With the biggest field in fifteen years, a season finale at a superspeedway, and a new qualifying format, Indy NXT is set for a bumper year. In this season preview, Feeder Series tells you all you need to know about the 2024 season.

By Jeroen Demmendaal

After the turbulence of 2022 and 2023, this past off-season has been refreshingly calm for Indy NXT. Finally, all is well at the final level below the IndyCar Series. Last year’s series champion Christian Rasmussen has graduated to the top level, as a champion should, and races with Ed Carpenter Racing in 2024. Even 2022 champ Linus Lundqvist got the reward he so deserved after many trials and tribulations, having signed a multi-year deal with reigning IndyCar Series champions Chip Ganassi Racing.

The good news continues when looking at this year’s grid. 2023 started with 19 cars in St. Petersburg and as things stand now, we anticipate that Indy NXT will kick off the 2024 season with as many as 23 entries – just like Feeder Series predicted back in December. Keeping in mind that the series struggled to produce an eight-car field as recently as 2019, this is pure chicken soup for the soul.

The calendar

Changes to the 2024 calendar largely mirror those also seen on the IndyCar schedule. The doubleheader at Laguna Seca has been moved from the fall to early summer, while Indy NXT joins IndyCar in its return to the venerable Milwaukee Mile oval. Finally, because of issues with the Nashville street circuit race that was supposed to end the season, Indy NXT has also deviated to the Nashville Superspeedway for its finale.

There is a certain irony to that last point, as Indy NXT famously – and controversially – dropped the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis due to worries about safety in the boardroom of series owner Penske Entertainment. Now, it finds itself racing on a superspeedway anyway.

Another interesting thing to note is that all oval races on the schedule – Iowa, Gateway, Milwaukee and Nahsville – now take place in the last five rounds. Keep an eye out for any oval aficionados looking to record a strong late-season run.

• Round 1: Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida (10 March)
• Round 2: Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama (28 April)
• Round 3/4: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Indiana (10-11 May)
• Round 5: Detroit Street Circuit, Michigan (2 June)
• Round 6: Road America, Wisconsin (9 June)
• Round 7/8: Laguna Seca, California (22-23 June)
• Round 9: Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course, Ohio (7 July)
• Round 10: Iowa Speedway, Iowa (13 July)
• Round 11: Gateway Motorsports Park, Illinois (17 August)
• Round 12: Portland International Raceway, Oregon (25 August)
• Round 13: Milwaukee Mile, Wisconsin (31 August)
• Round 14: Nashville Superspeedway, Tennessee (15 September)

The format

All road course and street circuit rounds usually comprise two practice sessions, a qualifying session and a race. In case of a double header, there are two back-to-back qualifying sessions. On ovals, there is usually only one practice session, followed by an individual, two-lap average qualifying run for each driver.

This year sees the introduction of an important change to road and street course qualifying. Last year, several drivers told Feeder Series of their frustration with the existing format, whereby the entire field had only eight minutes of green flag running to set a time. With a packed grid, traffic was often a major issue.

To avoid that problem becoming even worse with 23 cars, the series will introduce a new format for 2024. The field will now be split into two qualifying groups based on practice times, after which the fastest group (with the fastest driver overall) gets the inside line and all odd start positions on the race start.

During doubleheader weekends, the two best qualifying laps of each driver set their starting positions for Race 1 and 2 respectively. This qualifying system brings Indy NXT even closer to IndyCar’s format.

Race points are handed out to the top 20 finishers, with a race win generating 50 points and a clear premium on finishing in the top 5. The pole winner gets an additional point, as does every driver who leads at least one race lap. The driver leading most laps gets two points.

Where to watch

In the US, Indy NXT broadcasts are part of the NBC Peacock subscriber package. In most of Europe and elsewhere, Indy NXT will be streamed via INDYCAR Live, while Sky will continue to broadcast the races in the UK.

Teams and drivers

HMD Motorsports

It almost didn’t seem possible, but the HMD powerhouse has become a bit more of a powerhouse in 2024. Compared to 2023, the reigning series champions have added another entry to their stable and now field a grand total of ten cars. HMD recently moved into a new, larger shop on the outskirts of Indianapolis to create more space for its Indy NXT operations. Its 2024 squad is an interesting mix of veterans and rookies.

To start with the first group, Nolan Siegel (#39) tops a lot of pre-season championship favourite lists. The Californian is still only 19 years old, but finished third in his rookie season last year and impressed during his first IndyCar test earlier this winter with Dale Coyne Racing. Don’t be surprised if Siegel ends up very busy this year, with the possibility of adding some IndyCar races to his Indy NXT schedule being very high.

