Chip Ganassi Racing will add 18-year-old development driver Kyffin Simpson to its lineup for next year’s IndyCar season, increasing its roster to five drivers.
Simpson joins Marcus Armstrong and Linus Lundqvist as Ganassi rookies who will compete in next year’s Indianapolis 500. Armstrong and Lundqvist have already had a taste of IndyCar competition this season.
Armstrong, 23, was named IndyCar Rookie of the Year, and Lundqvist, 24, competed in a road course, street course and oval in 2023.
Simpson, who will be the youngest IndyCar driver next season, is from the Cayman Islands and his father runs Ridgeline Lubricants, which has sponsored Ganassi cars in recent years.
“We just throw darts. We don’t really play much,” Ganassi jokingly told reporters a week ago at Laguna Seca Raceway in Salinas, Calif., regarding Simpson’s future. “I don’t know what it is yet. I would like to share it with somebody, but I don’t know what the hell it is.”
His father’s financial backing allowed Simpson to enter a number of racing series, giving him valuable experience.
“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. I am very excited to be making the next step to IndyCar with this team,” said Simpson, who was a member of the LMP2 sports car that won at the Twelve Hours of Sebring earlier this year.
–Field Level Media