Kyle Kirkwood, new Andretti owner Dan Towriss hope Long Beach win signals team surge

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Prior to the 2025 INDYCAR season, the Andretti Global drivers indicated that they didn't see a difference between the change in ownership after Dan Towriss, the CEO of TWG Motorsports, assumed control from Michael Andretti.

After three races, Kyle Kirkwood can confirm that there, in fact, is a difference.

Kirkwood dominated the Grand Prix of Long Beach. He beat Alex Palou (who finished in second) by 2.68 seconds. Palou, by the way, won the first two races of the season. 

And Kirkwood captured his second win in the last three years at one of the sport’s most historic and prestigious events, other than the Indianapolis 500. Sitting second in the standings at 34 points behind Palou, he can tell that the investment Towriss and his partners have made in the team has caused a positive shift. 

"We don't see exactly what goes on in the development side," Kirkwood said. "But clearly, three races in now, we seem better than we have been in the past couple years. That's due to his leadership and the investment that's going into the team.

"We have an influx of people, an influx of development. There's a big will to win. We got a win here, but we also had really good performances at the past two circuits."

Towriss has a lot on his sports plate these days as the owner of Andretti Global (in INDYCAR and Formula E), Spire Motorsports in NASCAR (both Cup and trucks) and Wayne Taylor Racing (IMSA). He is embarking on his biggest motorsports quest yet, as he builds the Cadillac F1 team that is set to debut on the grid next year.

He didn’t view the Kirkwood win as a sign of something changing in 2025.

"I'd go back to following the 500 last year with some of the investments we made in the team," said Towriss, whose