From Jupiter, FL to The Indy 500

Story and Photos by Kevin Voegtlin

It’s 6:58 in the morning as we roll up to the dock in front of Two George’s in Boynton Beach. Meeting time was 7, so while we’re not late, we’re not exactly on time by dock standards. Kyle Kirkwood, however, is already there. He’s mid conversation with Captain Chip Sheehan, and by the sound of things he’s been there for a while. When you race cars at 235 mph, timing and precision are things that bleed into all aspects of your life. 

As we load gear Kyle, Chip, and the two mates Jack and Cole continue on, trading names of mutual friends, boats, and the recent bite. Kyle grew up 30 miles north in Jupiter and was raised the way a lot of Florida kids are: surfing, diving, and fishing. In fact, fishing and racing are the two throughlines throughout Kyle’s life, both stretching as far back as his memory goes. His dad is an avid angler and had Kyle and his two older brothers offshore early on, eventually fishing billfish tournaments together once the boys were old enough.

Back on land, Kyle and his brothers spent their time ripping around on anything with wheels. An undeveloped chunk of land was the perfect place for them to explore on quads and bikes, but as the land began to be built on, access dwindled. After enough calls to the police, the fun was over, so Kyle turned his attention to racing go karts. Of all things, it was a tackle shop that would help him get his start. 

Founded in 1970, Captain Harry’s Fishing Supply has long been a staple of South Florida. It’s the type of tackle shop with a reputation for having all the right gear, and a staff with the highly technical knowledge of how to use it. Fittingly, it was one of Pelagic’s first retailers. Kyle’s dad was friends with Court Vernon, the son of Harry, and part of the family run shop. Court was selling an old go kart that his son had outgrown and Kyle’s dad bought it. Things moved quickly from there. His natural talents on the track were quickly noticed by some of the older drivers who encouraged Kyle to start racing. 

It’s not a cheap sport. Entry fees, maintenance, travel, most kids coming up have backing behind them. Kyle didn’t. So he won. And kept winning, rolling those wins and scholarships into entry fees until sponsors started to take notice. He became the only driver to win championships in all three divisions of the Road to Indy ladder system in consecutive seasons. USF2000 in 2018. Indy Pro 2000 in 2019. Indy Lights in 2021. Now he’s in his fourth season in the NTT IndyCar Series with Andretti Global, and sitting second in points heading into the Indy 500.

When he’s off the track, Kyle is back home in Jupiter, just down the road from where he grew up. His days look familiar. On the water around home when fishing is good, making runs to the Bahamas when weather allows, and tinkering on his boat or diving for hogfish, grouper, and lobster in between. When he was 18 Kyle rebuilt the boat he had at the time, an experience that he said now gives him a lot of confidence to run out to West End, Grand Cay, and beyond. 

Fishing, for Kyle, is the escape from racing. “It's completely different, and I believe most athletes need something that helps them disconnect or decompress, and fishing is that for me. It's two extremes: racing is high adrenaline, stressful, demanding, with all eyes watching and the pressure is on - which is so exciting. Fishing is the complete opposite: water as far as the eye can see. No time frame, no schedule, just relaxed, and you can go to different spots and fish for whatever you feel like that day.”  

As our day goes on, the fishing isn’t lights out, but it’s fun enough. Kyle slides right into the rhythm of the boat, rigging gear and helping manage the kites. If you’ve never fished kites in Florida, it’s an art form that constantly feels on the verge of chaos. Two kites, six lines, and live bait all moving at once. A couple hours in, we finally go tight. Kyle is first up, making easy work of a small mahi. By the end of the day we’ve picked away at a few more mahi, a couple kingfish, and two blackfin tuna. From the outside you’d have no idea that Kyle is at the top of the Indycar game, making a living at over 230 mph. From the outside, you’d think he worked on the boat.