Freedom 250 Winner Kyle Kirkwood Wants To Be More Than ‘King Of The Streets’

Washington — Kyle Kirkwood won on another street course, continuing to earn his moniker as “king of the streets.” And while that is a nice title to have, it kind of irks Kirkwood. The Andretti Global driver wants to be known for more than just strength on street courses. But Sunday sixth time on a street course, as he captured the victory in the inaugural race on the streets of Washington. It was his second street victory of the season to go along with the inaugural race at Arlington. “It’s a great thing I won here today, but it’s a bad thing for that title that I have that I’ve been trying to kick,” Kirkwood told me with a laugh after his victory. “It’s the only negative I can take away from today.” To win a championship, Kirkwood will have to do more than win on streets. He’ll have to win on ovals (as he did last year at Gateway for his only non-street course victory) and on road courses. Three races remain in the 2026 season — a doubleheader next weekend at Milwaukee and then the season finale at Laguna Seca. “I think I have to win at Milwaukee and a win at Laguna so I can say I have another win at an oval and a road-course win,” Kirkwood said. “I have a lot of top fives on road courses, but that elusive win has not come to me.” The 27-year-old Kirkwood is establishing himself as a perennial championship contender. He was seventh in the standings in 2024, fourth in the standings last year and sits second in the current standings. However, he is still a somewhat distant 91 points behind Alex Palou. “Every year we elevate our game. I elevate my game, the team elevates their game,” Kirkwood said. “From seventh to fourth to now, I’m running second. If we can hold off that, that’s once again [cutting it in] half again and the next step is to win.” Andretti Global has won the last two races and appears to be surging. “We’re going to be really good at Milwaukee,” Kirkwood said. “I think we’re going to be really good at Milwaukee. We had a phenomenal test there. … We’d like to be thought about as one of the big teams. It’s no longer the “Big Two” [of Ganassi and Penske]. It might be the Big Three with the amount of wins that we’ve had this year.” But if he (and the team) don’t win in the final three races, he might not feel that way. The strong vibes can be fleeting and even though there is a long offseason, Kirkwood feels how he finishes 2026 will impact 2027. “Momentum is a real thing,” Kirkwood said. “Even when you’re out of the car. You want to come off the season as strong as possible to carry that momentum. Because last year, I had a phenomenal first part of the year, but the second part of the year wasn’t that strong. “That momentum kind of hurts you if you don’t have great momentum going into the offseason with yourself, your work ethic, the team’s work ethic. When you’re determined, you tend to do things a lot better. It will be good to come out of the season with a very solid finish.”