Indy NXT is back in action this week with exciting new drivers, three more races added to the calendar and its largest grid since 2009. Feeder Series tells you everything you should know about the 2026 season of IndyCar’s direct support series. 

By Vincent van der Hoek

Originally founded in 2002 as the Infiniti Pro Series, Indy NXT serves as the last step in the IndyCar ladder. While the series has gone through multiple rebrands and iterations in the decades since, it never lost its streak of producing champions who ended up becoming great IndyCar drivers. Good performances in Indy NXT can set you up for a long career in IndyCar.

The series runs spec Dallara IL-15 chassis and a spec AER engine for all cars. The IL-15 has been in use since 2015, with the most recent major update being the addition of the halo in 2021. 

The cars have a push-to-pass system that can be used by drivers on road and street courses. Unlike the IndyCar Series, which uses different aero packages depending on the circuit type, Indy NXT runs the same spec car on both oval and road courses. 

Just as in all other series on the IndyCar ladder, the champion wins a scholarship to aid them in making their next step. In the case of Indy NXT, the winner receives a scholarship that covers two IndyCar tests and an entry for two races, including the Indianapolis 500.

Last season, Dennis Hauger took the Indy NXT title in dominant fashion and won the $850,000 scholarship that came with the title. This season, the Norwegian driver will make his debut in the IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing.

A rule change for 2026 means teams are now limited to a maximum of four cars. This has created room for three new teams in the series, although through technical partnerships with two of them, HMD still have eight cars under their umbrella.

The calendar

This year’s calendar will feature 17 races, which is an increase from 14 last season. The tally includes five double-headers, up from two last year; three ovals at Gateway, Nashville and Milwaukee; and the debut of the Arlington street circuit, which runs beside the Dallas Cowboys NFL stadium. 

Other notable changes include Iowa Speedway’s departure from the calendar and the Nashville race’s move from the season finale to round 13. Laguna Seca will now host the final two rounds of the Indy NXT season in the first week of September, effectively swapping places with Nashville. The Barber, Road America and Mid-Ohio rounds have also become double-headers.

• Round 1: Streets of St Petersburg (27 Feb–1 March)
• Round 2: Streets of Arlington (13–15 March)
• Round 3 & 4: Barber Motorsports Park (27–29 March)
• Round 5 & 6: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course (7–9 May)
• Round 7: Streets of Detroit (29–31 May) 
• Round 8: Gateway Motorsports Park (6–7 June)
• Round 9 & 10: Road America (19–20 June)
• Round 11 & 12: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (3–5 July)
• Round 13: Nashville Superspeedway (18–19 July)
• Round 14 Portland International Raceway (7–9 August)
• Round 15: Milwaukee Mile (29–30 August)
• Round 16 & 17: Laguna Seca (5–6 September)

The format 

Each race weekend has one or two practice sessions, usually followed by qualifying and one or two races. There are two formats of qualifying, one for road and street courses and one for ovals.

On road and street courses, the format is similar to IndyCar’s. The field is split into two groups, with each group getting 10 minutes of track time. The driver with the fastest time at the end of both sessions is awarded pole position. 

In case of a double-header, the grid for race one is set by each driver’s fastest lap in qualifying, and the grid for race two is set by each driver’s second-fastest lap. 

For ovals, the qualifying format is a one-shot single-car system wherein each driver goes out in reverse championship order. One by one, drivers enter an empty track for two warm-up laps and two green-flag laps. Pole position is awarded to the driver who sets the fastest aggregate speed across both green-flag laps.

Just as in IndyCar, points are awarded for every finishing position, with the race winner receiving 50 points, second place 40 points, and third place 35 points. From fourth on down, points decrease by two for each position until the driver in 10th position receives 20 points. From 11th downwards, the points decrease by one for each position. In case of a 24-car grid, this means that the 24th-place finisher gets six points.

You can find the full points allocation visualised below.

