IndyCar driver Kyle Kirkwood, 27, takes the checkered flag to win the 48th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday Apr. 16, 2023.
“I’ve won every single championship coming up and a multitude of races every year and then coming into IndyCar my first year and barely sniffing Top 10s,” Kirkwood said. “That’s a tough thing to accept and it just goes to show how tough the competition is here.” Kirkwood certainly kept his cool, leading 53 laps and crossing the line nearly a second before Andretti Autosport teammate Romain Grosjean last year.
And the weather – Sunday’s forecast calls for 75-degree temperatures with mixed sun and clouds – is always just right on race day. Indycar driver Kyle Kirkwood, right, is congratulated by a race fan after capturing his first career pole for Sunday’s 48th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Saturday Apr. 15, 2023. The South Florida native never dreamed he’d drive for Andretti Global Autosport or be welcomed like a member of the family.
“It’s not something that I would’ve even thought was a possibility when I was 12 or 13 years old, let alone when I was 5 when I started carting,” Kirkwood said. “It’s been something that’s been super surreal.”