Kyffin Simpson, sophomore NTT IndyCar Series driver of Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 8 Journie Honda, made his 20th career start with something to prove. The Barbadian entered his second full-time season in IndyCar as part of a downsized operation at CGR and has high expectations to meet as teammate to six-time champion Scott Dixon and three-time champion Alex Palou.
Before he strapped into the car, he took time to talk about his journey, not to be confused with his long-time sponsor Journie, to the highest level of American open-wheel racing.
After working his way up through the Formula 4 United States Championship, USF Pro 2000 and select IMSA GTD and LMP2 races, Simpson landed with CGR in 2024; a team with over 137 wins in IndyCar with Palou and Dixon as powerful teammates.
For Simpson, racing with one of the premier teams in the sport is nothing short of incredible.
“It’s pretty incredible to be working with such a great team after making my way through the [motorsports] ladder,” Simpson said. “It was a great experience learning all the way through the ladder, but just the experience at Chip Ganassi Racing — it helps new drivers so much. Even if you’ve got a ton of experience in ladder series competition, you’re able to really learn a lot still from all of these guys.”
Simpson spoke on what led him to finding his passion and love for racing while growing up in Barbados.
“I just got into it from a friend who raced go-karts in Barbados and I would always see him racing at the track,” Simpson said. “We were good friends for a long time. He got me into it, and I fell in love with it and the competition. Racing against him was a lot of fun. So, I just continued throughout my career.”
Through his first 19 races with CGR, Simpson’s best career finish was 12th in his first start at the 2024 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Although the 90-lap race ran caution-free, Simpson briefly led three laps during pit cycles and set the fastest lap of the race — a 103.981 mph flyer on green tires. He was also one of six drivers to start on the harder, black Firestone Primaries, a strategy that helped him secure a career-best 10th-place finish.
Career-best finish ☑️ @TAGHeuer Fastest Lap ☑️
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) April 15, 2025
A statement drive from @kyffin_simpson. pic.twitter.com/nvtuxTeZbT
“It was a really solid race,” Simpson said as one of his crew members placed the custom necklace around his neck. “We went with something very different on strategy, and most didn’t. We were the third person on Primaries in the order. It was good for us to be doing something different because we knew we had the pace. We just needed to get some clean air to drive forward. I think that’s what we did today, and we did a good job at it.”
“It was a very clean race, surprisingly clean actually,” he told Frontstretch’s Bryan Nolen. “We were just hoping that it would stay green on those first couple of laps, and we knew that the strategy wouldn’t really pan out for the guys.”
Going into the next stop on the calendar at Barber Motorsports Park, Simpson is currently 15th in the points standings. He will look to best his finish of 14th at Barber in 2024.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattWRacing