Fans wanting a throwback livery will get their wis…kind of. Sunoco returns to IndyCar with a multiyear fulltime primary sponsorship of Chip Ganassi Racing’s car 8 driven by Kyffin Simpson.
Kyffin Simpson
While not a true replication of Mark Donohue’s winning 1972 Indianapolis 500 car, the dark blue and yellow car will pop at IMS and at the night races.
The Donohue winning car set a couple milestones. It was the first Indianapolis 500 win for Roger Penske, and it was the first winning car to have wings.
Donohue’s 500 car:
The car at Pocono.
2026 marks the first Sunoco sponsored car since 1973.
Kyffin Simpson has completed two full IndyCar seasons before reaching the age of 21. Simpson made great strides in the 2025 season, earning his first podium at Toronto and participating in his first Fast Six at Mid Ohio. Simpson earned three top fives and six top 10s in 2025.
Pato O’Ward won the race by stopping. His Arrow McLaren team called him in to ditch the alternate tires on the early caution on lap 3. The strategy put him in position to take the lead on lap 57, then assume it again on lap 62 after everyone else cycled through their final stops. O’Ward dodged the colliding cars of David Malukas and Felix Rosenqvist on lap 88. I thought he may have had slight contact with one of them.
O’Ward has won two of the last three races and has cut Alex Palou’s lead in the championship to 99 points with four races to go.
The 90 lap race was one of the best of the year. Three cautions in the first 30 laps scrambled pit strategies and made it a thinking man’s race, but in between the yellows, fans saw some excellent racing. There were many battles throughout the field. I don’t recall ever seeing Toronto as racy as it was today.
New Faces on the Podium
Rinus VeeKay returned to the podium for the first time in three years. He finished second after O’Ward won the pit stop battle. The result isvindication for VeeKay, who could not find a ride until just before the season began. It is also a win for Dale Coyne Racing. DCR cars usually hover near the Leaders’ Circle cut line, but VeeKay has the 18 solidly in 11th place. VeeKay has recorded seven top 10s and two top fives in 2025.
Kyfffin Simpson has come close, but today he finally earned the elusive podium. Simpson drove from 13th to third as he held off Colton Herta, who had fresher tires. Simpson has had a solid season. He is 14th in points in his sophomore campaign.
A Tale of Two Seasons
From the opener at St. Pete through the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar races were as uninteresting as I ever remember, There were few cautions, and they all occurred very early in the races. The racing was processional, and drama came only when there was a pit stop miscue.
At Detroit, someone finally remembered to turn on the IndyCar racing switch. The last seven races have been amazing. Timely and untimely cautions, incredible racing for position, and victories in doubt until the end have produced a great summer of action.
There are sadly just four races left for 2025, and let’s hope the trend continues.
FOX
While the network pulled out all the stops for the Indianapolis 500, I am finding their broadcasts a bit tedious. Today a they were once again in commercial when a major crash happened, important pit stops were missed, and not much mention was made of O’Ward’s near miss at the end.
Towards the end of the race there was a one lap break between commercials.
The last two weekends we have seen a tiny peek at a pit stop timer. I saw it once today. If you have it, use it consistently. I would rather the pit stop timer overused than the current overuse of onboard cameras. I wnt to see side by side racing, not the view from a cockpit.
Notes
Finally, a good result for Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson finished fifth, between teammates Herta and Kyle Kirkwood. The 2023 500 winner has had a tough year with disqualifications and unfortunate happenings on track.
Tam Penske’s dismal season continues. Scott McLaughlin left the pits with the left rear wheel not mounted properly and crashed in turn 3 on the out lap. It is the third time this season he has been the first car out of the race. Josef Newgarden once again got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, as he ended up underneath the car of Jacob Abel. Will Power finished 11th, but he had several incidents of contact throughout the day.
David Malukas salvaged a top 10 after a disastrous final pit stop and a collision with two laps to go. Malukas began to exit the pits before the right rear tire had been secured. He stopped and the crew pulled him back, but the time lost nearly ruined the day.
Kirkwood thought that he threw away the pole yesterday. Today he may have thrown away a win. Team strategy had him in a good spot to contend, but he was spun coming in for his last stop and had to fight his way back to sixth. While he regained third place in the standings Kirkwood is 173 points behind Palou.
Results
Thanks for following along this weekend. One more race this month, then a short break.
Chip Ganassi Racing today confirmed Kyffin Simpson as driver of the number 8 car for the 2025 IndyCar season. The move was long anticipated. Simpson, 19, from the Caymen Islands, drove car 4 for Ganassi in 2024, finishing 21st in the standings. Simpson finished 21st on the lead lap in the Indianapolis 500, leading three laps.
Ganassi Indy NXT
Neils Koolen and Jonathan Browne will drive for Ganassi’s new Indy NXT team. Both drivers have some Indy NXT experience, driving for HMD in 2024.
Koolen (l), Browne (r)
Koolen, 23 years old from the Netherlands,, finished 10th in the Indy NXT race at IMS last May. He also spent time in the European le Mans Series in 2024.
Browne, 24, ran the entire season for HMD, finishing 13th in the standings. The Irish driver earned eight Top 10 finishes.
INDY NXT by Firestone standout Kyffin Simpson will jump to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Chip Ganassi Racing for the complete 2024 season, team officials announced Sept. 18.
Simpson, who joined CGR as a development driver in May 2022, competed in INDY NXT by Firestone for the past two seasons. This year, Simpson registered two top-three finishes, standing on the podium at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Simpson, a native of the Cayman Islands, also competes in the European Le Mans Series, where he and his two teammates lead the LMP2 championship standings with three races remaining, thanks in part to their impressive 4 Hours of Le Castellet victory. This year, Simpson also captured sports car victories at IMSA’s Twelve Hours of Sebring race (LMP2 class victory; P3 overall) and the Asian Le Mans Series’ 4 Hours of Dubai race (LMP2 class; overall victory).
“It’s been incredible working with Chip Ganassi Racing as their development driver over the last couple years, and I’ve been able to learn so much,” Simpson said. “I am very excited to be making the next step to INDYCAR with this team.
“I had a great time at the test, and I can’t wait to get back in the car. It’s been my dream to race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, and it’s an honor to make it happen now with one of the best teams in the series. I’m really looking forward to working more closely with the entire team and the drivers. I want to give all the glory to God, and I also want to thank Chip (Ganassi) and Mike (Hull) for giving me this opportunity, Ridgeline Lubricants and The American Legion for their support, and, of course, my family.”
Simpson drove an INDYCAR SERIES car for the first time in January 2023 with CGR at a Sebring International Raceway test.
At 18, Simpson is scheduled to be the youngest driver on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES grid next season.
Simpson will round out the Chip Ganassi Racing lineup for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, joining six-time champion Scott Dixon, two-time champion Alex Palou, 2023 Rookie of the Year Marcus Armstrong and 2022 INDY NXT by Firestone champion Linus Lundqvist.
“We welcome Kyffin as a teammate to our INDYCAR program,” CGR Managing Director Mike Hull said. “He has been integrated into a Chip Ganassi Racing multiyear defined development program, which now provides the opportunity at open-wheel’s highest level. He has already tested an INDYCAR SERIES car, with more to follow as an INDY NXT by Firestone graduate. In addition, he is already a proven winner in IMSA at the 12 Hours of Sebring in LMP2 and on an LMP2 global stage in the ALMS and ELMS series.”
Before advancing to INDY NXT and sports car competition, Simpson won the 2021 Formula Regional Americas Championship after earning seven wins, two pole positions and 13 total podiums.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 