Kyle Kirkwood suffers heartbreaking tire failure as he crashes out of IndyCar’s Iowa 1 race

Andretti Global star Kyle Kirkwood crashed out of the IndyCar Race 1 at Iowa as the lap counter ticked past the halfway mark. The 26-year-old had an issue with the front right tire and went into the barrier, which damaged the car, and the Andretti driver had to retire from the race.

Kyle Kirkwood had a subpar qualifying at Iowa as he started the Synk 275 in P18 after he crashed during high lane practice. The Andretti Global made steady progress and was running within touching distance of the Top 10 when he crashed out of the race. The crash is a big hit for Kirkwood's championship hopes, as the Andretti Global driver currently sits P2 in the standings, behind championship leader Alex Palou.

Kirkwood went into the corner and just lost the front right end of the car, and he went straight into the barrier. The replay suggested that the 26-year-old had a front right tire failure, as the sidewalls of the tires were seen flapping around just before the crash.

The crash broke the front right suspension and the front wing on the #27 Honda, which forced the Andretti driver to retire from the race. Kirkwood was able to get out of the car and is safe.

Kyle Kirkwood spoke with Fox after the crash and detailed how it was a front right failure that led to the crash.

“It went from everything was good, fine and dandy to you're going into the wall. So unfortunate, two crashes in one race on a compact day like this is detrimental and there's, like we can't do anything about it. It's so unlucky. I've never had this kind of luck on a raceday,” the IndyCar driver said, while speaking with Bob Pockrass.

Kyle Kirkwood’s tires were around 75 laps old when the Andretti driver crashed into the wall. Christian Rasmussen had a similar incident during the Iowa test in June.

Similarities between Kyle Kirkwood’s race crash and Christian Rasmussen's Iowa test crash

IndyCar brought a high downforce package for the 2025 races at Iowa to promote overtaking after the rather dull 2024 race, where all drivers ran in a single file. NASCAR repaved the lower lane at Iowa, which led to single-file running in 2024. However, the increased downforce meant higher loads on the IndyCars.

Christian Rasmussen crashed at the 2025 Iowa test in June after the front tire blew out. As a result, IndyCar asked Firestone to bring a stronger front right tire for the race at Iowa. However, Kyle Kirkwood faces a similar fate despite the stronger tires.

Rasmussen also lost the car going into the corner as the front end loaded up with downforce, and a blowout led to the crash. Kirkwood also faced a similar moment where the front right deflated under load, and the car scraped on the track before hitting the barrier.

Edited by Rupesh