Kirkwood wins Washington Grand Prix in dominant historic display

Kirkwood wins Washington Grand Prix with commanding performance

Starting from second on the seven-turn, 1.7-mile temporary street circuit, Kirkwood seized the lead in Turn 2 on the very first lap and never really looked back. He led 128 of 147 laps and built a gap of over 16 seconds at his peak before a late caution bunched the field. Two restarts between Laps 128 and 134 gave his rivals a sniff, but Kirkwood absolutely nailed the final restart on Lap 134 and rocketed away from everyone. Game over.

“It felt good to dominate out there; I’m not going to lie,” Kirkwood said. “What an incredible place to do it. If you can’t win the 500, this is definitely the place to win.”

The emotion was raw and real. “You can’t even put it into words. I’m almost in tears here,” he added. A dream come true, on the biggest of stages.

The only moment of genuine drama for Kirkwood came on Lap 129 when Scott McLaughlin dove under him at Turn 1 and briefly grabbed the lead after a restart. McLaughlin carried too much speed into the corner though, clipped a tire barrier with the right side of his No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, and was eliminated. Kirkwood didn’t even flinch.

Washington Grand Prix result sends title race into chaos

Behind Kirkwood it was an Andretti Global podium lockout in the making. Will Power took third in the No. 26 TWG AI Honda, with Marcus Ericsson fourth in the No. 28 Acura Honda. Lundgaard split the Andretti pair in second, and he was gracious about the result. “I feel that it’s fitting that an American won, right? We gave it our best shot,” Lundgaard said. Kyffin Simpson rounded out the top five in the No. 8 Sunoco Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.

While Kirkwood was celebrating, championship leader Alex Palou was having one of those days you want to forget. Palou hit the wheel in the pit box of Mick Schumacher’s No. 47 Vanda Honda on Lap 39, earning a drive-through penalty that dropped him to 21st. Then came a slow stop due to a loose wheel. Then a crash in Turn 4 on Lap 123 after a broken toe link caused by earlier wall contact. He finished 20th. Brutal.

“It hurts, man,” Palou said. “I wanted to get that win. It kind of hurts a lot that we had this bad of a day.”

Kirkwood trimmed Palou’s championship lead from 133 points down to 91, with three races remaining. The gap is real now. This title fight is very much alive.

History still favours Palou, it has to be said. Since the sport reunified in 2008, the largest deficit any driver has overcome with four races left was 59 points, achieved by Dario Franchitti in 2010. Palou could still clinch his fifth Astor Challenge Cup as early as the doubleheader on Aug. 29 and 30 at the Milwaukee Mile. But Kirkwood is not going away.

A Washington DC street circuit moment nobody will forget

The atmosphere around this event was something else entirely. A two-day weekend crowd of 215,000 turned up to watch racing around the National Mall for the very first time. The green flag was waved by President Donald J. Trump. At the checkered flag, Kirkwood celebrated in front of government dignitaries in a suite above Turn 1, including President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. The checkered flag itself was waved by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. You genuinely cannot script this stuff.

It was also the second street circuit win of the season for Kirkwood, who earlier claimed victory at the inaugural Arlington, Texas street race in March. Six of his seven career wins now come on temporary circuits. He owns this format. The IndyCar Series handed him the perfect canvas, and he painted a masterpiece.

Next up for the Andretti Global squad and the rest of the field is the Milwaukee Mile doubleheader. The Snap-on Makers and Fixers 250 runs Saturday Aug. 29, followed by the Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250 on Sunday Aug. 30. The last oval event of the season, and now a potentially decisive one. Kirkwood has the momentum. Palou needs a response. You can follow the news on our IndyCar news subpage.