With the start of the 2026 IndyCar season coming this weekend, it also means the beginning of another Indy NXT season. Indy NXT, formerly Indy Lights, is IndyCar’s main junior support series. The championship begins with its opening race, this weekend at St. Pete.
What is IndyNXT?
Indy NXT is the top category on the Road to Indy, paving the way for the next generation who are chasing a seat in the NTT IndyCar series. The 24 drivers that will take part in the opening race, will get behind the wheel of the Dallara IL-15 Indy NXT car. The car also includes a push to pass system, similar to the one used by IndyCar drivers.
The series combines a mixture of road, street and oval tracks to provide young drivers the necessary opportunity to prepare themselves for a potential promotion to IndyCar. The series supports IndyCar across all rounds of the Indy NXT championship.
The 2026 IndyCar grid will have seven former Indy NXT champions, illustrating the importance it has to American open wheel racing, with 2026 shaping up to be another competitive year.
2026 calendar
This season the Indy NXT championship will have seventeen races across twelve weekends, supporting IndyCar at every event. The addition of the Streets of Arlington brings a new street track for the drivers to adapt to, along with a returning mixture of both oval and circuit racing tracks.
• Round 1: Streets of St. Petersburg (March 1st)
• Round 2: Streets of Arlington (March 15th)
• Round 3 & 4: Barber Motorsports Park (March 28-29th)
• Round 5 & 6: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (May 8-9th)
• Round 7: Streets of Detroit (May 31st)
• Round 8: World Wide Technology Raceway-Gateway (June 7th)
• Round 9 & 10: Road America (June 19-20th)
• Round 11 & 12: Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course (July 4-5th)
• Round 13: Nashville Superspeedway (July 19th)
• Round 14: Portland International Raceway (August 9th)
• Round 15: Milwaukee Mile (August 30th)
• Round 16 & 17: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (September 5-6th)
The championship gets underway at St. Pete, followed by races in Arlington and Barber later on in March. A trip to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, with Detroit the week after. The second half of the calendar includes many fan favourites, with a season finale at Laguna Seca in early September.
Weekend format
Depending on the weekend, drivers will take part in either one or two practice sessions, followed by a subsequent qualifying session. Barber Motorsports Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Road America, Mid Ohio and Laguna Seca will hold two races, whilst every other weekend will include just one race.
The qualifying format for road and street courses is similar to the IndyCar process. The field is split into two groups, both receiving ten minutes to set a lap time. The fastest driver at the end of both sessions is awarded pole position.
On double header weekends, pole position for race two is set by the drivers’ second fastest lap times.
The oval qualifying procedure is also similar to the process IndyCar uses. Drivers take to the track one at a time, in reverse championship order, with two warm up laps followed by two flying laps. The driver with the highest average speed across the two laps is then awarded pole position for the race. The drivers then fight it out for the race victory, with every driver receiving some level of points.
The Grid: Drivers and Teams
Abel Motorsports
Max Garcia (No.12) steps up to Indy NXT on the back of consecutive championship wins in USF 2000 and USF Pro 2000. He begins his Indy NXT journey as one of the most exciting young drivers in American open wheel racing, he’ll be just 16 years old at the start of the season.
Jordan Missig (No.48) returns for his second full season in Indy NXT, after finishing ninth in the standings last year, with a best finish of sixth. Missig has a varied amount of experience across the American single seater ladder, whilst also having raced in both the Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Radical Cup North America championships.
Colin Kaminsky (No.57) returns to single seaters after not racing in 2024. He took part in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship in 2024, after leaving Indy NXT at the end of 2023, where he finished 17th.
Abel Motorsports with Force Indy
Myles Rowe (No.99) embarks on his third season of Indy NXT racing, after finishing 11th and 4th in 2024 and 2025 respectively. His results so far have been somewhat disappointing as a former USF Pro 2000 champion. 2026 is a make or break year for Rowe.
Andretti Global
Lochie Hughes (No.26) enters his sophomore Indy NXT season as a strong championship contender, after finishing third last year. Hughes is one of the most promising young drivers currently competing on the RTI, as a former USF Pro 2000 and Formula 4 United States champion. Expect to see him near the front in 2026.
Sebastian Murray (No.27) finished 13th in his debut Indy NXT campaign last year. Despite this, it was his highest finish in a single seater championship, with previous experience in GB3 and various F4 championships. Murray will be looking for further improvement this season.
