Search
Close this search box.

Partner

Kyle Kirkwood Crashes out of First Firestone Fast Six Appearance

Kyle Kirkwood on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Kyle Kirkwood on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Kyle Kirkwood on the streets of St. Petersburg. Photo courtesy of James Black/Penske Entertainment.

https://shop.biggreenegg.com/

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After going fourth fastest in both practice sessions ahead of Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Kyle Kirkwood was looking forward to his first Firestone Fast Six qualifying appearance in NTT IndyCar Series competition.

However, the Florida native locked up his left front tire and crashed before completing a single timed lap in the final round of qualifying.

The No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda went straight going into Turn 13, hitting the concrete barrier on the outside of the corner before slowly going back to pit lane with a heavily damaged left front corner.

“Honestly I just locked up on entry,” Kirkwood said. “And with the way the downwind section is at the moment it’s a little bit sketchy. So I got around the corner and I still had a lot of weight unloaded on the left front, locked up and it is impossible to get the tire to unlock, so unfortunately I just ended up left front in the wall.

“So disappointing, it’s my first Fast Six so I can’t take anything away from that. The team’s been amazing, I couldn’t be happier with the way this has come. Obviously this is the least ideal situation, but ultimately we’re in the Fast Six with three cars in the Fast Six and we’re happy with that.”

To get to the Fast Six, Kirkwood was third fastest in his round one group and second fastest in the second round. The 2018 USF2000 champion used a second set of the alternate compound Firestone tires earlier in qualifying to get to the final round and felt the pressure going into the six minute session.

“I knew in this last [session] that I absolutely had to send it,” Kirkwood said. “And I actually wasn’t even pushing that hard yet. It was just the way the cold tires were and the ride heights and the way it was loaded, it was just an awkward situation, unfortunately.”

Because Kirkwood’s second round time was faster than Scott McLaughlin’s time, the 2021 Indy NXT champion will start ahead of the defending St. Petersburg race winner despite McLaughlin setting one timed lap before his own crash.

Andretti’s mechanics did have a sense of humor about the crash.

Andretti Autosport teammates Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta qualified first and second. The 100-lap race will start at 12:30 p.m. ET and will air on NBC.

share it
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Post

Kyle Weatherman JJ Yeley Jason Miller shove post race fight video 2024 Atlanta NASCAR Xfinity Series
Video: "Next Time You Touch My Racecar" Kyle Weatherman Takes Post-Race Shove After on-Track Incident with Yeley
Screen Shot 2024-03-08 at 9.15
Stewart-Haas Hauler Involved in Multi-Vehicle Accident in Texas; Headed Back to North Carolina
NASCAR TV schedule Saturday March 16 Bristol Truck Series Weather Guard Truck Race NASCAR Cup Series
NASCAR TV Schedule: Saturday, March 16 at Bristol
Hopkins Butcher
Video: Late-Race Battle Ends in Crash, Retaliation at Hickory
2024 NASCAR Cup Series manufacturer point standings
2024 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Point Standings
Denny Hamlin Jim France NASCAR Team Owners Charter Agreement negotiations
'It's Disappointing': Denny Hamlin on Jim France Declining a Meeting with Cup Series Teams at Daytona

Join Our Newsletter

Ready to have NASCAR news hand-delivered to your email daily?

Related Article