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 sports portfolio includes an ownership stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers. "Andretti Global has been on an upward trajectory on INDYCAR. I'm pleased with how we brought speed to the track."

Towriss spent the weekend going from Bristol (trucks) to Miami (Formula E) to Long Beach (Dodgers, INDYCAR). He was able to celebrate on a weekend where his organization used the various events to highlight its sprawling sports interests.

He celebrated in the same victory lane as he did two years ago with Kirkwood for the first win after his company had invested in Andretti.

"When we first got involved from an investment standpoint with Andretti Global, we got the win. We just continued to invest in the team," Towriss said. "The team has just been so resilient, just continuing to try to get better in such a competitive series.

"Today is just an extra-special win for me personally from that standpoint. To be able to do it In this location, this race, with Kyle again, is something that I'll think about for a long time."

Kirkwood made it look relatively easy. He won the pole and led 46 of the 90 laps. He didn’t deviate from strategy, as other drivers tried to pit on different laps to potentially gain spots. On his final stop in the caution-free race, Kirkwood blended onto the track ahead of Palou and held him off — ending the Palou quest for three consecutive wins to open the season.

"We really didn't have that ultimate speed that the 27 car [of Kirkwood] had," Palou said. "They did an awesome job throughout the weekend, qualifying and the race.

"He was managing. Every time I was having a small chance, he just had a little bit more pace. Shame that we couldn't really make it more interesting for the fans, but I'm super happy to be here."

It was the third career win for Kirkwood, who won Long Beach and Nashville in 2023 but went winless last year. While he's second in the standings, his teammate Colton Herta is seventh and Marcus Ericsson is 12th.

"We still have the same exact people around us, same exact group, but we can feel it," Kirkwood said. "Things are starting to click in multiple ways.

"We're producing fast race cars. We're getting better at the places we weren't so great at. Our pit stops are exponentially better. There's a ton of investment going into it. It's big for them to see investments paying off. That's all people want to see."

Towriss hopes he will see his drivers challenge and beat Palou consistently.

"It's a process to improve," Towriss said. "There's a lot of areas of improvement. There's the speed in the car. There's execution on pit road from that standpoint, and we really have just continued to build. There obviously were a few things in St. Pete that were disappointing from a team standpoint [with pit-stop issues], but the speed in the car has been there.

"As we continue to execute, we're very excited about the season. Obviously, Alex Palou is having one hell of a season. He's going to be tough to catch, but we think we can do it, and we're going to make it tough for him."

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.