Inside Line: Most Underrated Driver This Season?
Today's question: We're just past the halfway point of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, as there are seven races remaining on the 17-race schedule. Who is the most underrated driver in the series so far this season?
Curt Cavin: I'm going to throw everyone for a loop and choose Kyle Kirkwood, and here's why: We have been so fascinated by Alex Palou's domination that we haven't considered that in any recent year we would be standing on chairs to applaud what Kirkwood has accomplished. He already has three race wins this season, which ties the most by any driver last year. The Andretti Global driver scored his third win of this season in the eighth race. Last year, it took 14 races for a driver to win three races, and Palou, the series champion, wasn't one of them. Two years ago, it took nine races for Palou to get his third of the year. In fact, other than Palou this year, no driver has won three races quicker since Scott Dixon won the first three of the 2020 season. Additionally, Kirkwood already has a short oval victory – last month at World Wide Technology Raceway -- making him one of the leading candidates to reach victory at least once this weekend in Iowa Speedway's doubleheader. Blame Palou for this overshadowing; Kirkwood has done his part to earn the spotlight.
Eric Smith: Rinus VeeKay is the driver that comes to my mind. Dale Coyne Racing had no top-10 finishes all last season, but VeeKay, who was the 27th and final full-time driver signed for this year, has six this season, including three straight. He's 13th in the standings, 19 points shy of 10th, and has a top-10 finish on every discipline of track the series offers. He's my pick for an underrated driver.
Arni Sribhen: Quite a few drivers, including some mentioned by my colleagues here, have had their moments in the spotlight this season, but Marcus Armstrong just consistently delivers strong results for Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian. In just his third NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Rookie of the Year sits a career-best eighth in the point standings. And while he has yet to finish better than fifth this season, Armstrong has scored top-10 finishes five times in the last six races. His only blemish since May is an 18th-place finish at the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, but even there, he overcame a crash in pre-qualifying practice to have a solid points day. There's a reason Chip Ganassi Racing signed the speedy Kiwi to a multiyear deal and kept him in the family through its technical partnership with Meyer Shank Racing. Armstrong is just a breakthrough result away from being considered a regular contender and leaving this conversation.
Paul Kelly: Kyffin Simpson. Look, it's no secret that Simpson brought and continues to bring significant funding to Chip Ganassi Racing since he joined the team for his NTT INDYCAR SERIES debut in 2024. And Kyff Dawg didn't exactly smash the competition in INDY NXT by Firestone, where he produced no wins, one pole and two podium finishes over two seasons. His best finish last season as a rookie in the top series was 12th. But Cayman Islands resident Simpson has evolved into more than just a ride-buyer this season, as his progress is one of the best under-the-radar stories of 2025. He has four top-10 finishes this season, including three in his last four starts. He earned his first Firestone Fast Six appearance last weekend at Mid-Ohio, qualifying third. He was running third in the race on legitimate pace before being assessed a drive-through penalty for clipping the foot of Dale Coyne Racing crew member Nico Don while exiting a pit stop. In fact, after the race, winner Scott Dixon said he was surprised Simpson didn't round out a 1-2-3 finish for CGR. Here's the most telling stat about Simpson's improvement: He finished a fairly anonymous 21st in points last season. This year, he's up to 15th, ahead of Indianapolis 500 winners Marcus Ericsson and Josef Newgarden among full-timers in the series.
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