It's no secret that there are always drivers in any racing series, including IndyCar, who land in their seats primarily due to funding rather than talent. With David Simpson sponsoring Chip Ganassi Racing through Ridgeline Lubricants, his son Kyffin had earned himself the "pay driver" label since being brought in last year.
After two relatively underwhelming seasons in Indy Lights/Indy NXT in 2022 and 2023, the Chip Ganassi Racing development driver was given what many believed to be an unjustified promotion to the NTT IndyCar Series in 2024, and the team expanded from four to five cars to make it happen for the 19-year-old.
His best finish of the year was only 12th place in a season that saw Chip Ganassi Racing win another championship with Alex Palou and secure a total of four wins, two for Palou and two for Scott Dixon. Simpson finished in 21st place in the standings with just eight top 20 finishes in 17 races.
Year number two starts out in a similar fashion, and given the fact that Chip Ganassi Racing downsized by two cars over the offseason, there was immediate criticism regarding the team's decision to keep Simpson, rather than Marcus Armstrong, who now competes for sister team Meyer Shank Racing, and Linus Lundqvist, last year's Rookie of the Year and two-time podium finisher who is still without a ride.
But things changed for the driver of the No. 8 Honda on the streets of Long Beach, California, and he has been making IndyCar fans eat crow ever since.
Kyffin Simpson emerging as an IndyCar contender
Simpson recorded the fastest lap in Long Beach and secured his first career top 10 finish. A few weeks later, he was one of the fastest drivers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course behind teammate Alex Palou before mechanical issues left him unable to compete.
Following the Indy 500, he again recorded the fastest lap on the streets of Detroit, Michigan, where he secured a career-high fifth place finish. Though his short oval performances could still use some improvement, with an average of 15.33 in three races at Gateway and Iowa Speedway, his road and street course efforts have proven to be no fluke.
He finished in sixth place at Road America, 10th at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and broke through for his first podium finish this past weekend on the streets of Toronto, where he was the team's top finisher ahead of Dixon in 10th and Palou in 12th.
Had he not had the mechanical issue at Indy, he could very well have top 10 finishes in every single road or street course race over the last two and a half months. And had he not had an issue in the pits at Mid-Ohio, he could very well have racked up four consecutive top six finishes in such races, post-Indy 500.
Had both not happened, which is not a far-fetched suggestion, he would probably be in the top 10 in points right now, possibly as high as eighth.
He still finds himself in 14th place in the championship standings, ahead of names like Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Marcus Ericsson, and Graham Rahal. Only 10 drivers have more top 10 finishes, and only 10 drivers have more top five finishes.
Yes, Palou is leading the championship with a modern era record seven wins through the first 13 races. And Dixon has managed to find victory lane for the 21st straight year, by far an all-time record.
So you could still make a case that Simpson is "underperforming", if you really want to split hairs. But you also have to consider who you're comparing him to.
His improvement has been second-to-none, especially for a driver supposedly only here because of his dad's wallet. Going from 10.7 to 17.4 points per race is no easy task following a year in which he showed very little potential and got nothing but criticism from a majority of the sport's fanbase.
The Caymanian is learning from two of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, and as he has demonstrated in 2025, it's clearly working. And let's not forget the fact that he is still 20 years old.
Sure, there are still several pay drivers in IndyCar who should clearly be replaced on performance alone. Some might even be considered moving chicanes who not only never record good finishes but regularly cause issues for other drivers. But Simpson has completely bolted from that group, and his career-best effort in Toronto shows he has no intention of going back.