Source: Chris Owens/Penske Entertainment / other
INDIANAPOLIS — Fresh off a championship-winning season that saw three of their four drivers win a race, Chip Ganassi Racing has announced they are expanding their team to a fifth full-time entry for 2024.
Kyffin Simpson, who is currently an LMP2 sportscar driver in the European Le Mans Series where he and his teammates lead the championship, has signed on to leave sportscars and make the transition to North American open-wheel racing in the NTT IndyCar Series for the coming season.
Simpson also competed full-time in the Indy NXT Series in 2023 where he finished 10th in the championship earning two podiums and four top-five finishes.
When Simpson has not been racing in Europe he has been a development driver with CGR since May of 2022.
“It’s been incredible working with Chip Ganassi Racing as their development driver over the last couple of years and I’ve been able to learn so much,” Sampson said. “I am very excited to be making the next step to INDYCAR.”
Simpson, who is 18-years-old, is now the youngest driver in the IndyCar paddock. He joins a stacked line-up in the CGR stable with Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Linus Lundqvist, and Marcus Armstrong.
“He has been integrated into a Chip Ganassi Racing multi-year defined development program which now provides the opportunity at open-wheel’s highest level,” said Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Mike Hull. “He has already tested an INDYCAR with more to follow as an INDY NXT graduate. In addition, he is already a proven winner in IMSA at the 12 Hours of Sebring in LMP2.”
With further tests coming up for Simpson at various tracks, he is likely to be among those who will try to complete his Indy 500 rookie orientation program (ROP) next month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
