For the first time since 1980, only two drivers have won the first eight races of the season!
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood took the victory in Sunday’s dramatic Bommarito
Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The win was the Floridian’s third of the season, but more importantly, his first oval win.
“My first oval win; I’m over the moon right now,” Kirkwood said after the race. “Ovals have eluded me for a very long time, so it’s nice to get that first one and break that ice. An oval win and a road course win is what I wanted. I didn’t want people just to think of me as a street course guy, or else they’ll just have me going to street courses. A little bit of job security there. This is a big one, a big one for the guys. This is huge, massive.”
In what was an extremely chaotic race, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward closed the gap to championship leader Alex Palou to 73 points following his second-place finish.
Kirkwood’s victory ensured that he maintains his third place in the championship and is only two points behind O’Ward in the race for second. Andretti Global has really come out fighting this season, with Kirkwood having scored three victories from the opening eight races.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon scored a fourth-place finish at Gateway which resulted in him moving up two places in the standings to fifth with 206 points.
Felix Rosenqvist maintained sixth in the championship following his 16th-place finish in St Louis; however, Meyer Shank Racing has shown signs of speed this season. Marcus Armstrong’s ninth-place finish moved him into the top 10 in the standings, which is a great accomplishment for the New Zealander. For reference, MSR’s best points finish to date was 12th for Rosenqvist last year.
Team Penske had an atrocious night at the oval that has served them so well in the past.
Will Power moved down two spots in the championship from fifth to seventh after suffering a right front tire failure after winning the pole for the weekend. Scott McLaughlin remains in eighth place following his retirement from the race over the weekend, adding to the string of disappointments that started in May.
Josef Newgarden had the worst night of the Penske drivers, suffering a scary crash while leading the race. The No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet looked on course for its first victory of the season and was leading the race while navigating lapped traffic, and he hit Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Louis Foster, who came into his path after his own accident.
Luckily, he was okay after ending up with his car upside down on the frontstretch.
AJ Foyt Racing continues to show impressive speed this season with David Malukas leading laps at the race in St Louis. Malukas started the race fourth and came home in 12th place, while Santino Ferrucci had a great race. The driver of the No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet started the race from 19th and made up 14 spots to finish in fifth. As a result, both drivers are in 11th and 12th place in the championship, which is fantastic for the team.
In the race for the Manufacturer’s championship, Honda leads Chevrolet by 148 points as the series enters the second half of the 2025 season, still searching for a Chevrolet victory.
The main championship battle is heating up, but that is not the only points battle on the line as the Rookie Of the Year championship also needs to be settled. Robert Shwartzman is leading the standings with 99 points, 18 ahead of Foster.
Shwartzman has been very impressive on the ovals, with his pole in Indy and a top-10 finish this weekend. While PREMA Racing is new to IndyCar, they are learning quickly and showing promise with both cars.
Gateway left many questions lingering as we head to Road America. Can Palou return to victory lane following two tough races? Will someone other than Palou or Kirkwood gain a victory at the longest road course on the schedule? When will Chevy win a race? What’s going on with Team Penske?
We’ve got a summer full of racing to find out!