda Racing Corporation USA): "It's good to be back at Phoenix. There was a great crowd out there today and I'm glad IndyCar could put on a show for them. Huge congrats to Kyle Kirkwood ending up second place. It's always a good day when you stand on the podium. We had four of our five Honda-powered teams finish in the top 10, and the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team had an incredible qualifying performance. We've made a step, but it's clear that we have more work to do before our next short oval at WWTR in June. Huge thank you to everyone at HRC US for their continued hard work!"

Next
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES next travels to Arlington, Texas for the third back-to-back-to-back race weekend to open the season-the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington Sunday March 15th at 12:30 PM ET on FOX.

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