Kyle Kirkwood continued his steady climb in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2025, delivering a breakout campaign that confirmed his emergence as one of the series’ top young talents.

That’s a big reason why Kirkwood, who joined Andretti Global in 2023 following his INDYCAR SERIES rookie year in 2022 with AJ Foyt Racing, signed a multiyear contract extension announced Nov. 3.

Kirkwood, 27, from Jupiter, Florida, earned three wins in 17 races in the 2025 season -- surpassing the two victories he had amassed in his previous 51 career starts. Among them was a significant milestone: his first career oval victory, which came June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The win not only added to his résumé but helped dispel the notion he was only a street circuit specialist.

Before that, all four of his career wins had come on street courses -- twice at Long Beach, once at Detroit and once in Nashville.

“Huge highlights with the three wins,” Kirkwood said. “Everything kind of clicked together at those three events.”

The 2025 season also saw him improve in overall consistency at the front of the field. Kirkwood doubled his career podium total in one year -- adding three this season alone after managing just three in his first 51 combined starts. However, for all the highs, the campaign ended on a disappointing note.

Following a fourth-place finish at the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on June 22, Kirkwood’s performance dipped sharply. That was his last top-five result of the season. He racked up five top-five finishes through the first nine races – matching his 2024 total – but went without a single one in the final eight rounds.

At the midway point of the season, Kirkwood was second in the standings and had an average finish of 7.8. Over the final stretch, that average ballooned to 15.1, dropping him two positions to fourth in the final championship standings.

How does a driver evaluate a season where he delivered more wins and podiums than ever but struggled down the stretch?

“Up and down,” Kirkwood said. “We had some events where things just did not click together at all.”

Kyle Kirkwood

The turning point seemed to come at Iowa Speedway in mid-July. A crash in practice ahead of qualifying for the doubleheader weekend put Kirkwood (photo, above) behind from the start. He began the races from 18th and 21st and crashed out of the first, finishing 26th. A day later, he crossed the line 18th, one lap down.

Toronto offered another missed opportunity. He had pole-winning pace but clipped the wall during the Firestone Fast Six, relegating him to sixth on the grid, a spot where he ultimately finished.

The struggles continued on road courses at WeatherTech Laguna Seca and Portland International Raceway, where he started 18th and 20th and finished 16th and 20th, respectively.

He finished the season 12th at Milwaukee Mile and sixth at Nashville Superspeedway, both ovals.

Still, Kirkwood’s overall trajectory remains upward. After finishing 24th in points as a rookie in 2022, he moved up to 11th in 2023, seventh in 2024 and fourth in 2025.

That steady climb gives Kirkwood confidence that his best is still ahead, despite the troublesome second half of this past season.

“It was a better season than last year, and last year was better than the year before that,” he said. “So, we’re progressing. We’re getting better. We just need a little bit more performance at some of the road courses and short ovals to be able to truly compete at the top.”