Max Taylor (No.28) is also one of the hottest talents on the RTI ladder right now. In 2024 he won the USF Juniors championship, whilst finishing third in USF 2000. In 2025 he finished 6th in USF 2000 Pro, whilst also making appearances in Indy NXT and GB3. He’s one to watch as he embarks on his full season debut in Indy NXT.
Josh Pierson (No.29) returns for his fourth season in Indy NXT, after a move into sportscar racing in the early 2020s. He finished the three previous seasons in 14th, 14th and 6th respectively, racing all three seasons with HMD Motorsports. With a switch to Andretti, 2026 could finally be a year where Pierson is a consistent front runner.
A.J. Foyt Racing
Nicolas Monteiro (No.4) moves up to Indy NXT after finishing 10th in USF Pro 2000 last year, along with one appearance in Indy NXT.
Alessandro de Tullio (No.14) also earns a promotion to Indy NXT after finishing fourth in USF Pro 2000 last year, with four wins. He also finished fourth in USF Juniors in 2022.
Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR
Matteo Nannini (No.20) returns to full time racing for the first time since 2023, where he also raced in Indy NXT. Nannini has extensive single seater experience, with two full season in Formula 3 and multiple appearances in Formula 2. He is also a former Formula 4 UAE champion.
Nikita Johnson (No.21) finished second in USF 2000 and USF Pro 2000 in 2023 and 2024 respectively. He then opted for partial campaigns in Indy NXT, GB3 and F3 last year. He has however, decided to focus solely on Indy NXT in 2026. With his previous championships results, expect Johnson to be near the front of the grid.
Chip Ganassi Racing
James Roe (No.8) is heading into his fifth season in Indy NXT. The Irish driver has a best result of sixth, coming in 2024, but slipped back to 12th last year. 2026 illustrates a final chance for Roe to fight for the top spots.
Bryce Aron (No.9) returns to Indy NXT after finishing 11th last season. With two seasons in Indy NXT already under his belt, Aron will be hoping for improvement this year.
Niels Koolen (No.10) finished eighth last season, also racing for Chip Ganassi Racing. He has extensive experience in sportscar racing with multiple appearances in prototypes and GT cars, as well as appearances in F2.
Carson Etter (No.11) steps up to Indy NXT after a somewhat disappointing year in USF Pro 2000 last season, finishing a lowly 17th. 2026 will very likely be a learning year for Etter.
Cusick Morgan Motorsports
Nicolas Stati (No.15) raced a variety of cars in 2025 as he prepares for his Indy NXT debut this year. Last season he raced in GB3, Formula Regional Americas and Oceania Championships as well as multiple Lamborghini Super Trofeo championships.
Juan Manuel Correa (No.68) will make his full season debut in 2026, after completing a partial campaign last season with HMD. He brings a wealth of experience as a former F1 development driver, as well as F2, F3 and F4 experience and extensive sportscar racing experience.
HMD Motorsports
Salvador de Alba (No.17) has finished fifth in both his previous two Indy NXT campaigns. He also finished third in USF Pro 2000 in 2023. He moves across to HMD, likely with big ambitions for 2026.
Jack Beeton (No.45) moves across from Europe, after racing in Formula Regional Europe last year. He has extensive experience in F4, with the highlight being a runner up finish in the 2024 Italian F4 championship.
Enzo Fittipaldi (No.67) returns to single seaters after competing in the European Le Mans Series in 2025. A former Italian F4 champion, with extensive F3 and F2 experience, as well as being a former member of the Red Bull F1 junior programme. Fittipaldi will undoubtedly look to emphasise his experience and hit the ground running. He is also the younger brother of former IndyCar driver, Pietro Fittipaldi.
Tymek Kucharczyk (No.71) will become the first ever polish driver to race in Indy NXT. He is the reigning Euroformula Open champion, after he finished third in GB3 in 2024 and third in Spanish F4 in 2022.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
Alexander Koreiba (No.75) returns to single seaters for the first time since 2021. Since then he has competed in various IMSA support series, and manage to win the HSR Prototype Challenge Pro-Am class in 2025.
Ricardo Escotto (No.76) has partially raced in Indy NXT over the last two seasons. He brings a wealth of junior category experience and will look to make the most of his first full season in the championship.
The 2026 Indy NXT grid is full of talented drivers, and it building up to be another entertaining and competitive season. The championship gets underway this weekend in St. Pete
written by Michael Williams // Media Credit: Penske Entertainment
