Kiel announced his departure from AMSP just 10 days after the final round of the 2022 NTT IndyCar season. His decision concluded a near 15-year term at a team which, when he started, was known as Sam Schmidt Motorsports and was better known for its Indy Lights success. Most recently, he helped turn the team into regular podium contenders and race winners, as McLaren’s involvement increased. He also called Pato O’Ward’s race strategies, and the young Mexican prodigy started earning pole positions and victories.
Kiel’s move to Chip Ganassi Racing came at the conclusion of a season that featured considerable friction between AMSP and CGR, as McLaren CEO Zak Brown thought he had a deal with Ganassi’s 2021 champion Alex Palou, only to discover that the Spanish ace legally could not be extracted from his current ride. Brown was able to sign Tony Kanaan, Ganassi’s Indy 500 ‘extra’, for a similar role with AMSP at next year’s 107th running of the Memorial Day Weekend classic, but the other TK is happy and proud to have moved in the opposite direction.
