Kyffin Simpson on X
Against some of the world’s best drivers, Caymanian-Barbadian driver Kyffin Simpson reached speeds north of 230 mph to finish his first Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, 26 May, placing 21st out of 33 racing enthusiasts.
The Chip Ganassi Racing prospect, who was the highest-placed rookie driver at the 2024 INDYCAR season opener in St. Petersburg, told the Compass that his race on Sunday had its roadblocks, but he was pleased with the result, nonetheless.
“I am pretty happy with my performance,” Simpson said. “I made the most of the situation; some things were out of our control and that’s the only reason we didn’t get a better result, but the Journie Rewards team did a really good job.”
Simpson, 19, was the youngest participant amongst the crop of drivers and the first racer from the Caribbean to compete at the Indy 500. It was a debut that left him with several highs to remember.
Simpson kept a steady pace around the high-octane Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 200 laps. That left him right outside the top 10 drivers before a pitstop in the latter quarter of the race that caused him to trail further behind.
500 miles later 🏁 First Indy 500! Huge team effort. The #4 Journie Rewards crew fought hard the whole way home.#INDYCAR #INDY500 #KS4 #Focus4ward pic.twitter.com/rH35AJSy12
— Kyffin Simpson (@kyffin_simpson) May 27, 2024
“At that point, we were in a good state, we were up there with Scott [Dixon] (Simpson’s teammate), but we had an issue on the pitstop, which cost us a lot of time. That was unfortunate, but it’s racing, and it happens,” he said.
However, with 16 laps to go, Simpson led the 500-mile race, in first place – a moment of pride for many of his hometown supporters and an occasion he described as “amazing”. But his #4 Honda single-seater was low on fuel, which ultimately led Simpson to fall back once again.
Simpson was one of five Chip Ganassi Racing drivers. Two of his teammates were unable to finish the race, as were several other drivers, but his teammate Dixon finished third, ahead of Alex Palou in fifth and Simpson in 21st.
“It was incredible, not just to be in the 500 but just to be there with top drivers like Kyle Larson and Scott Dixon; yeah, it was an awesome experience,” Simpson said, noting that he was grateful to all his friends and family who were cheering him on.
“To see all the support; [I] am just so happy to be representing Cayman and Barbados on such a grand stage.”
When asked if he would be interested in crossing over to NASCAR, Simpson replied, “NASCAR hasn’t really been on my radar too much … my goal is to be a top-level IndyCar driver. I believe I can; I believe with the amazing team that I have with me, we should be able to, one day, win the [Indy 500] race.”
Next up on Simpson’s busy schedule is the 2024 Detroit Grand Prix, slated for 31 May to 2 June.
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