Chip Ganassi Racing announced on Thursday morning a multi-year development deal with Kyffin Simpson.
The 17-years-old Cayman Islands native is currently the youngest driver on the grid in Indy Lights – the top developmental ladder of the NTT IndyCar Series. Through the opening two races of the 2022 season driving the No. 21 entry for TJ Speed Motorsports, he sits seventh in the championship standings, with a best result of fifth in the last round at Barber Motorsports Park. Additionally, he is part of Honda Performance Development’s Honda Academy.
Per the release, CGR will provide “driver mentorship, race strategy and engineering support for his No. 21 TJ Speed Motorsports” outfit.
“We are always interested in bringing in talented individuals who can contribute to the success of our team,” said Mike Hull, Managing Director at Chip Ganassi Racing. “Kyffin has impressed us with his driving abilities, especially at such a young age, and we wanted to find a path toward bringing him into the Ganassi family.”
In 2021, Simpson scored seven wins, 13 podiums and two poles in 18 races to claim the Formula Regional Americas title, which earned him a prized graduation scholarship to Indy Lights courtesy of Honda Performance Development.
Simpson began racing at nine years old in Barbados, and made enough noise to have opportunities in other forms of racing, including the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In January, he made his sports car debut in the 24 Hours At Daytona, co-driving the No. 66 Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 for Gradient Racing in the GTD class, where he finished 13th. He improved on the result to 11th at the next round in the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Simpson is set to “meet with the CGR team” at this weekend’s GMR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, the site of a shared weekend for both IndyCar and Indy Lights.
“This is a dream come true,” said Simpson. “I’m incredibly grateful for the support from Chip, Mike Hull and the whole CGR team. This is a huge opportunity and I’m going to make the most of it. My ambition has always been to race with a championship winning IndyCar team, and I’m now taking a major step towards that goal.”