Reece Gold (#10) will have similar ambitions in his second year in the series. The Floridian started 2023 with Juncos, but quickly jumped ship to HMD. He took his first win in Detroit and briefly looked a challenger for the championship, but inconsistency in results saw him finishing eighth overall. If he can improve on his consistency, he should be a contender.

Josh Pierson (#14) also returns for a second year, but this will be his first full season. After splitting his time between sportscars and Indy NXT in 2023, the 18-year-old from Oregon is all-in on open-wheel in 2024. Pierson is an official development driver for Ed Carpenter Racing, and if he performs well, he may position himself for an IndyCar drive as early as 2025.

The final returnee is Christian Bogle (#7). Without doubt, his biggest strength is consistency, as he finished eleventh overall in each of his three previous Indy NXT seasons. He isn’t expected to worry the front runners, but is 2024 the year he finally breaks into the top 10?

On to the rookie contingent then. Myles Rowe (#99) and Caio Collet (#18) are undeniably the biggest names in this group. Rowe is the reigning USF Pro 2000 champion and a protégé of two-time IndyCar champion and Team Penske veteran Will Power. Thoughtful and methodical, Rowe seems unfazed by the hubbub around him and the question is not if, but when he makes the jump up to IndyCar.

Collet comes over to the US after three years in FIA F3, where he just fell short of the absolute top but won several races. His pre-season form in testing has been impressive and paired with the engineering strength of HMD, the Brazilian may be a title challenger this season.

Callum Hedge (#17) was initially headed for Andretti, but when his managers learned the plan was to loan him out to Cape, they backed out of the deal and signed with HMD instead. The Kiwi dominated Formula Regional Americas in 2023 and has a Honda scholarship in his back pocket, but the competition in Indy NXT will be considerably tougher. Having said that, Hedge has shown plenty of promise in testing and is an exciting prospect.

The same goes for Jonathan Browne (#23), who graduates after two years in USF Pro 2000, and Nolan Allaer (#11). Irishman Browne is climbing the Road to Indy ladder steadily and scored several podiums in Pro 2000 last year. It would be too much to expect he will immediately challenge for top honours, but regular top 10 finishes should be doable.

Allaer was a late silly-season surprise and makes the jump to Indy NXT from Formula Ford competition in the UK. The 21-year-old from Michigan knows he faces a tough challenge, but his testing pace has been encouraging and his background in mechanical engineering should also help him get up to speed.

The toughest challenge is probably reserved for the final HMD rookie, Dutchman Niels Koolen (#33). He finished a distant 37^th in FRECA in 2023 and has found himself towards the bottom of the timing sheets in pre-season testing. 2024 will above all be a learning year for Koolen.

Andretti Global

As HMD’s biggest title rivals in recent years, the renamed Andretti Global has not followed suit in expanding its squad – or at least, not directly. Their new partnership with Cape Motorsports, first reported by Feeder Series last October and formally announced this January, indirectly broadens the number of Andretti-aligned entries to six.

The mothership sticks with four cars, however, and has lost some strength compared to 2023 with the departure of Hunter McElrea. The upside is that less sprawl should hopefully translate to more focus, and if anyone can stop HMD from winning its third consecutive championship, it is likely Andretti.

The man most likely to make that happen is Louis Foster (#26). A mix of bad luck and a few too many incidents meant that the Brit finished fourth overall in his rookie year in 2023, but on his best days his pace was unmatched. Many observers predict 2024’s title fight will be one between Siegel and Foster, and this observer has the same gut feeling.

Another Andretti sophomore is Jamie Chadwick (#28), staying with the team after an encouraging rookie year. Especially in the second half of the season she showed good pace and clinched several top 10 finishes. At the wet pre-season test at Sebring she was very close to Foster’s times, demonstrating that 2024 could be her breakthrough year in Indy NXT.

Arguably the surprise package of 2023, James Roe Jr (#29) stays with Andretti for his third year in the series. He struggled with TJ Speed and HMD in 2022, but followed that up with a strong 2023 at Andretti. The Irishman became a regular feature in the top six and a podium finisher at Indianapolis, and ended the year seventh overall. Can he win his first race this season?

The Andretti stable is completed by Bryce Aron (#27). The American returns home after spending his early open-wheel years in Europe. He was a mid-table runner in GB3, then finished fourth overall in Euroformula Open last year. This means most if not all tracks on the Indy NXT calendar are new to him, and that 2024 is likely to be a learning year in a new car.

