Kyffin Simpson is one of five drivers at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2024 (Photo: Sierra Allmon | The Podium Finish).
Racers pine for an opportunity to compete in INDYCAR. Some drivers make the leap quicker than others, and Kyffin Simpson is one of those drivers who have jumped up in a short period of time.
Despite not having eye-popping accolades in Indy NXT, the driver from the Cayman Islands is one of four INDYCAR rookies in 2024.
Not only will he represent his country in one of open wheel’s premier divisions, but he’ll also drive for Chip Ganassi Racing — the very team he has been under a driver development contract for two years.
With important votes of confidence from Chip Ganassi and Mike Hull, Simpson has taken the time to embrace the opportunity of being teammates with Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Marcus Armstrong and fellow rookie Linus Lundqvist.
No doubt, Simpson will have very strong company with Dixon and Palou, winners of eight championships for Ganassi, Lundqvist, a former Indy NXT champion, and Armstrong, the rookie of the year last season.
With incredible company, Simpson said that it is been great working with them and the organization altogether thus far.
“I think just being able to see their data, see their video is going to be very helpful,” said Simpson. “Scott and Alex are very helpful to all their teammates in helping them out.
“If you’re not sure how they’re doing something, you can go ask Scott, and he might tell you, or he might not. But they’re usually quite helpful with all that stuff.”
When asked about being surrounded by some of the sport’s brightest personnel, which also includes Dario Franchitti and Taylor Kiel, Simpson said he’s prepared for the task as CGR will be a five-car organization with only Dixon and Palou having more than two years of INDYCAR experience.
“I think it’ll be a big mix of experience and inexperience this year with two rookies on the team, with me and Linus and Marcus being new to the ovals, but also have Dario and Scott and Alex, along with all the engineers and strategists,” Simpson explained. “I think we’ll all learn from each other, and I think I can learn not just from Scott and Dario and Alex, but I can also learn from Linus and Marcus as well with what they struggle with and what they find helps.”
During INDYCAR Content Day, it was confirmed that Simpson will carry the No. 4 in his rookie campaign, a number that is no stranger to Ganassi. It’s the same number Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya won the 1997 and 1999 CART championships with, respectively.
The last time Ganassi had the No. 4 in American Open Wheel Racing was in 2002 with Bruno Junqueira behind the wheel. The 2002 Indy 500 pole-sitter scored two wins and finished runner-up to fellow Brazilian Cristiano da Matta.
INDYCAR’s only teenager on the grid looks to join a prestigious group of racers who enjoyed success in the No. 4 for CGR.
“It’s very cool. I’m not great with history, but it’s great,” said Simpson. “There’s been lots of great drivers driving the No. 4. To bring it back is very cool and I’m very honored.”
Before moving to INDYCAR, Simpson spent two seasons in Indy NXT with TJ Speed Motorsports and HMD Motorsports. In 27 starts, Simpson finished in the top five six times with podiums at the Indianapolis grand prix circuit and Mid-Ohio last year.
Kyffin Simpson at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course where he finished third in May (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish).
Outside of the ladder series, the Caymanian driver was a part of Algarve Pro Racing’s LMP2 program last year. Simpson ran in the Asian and European Le Mans Series where in the latter division, the trio of Simpson, James Allen and Alex Lynn won the class championship.
By competing in sports cars, Simpson learned about getting acclimated with pit stops, something that is non-existent in Indy NXT because of its extremely short races.
“I think it’s very important to have pit stops. Pit stops isn’t something you do in the Indy NXT,” said Simpson. “Learning how to do pit stops was a big draw for sports cars for me – a big draw to sports cars for me.
“I think that was very important over the last couple of years, learning how to do that, getting in and out of the box. Also, just managing fuel and tires throughout a race because that’s also not something you really need to worry about in Indy NXT.”
Heading into the 17-round championship trail, Simpson has set only a few goals for himself as learning will be the name of the game for the 19-year-old.
“I don’t really have any set targets that I have for myself. I just want to maximize everything that I can,” said Simpson. “If I’ve got a car for fifth, I want to get fifth. If I only have a car for 10th, I’ll take 10th or anything like that.
“I just want to make sure that I maximize every session. Not just learning everything I can, but also putting the car where it should be.”
