Silly Season Breakdown: Road to Indy Offseason Rumors 2025-26
As with any feeder series or development ladder across the globe, the Road to Indy sees huge amounts of turnover and change during every offseason, with drivers swapping teams and series, personnel going from place to place, and entire teams coming and going. The 2025-26 offseason will be no exception, set to kick off after this weekend’s racing at Portland International Raceway. Between the top four series directly under the NTT Indycar Series, there is quite a bit to speculate over and to theorize about, so this will be slimmed down to just the most important factors in the RTI’s 2025-26 “silly season.”
The Indy NXT offseason could result in about a thousand different possibilities, with several different teams showing interest in entering the series or expanding their operation. The current teams all look to be remaining, with interest from RLL Racing, Juncos Hollinger Racing, and Cusick Motorsports also becoming a factor. Additionally, USF Pro 2000 team TJ Speed Motorsports has been rumored to make a return to the series as well after a brief stint ending in 2022. It’s unclear how many of these teams will join the grid (or rejoin, in a couple cases) as soon as 2026, but all have plans to enter at some point.
The driver rumor mill is even more interesting and wide open. Several top rookies from the 2025 USF Pro 2000 class are likely to enter, including champion Max Garcia, who recently confirmed on the USF Pro Insider podcast that he is somewhere between the talking stage and final signing for his rookie season of Indy NXT racing. It is extremely likely the team he is in talks with is Andretti Global, where three of the last four champions opted to make their Indy NXT debuts. The #28 car will likely be vacated by Dennis Hauger, whether he wins the championship or not.
Mac Clark has also stated his interest in advancing to Indy NXT for the 2026 season, and that his sponsors also wish to proceed up the ranks with him, however nothing is set in stone. He too is logically a likely candidate for the Andretti Global team, or perhaps their sister team, Andretti Cape.
Another interesting candidate for an Andretti Cape seat is Michael d’Orlando, fresh off a new 3 race contract to end the 2025 season. d’Orlando took most of the season away from the driver’s seat, but still was very much present on the racing scene, including time as a driver coach for VRD Racing. His ability well documented and known throughout the garage, d’Orlando is an enticing prospect to all but another whose future is jeopardized by funding. Still, he remains a very possible option for Andretti Cape, or any other team for 2026.
Other top USF Pro 2000 drivers from the past couple of years have been mentioned as possible future drivers in Indy NXT. Nikita Johnson, though currently racing in FIA Formula 3, is understood to have been in talks for one seat, as is Alessandro de Tullio. Another one of the names most mentioned to be joining Indy NXT in 2026 is Max Taylor, who it appears has all but put pen to paper on a deal for his first full season. While the obvious choice would be HMD Motorsports, with whom he has started several races with in 2025, there has yet to be a seriously strong rumor as to where the youngster will race next season.
A couple other drivers from the USFP2k class of 2025 have gathered major attention for themselves within the RTI paddock. Nico Monteiro just announced his Indy NXT debut at Portland with HMD Motorsports, and it is understood that he too is in talks for a full time campaign in 2026. Along with him is Frankie Mossman, who has previously tested an Indy NXT car and shown potential, putting his name in the hat for a seat as well.
Some other names that many have voiced their desire to see on the 2026 Indy NXT grid are still up in the air or looking doubtful at this time. Little is known about Jacob Douglas or Ariel Elkin’s plans for 2026, although it is possible that Elkin will explore opportunities outside the RTI ladder entirely. Jace Denmark still has no known plans to enter Indy NXT after coming in third in the USFP2k season in 2024, before running into budget issues in June. Christian Brooks and Yuven Sundaramoorthy are two more names from the 2024 Indy NXT grid that were optimistic about their returns to the series, but as of now there aren’t large signs to signal they will be hopping back into the cockpit for 2026.
As always, the interest for rookies extends beyond the RTI ladder. It is understood that at least eight different FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 drivers have been in talks with teams in Indy NXT and USF Pro 2000, including one who has held positive conversations with Chip Ganassi Racing, and another who could arguably put up results even more impressive than Dennis Hauger’s in 2025 given his success in Europe. Of course, with those seasons unfinished, no driver is ready to put pen to paper on spending 2026 in America quite yet.
As far as top returning drivers go, multiple are still undecided about the path they’d like to pursue, as they are waiting to see where they can end their seasons. Lochie Hughes may still decide to run a second season in hopes of winning the scholarship prize. Callum Hedge and Salvador de Alba are two more that have been theorized to be returning for third seasons in the series, after top five finishes in their rookie seasons. Bryce Aron, too, has been mentioned as a possible returner for a third attempt at the title. Evagoras Papasavvas, Liam Sceats, and Juan Manuel Correa are a few other drivers who have impressed in partial schedules as rookies, and are all still unknowns in the silly season picture as of now.
In USF Pro 2000, one of the best classes in years will mostly exit the series despite their youth. Douglas may yet remain for a second year, and it is believed his main competition will be Liam McNeilly, who is rumored to have signed a development deal with an Indycar series team, as well as Jack Jeffers, who appears poised to take the USF 2000 championship and earn the scholarship money for 2026. Pabst Racing’s USF 2000 pair of Caleb Grafarar and G3 Argyros have also been known to be intriguing options for next season, as well as championship contenders Thomas Schrage and Teddy Musella.
As far as USF 2000 goes, much is still left to be decided. Several of the drivers mentioned above could choose to return for another season, however in the event that they do not, the championship picture becomes quite murky. Rookies Evan Cooley and Anthony Martella, if they choose to not promote themselves to Pro 2000, would be among the championship protagonists, as would USF Juniors championship leader Leonardo Escorpioni, who confirmed recently that he believes he has plans set to make his rookie campaign in the middle series of the USF ladder next season. Joining him may also be João Vergara, and Ty Fisher, who have had excellent USF Juniors seasons but have unknown future plans currently. Oliver Wheldon is likely to follow the path of his brother, Sebastian, and pursue a campaign in the Italian Formula 4 championship. There is also championship contender Liam Loiacono, who intends on racing in USF 2000 next season, but may require the scholarship to do so.
As for USF Juniors, its rookie class is made up primarily of young teenagers straight out of karting, making it extremely difficult to predict. The top returning drivers may very well be Vilho Aatola and Brenden Cooley, who have had productive rookie seasons but may be wise to return in chase of a title. Other than that, it is near impossible to predict much of the USFJ grid.
Of course, as the rumors come in and deals are signed, dominoes will fall throughout the coming six months, and tests will be had to give hints as to who will make up the 2026 rosters. For now, we await the first official signings of the next season for the Road to Indy Ladder, where Indycar’s next superstars are born.
written by Owen White / Media Credit: Penske Entertainment
