Simpson hoping Sunoco partnership grows into long-standing relationship

Kyffin Simpson is considering long-term with the addition of Sunoco coming onboard as his full-time sponsor in 2026.

How long-term? To the purpose of being synonymous within the archives of motorsports reminiscent of Rick Mears and Pennzoil, Al Unser Jr and Valvoline, Jeff Gordon and Dupont, and even Jimmie Johnson and Lowe’s.

Even Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR), the group Simpson drives for within the No. 8 Honda, shared 27 years of success with Goal, with IndyCar wins and/or championships captured by the likes of Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmy Vasser, the late Dan Wheldon and Alex Zanardi, amongst others. Dixon, with CGR, has additionally since gone on to have the same partnership with PNC Financial institution.

Now, with Sunoco, the most important impartial gas distributor within the Americas, returning as a full-time sponsor within the IndyCar Collection for the primary time since 1973, Simpson hopes to hold the enduring model and colours in the same vein as a few of the sport’s all-time greats.

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Simpson instructed Motorsport.com. “That actually is the aim with lots of these items: to essentially develop collectively. Clearly, Ganassi and PNC Financial institution have had a long-standing relationship. Earlier than that, there was a really long-standing relationship with Goal. Each labored out very effectively for each events.

“That is undoubtedly the aim with Sunoco. I do know from our aspect, we would like to work with them for so long as potential and we see this being probably a long-term factor.”

The 21-year-old Simpson is not any stranger to carrying the load of historical past, both, having run the No. 4 entry at CGR throughout his maiden IndyCar marketing campaign in 2024.

“That was the automobile that Zanardi ran and Montoya ran,” Simpson mentioned. “With that state of affairs, I assumed that was actually cool within the historic sense of attending to run a quantity that so many different nice drivers had run.”

It’s the same feeling for Simpson with Sunoco, which debuted on Mark Donohue’s No. 12 Eagle at Riverside in 1968 earlier than successful the Indianapolis 500 collectively 4 years later. The likes of Gary Bettenhausen and Tony Kanaan are amongst others to have additionally carried the Sunoco colours.

“Driving a Sunoco automobile, a livery of a sponsor to have been with so many nice drivers, it’s totally cool and I hope to make them proud,” Simpson added.

And that’s prone to occur if the Caymanian continues his growth. He’s recent off a sophomore season that featured a maiden podium (Toronto), three high fives, six high 10s and a Quick Six look.

What’s extra is subsequent season may even mark the primary time in his profession in any class he has spent three consecutive years in a single automobile.

“That’ll be a giant factor for me and simply that continuation is essential in persevering with to study in the identical automobile,” Simpson mentioned. “I am simply actually trying ahead to that and having that consistency. My fundamental engineering crew is staying the identical subsequent yr as effectively, in order that’ll be a giant assist. We labored collectively rather well final yr, and I believe we are able to simply proceed to construct on that and enhance into subsequent yr. We’re in a extremely great place.”

Though Simpson hasn’t spent an excessive amount of time serious about targets for subsequent season, which remains to be 75 days away, there’s one easy job that instantly involves thoughts.

“The very first thing would simply be to knock off that win,” he mentioned. “We have that first podium this yr, so subsequent on the listing is the win. Aside from that, I do not know that we have actually mentioned something but. Prime 10 within the championship can be good. We undoubtedly may have completed that this yr with a pair issues going our means, however we’ve not considered it an excessive amount of.”

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– The Motorsport.com Crew