Fresh off an exciting first season under its new name that saw the biggest grid size since 2009, interest in Indy NXT continues to trend upwards. As recently reported, the Indy NXT grid will likely grow beyond 20 cars for the 2024 season after a 2023 season that started with 19 full-time competitors. If the grid does continue to grow heading into the 2024 season, Andretti Autosport’s Louis Foster and Hunter McElrea believe the qualifying format will need major revision.

By Jeroen Demmendaal

For 2024, the Indy NXT field is expected to grow more than ever. HMD Motorsports, Andretti Autosport, Juncos Hollinger Racing and Cape Motorsports are all expected to keep their current car counts intact, but Abel Motorsports is looking to expand its number of full-time entries to at least three cars. It is also understood that Jack William Miller will step up to Indy NXT from USF Pro 2000, adding another new entry.

Qualifying revamp

Speaking to Feeder Series following the season finale at Laguna Seca, both Louis Foster — fourth-placed finisher overall — and Hunter McElrea — season runner-up — indicated that if the grid keeps growing, a change in qualifying procedure is necessary.

Starting with the 2023 season, Indy NXT revamped its qualifying format. Drivers only had a single 15-minute session or eight minutes of green flag running, whichever came first, to qualify. Unlike in the IndyCar Series, the Indy NXT field was not divided into qualifying groups, meaning that all drivers were on track at the same time as they tried to put in their qualifying laps.

“It will be entertaining,” Foster said when asked about the expected 20-plus cars grid. “I would say it probably does help the field, even if I think there should be a cap to cars in any championship, whether it’s 22, 24, 20, whatever. But if there are that many cars next year, then the series has to change qualifying, otherwise it will just be a joke. We won’t get any laps.”

“I think Hunter would agree this year the format has been hit or miss,” he added. “I think it’s great to put drivers under pressure and mimic IndyCar’s Fast Six and Fast 12 format. They have qualifying groups and we don’t, even if we don’t have many less cars than them. It makes it tough for drivers. A lot of it is out of your control. I think if there are that many cars, qualifying must be adjusted.”

Unexpected difficulty

McElrea agreed with his teammate, after joking that he “won’t be here next year, so good luck.” The 23-year-old from New Zealand is exploring options in IndyCar and IMSA for 2024 and has decided that whatever happens, he will not return to Indy NXT for a third season.

“Again, it’s a touchy subject, but this year, qualifying for me personally has been a disaster,” McElrea explained. “I found every way that, whether it’s luck or whatever it was, it was way harder than I thought, the eight-minute format.

“I agree it’s good what they’re doing, it’s fun. It’s satisfying when you nail a lap in eight minutes. But it puts you in a position where there’s 19 cars, it causes one guy to cause a yellow, one guy to run off in front of you, bring dirt onto the track. You miss the timing line by one lap, while everyone else gets another lap. The list goes on.”

While it is yet unclear whether a revamp of the qualifying format is on the cards for 2024, Feeder Series understands the Indy NXT organisation is planning an off-season meeting with the teams to review all aspects of the season that fell short of expectations.

Header photo credit: James Black / Indy NXT