Andretti Cape

Cape Motorsports had a difficult first season in Indy NXT in 2023, after its graduation from USF2000. It finished dead last in the team standings and decided a change was needed if results were to improve.

The result is its new partnership with Andretti Global, which will give the Cape brothers and their drivers engineering support and setup data. As part of the agreement, the official team name changes to Andretti Cape Indy NXT.

So far, it has signed one driver in the form of Salvador de Alba (#2). That’s not quite how the Mexican envisioned his debut in Indy NXT, as he expected an Andretti seat. However, the two-time NASCAR Mexico champ has decided to go with the flow and make the best of the situation.

The upshot of his two-year deal is that he is supposed to make the step to Andretti Global in 2025, making 2024 a learning year by default. Still, the 24-year-old was a force to be reckoned with on his best days in USF Pro 2000, so he may very well spring a surprise or two.

The identity of De Alba’s teammate remained unknown until Tuesday afternoon, when Feeder Series learned that Michael d’Orlando would join Andretti Cape in St Petersburg for his first Indy NXT race. No plans are confirmed for the soon-to-be 22-year-old beyond this weekend, however, as he is still searching for additional funding.

Abel Motorsports

Apart from the expansion at HMD, the growth of the 2024 Indy NXT grid is largely down to the bigger ambitions of Abel Motorsports. From one full-time car and two part-time entries, the team has upgraded to three full-timers for 2024, with a possibility of a fourth car.

For Jacob Abel (#51), his third season in Indy NXT is likely to be his last before he graduates to IndyCar with the family outfit. He was a strong fifth overall in 2023 and will be gunning for a first win in 2024. Can he mount a championship challenge? It is unlikely, but as a certain Indiana-set Netflix show illustrates: stranger things have happened.

Yuven Sundaramoorthy (#22) sniffed at Indy NXT at the end of 2023 with Abel, decided he was ready for the next step and now joins the field full-time. He was third in USF2000 in 2021, but found the going tougher in USF Pro 2000 the last two years. The Indian-American is a hard worker, however, and usually stays out of trouble. He will need both qualities this year.

The same goes for Josh Mason (#21). The Brit is a late addition to the field and joins Indy NXT without any pre-season testing. He comes to the US after a part-time season in FIA F2, where he finished most races but otherwise couldn’t really show any real pace in the troubled PHM Racing team.

As for that fourth car, Feeder Series understands that Colin Kaminsky may once again join the grid in St. Petersburg. Whether that will be a fourth full-time entry remains to be seen, however, since Kaminsky has a habit of cutting his campaigns short before the season ends.

Juncos Hollinger Racing

Ricardo Juncos returned to Indy NXT in 2023 after a one-year hiatus, together with new co-owner Brad Hollinger. The team’s 2021 campaign in the series had ended in acrimony, with both Toby Sowery and Sting Ray Robb less than impressed with how the team operated.

Unfortunately, that instability remained a feature on the team’s return. 2023 saw a merry-go-round of drivers in its cars after both Reece Gold and Matteo Nannini left early on, with brief cameos for veterans like Matthew Brabham and Victor Franzoni.

Heading into 2024, Juncos is still a big question mark. It has announced only one driver so far, and Lindsay Brewer (#76) will face a steep learning curve. The 26-year-old from Colorado spent the last two years in USF Pro 2000 and is well aware of the challenge ahead. Having said that, she has logged a lot of testing miles over the winter and her pace has improved leaps and bounds.

At the moment of writing, it is yet unclear who her teammate will be. The team has tested several drivers, but of that group only cash-strapped Michael d’Orlando is still on the market. Which points to another complication: so far, only Brewer seems capable of coughing up the reportedly steep fees the team asks of its drivers.

Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

The only new team to join the Indy NXT grid in 2024. The team spent the past few years in USF Pro 2000 as a family operation supporting Jack William Miller (#40), the son of former Indy Racing League driver Jack Miller, and has now bought an Indy NXT car for young Jack.

Miller confirmed to Feeder Series earlier this year that the team has no engineering or data sharing partnership, which means it will have to figure out the car and the series all by itself. Learn and log miles is the name of the game here.

Editor’s note, 5 March 2024, 20:58 CET: This article was updated after Feeder Series learned that Michael d’Orlando would join Andretti Cape at St Petersburg. It was further updated on 7 March, 9:22 CET to update the information under Where to Watch.

Header photo credit: Penske Entertainment