There were Cayman connections to two of the race car drivers in the XPEL Grand Prix of Road America, which took place on Sunday in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Kyffin Simpson, the Caymanian-Barbadian driver — and former Cayman International School student — finished sixth in the field of 27, driving the green #8 car sponsored by Ridgeline Lubricants.
After a slow start to the 2025 racing season, Simpson has seen improved results in June, finishing fifth in the Detroit Grand Prix on 15 June before earning his sixth-place finish on Sunday. For the season, Simpson is currently in 16th place out of 34 drivers in the IndyCar Series standings.
Simpson’s Spanish Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Alex Palou, won the Grand Prix of Road America race, extending his lead in the 2025 IndyCar Series to 93 points with eight races to go in the 17-race series. Palou, the three-time IndyCar Series champion and winner of the 2025 Indianapolis 500 in May, drove the bright red #10 car sponsored for the race by Solo Cup, a brand owned by Dart Container Corporation, a related company to the Dart group of companies here in Cayman.
Chip Ganassi, owner of the successful racing team, spoke about the sponsorship, which for now was a one-race arrangement.
“Solo is an iconic brand that represents fun, connection and unforgettable moments — values that align perfectly with Chip Ganassi Racing and the spirit of racing,” he said. “We’re proud to bring their red cup into the fast lane and create new memories together on and off the track.”
In the lead-up to the race, Palou and the Chip Ganassi Racing team competed in a SOLO-lympics at the team’s Indianapolis IndyCar shop, playing a variety of games with Solo Cups, before heading off to Wisconsin.
The now-ubiquitous red Solo Cup, which was honoured in the 2011 Toby Keith song ‘Red Solo Cup’, was first released in the 1970s. Dart Container acquired the Solo Cup Company in 2012.
Photos of Palou and the Chip Ganassi Racing team members drinking and having fun with red Solo Cups sprinkled the team’s social media pages.
Dart Container Corporation General Manager Kim Healy spoke about how Solo Cup fits with IndyCar and the racing team.
“Fans of Chip Ganassi Racing embody the inclusive, approachable fun that Solo products help create at gatherings, from backyard BBQs to Road America’s entertaining grounds,” she said. “CGR and Solo share the honor of having extremely loyal fans, and in turn we’re honored to lend our signature red color and cup to the No. 10 Honda driven by Alex Palou.”