Position	Points	Position	Points
1st	50	13th	17
2nd	40	14th	16
3rd	35	15th	15
4th	32	16th	14
5th	30	17th	13
6th	28	18th	12
7th	26	19th	11
8th	24	20th	10
9th	22	21st	9
10th	20	22nd	8
11th	19	23rd	7
12th	18	24th	6

One bonus point is also awarded for pole position and for leading at least one lap. Leading the most laps in a race gives you two extra points.

Indy NXT races do not usually contain pit stops.

Where to watch

In the United States, every race will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 or 2. Practice and qualifying will air on a combination of FS1, FS2, the Fox Sports app and Fox One. 

For international viewers, all sessions will be streamed behind a paywall on IndyCar Live.

Live timing will be available for free on Indy NXT’s website and the IndyCar App.

Teams and drivers

With the departure of Jack William Miller from Indy NXT, the Miller Vinatieri Motorsports name disappeared from the grid. They were partnered with Abel Motorsports in 2025.

Two new teams in the form of AJ Foyt Racing and Cusick Morgan Motorsports will join the grid, both as partnered entities of HMD Motorsports. Additionally, Cape Motorsports will split from Andretti Global and transition to receiving support from Ed Carpenter Racing, while Juncos Hollinger Racing return after a year out of the sport.

Andretti Global

Andretti Global are one of the strongest teams on the Indy NXT grid, having delivered back-to-back series champions with Louis Foster and Dennis Hauger in 2024 and 2025. The team are going through substantial change as they welcome three new drivers. 

Lochie Hughes (#26) will stay with Andretti for the 2026 season. Last year, the Australian delivered a strong rookie season by finishing third in the standings. His maiden win in the series came in race one at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, and he added a second victory at the short-oval of Gateway. In 14 races, the 2024 USF Pro 2000 champion stood on the podium eight times.

Sebastian Murray (#27) joins Andretti Global in 2026 after racing for Andretti by Cape Motorsports in 2025. The Scotsman finished 13th in the standings last year, with his best result a fifth place in race two at Laguna Seca. While officially, he is joining a new team, Murray will be familiar with his new outfit as Cape and Andretti had a technical and operational partnership until the end of last season.

Max Taylor (#28) will enter his first full season of Indy NXT with Andretti in 2026. The 18-year-old took part in six races last year with HMD Motorsports while also racing the full USF Pro 2000 season, in which he finished in sixth place in the standings. In Indy NXT, the Connecticut native achieved a best finish of fourth place in race two at Laguna Seca. He also made a one-off appearance in GB3 last year with the Racelab team, finishing in the top 10 in all three races.

At the age of 20, Josh Pierson (#29) will be one of the most experienced drivers in the field having started 37 Indy NXT races in his career so far. The American joins Andretti after three seasons with HMD Motorsports. In 2025, Pierson had his personal best season in the series, finishing sixth in the standings. The highlight of his season was a double podium in the double-header at Laguna Seca. Pierson also finished seventh in FR Oceania over the winter of 2025, missing the final round for Indy NXT pre-season testing.

HMD Motorsports

HMD Motorsports have been one of the driving forces behind the resurgence of Indy NXT. The team owned by Henry Malukas, David Malukas’ father, supplied up to 10 cars in a single season over the past few years. Now, with the rules changed, they officially have four cars but still maintain technical partnerships with two new teams on the Indy NXT grid. 

Salvador de Alba (#17) joins HMD for the 2026 season after finishing fifth in the Indy NXT championship last season with Andretti, with whom he scored his first victory in the series at Milwaukee. The 26-year-old has raced in NASCAR Mexico in the past, even clinching the championship in 2021 and 2023 before making the move to Indy NXT.

Jack Beeton (#45) is another rookie out of Australia. The 18-year-old previously raced in Europe and in his native Australia. Last year, Beeton raced in FR Europe and FR Middle East with Prema, finishing 13th in both series.

Enzo Fittipaldi (#67) is trying to do the same thing Dennis Hauger did by converting race-winning F2 form to an Indy NXT title assault. Having competed in three seasons of F2, the third-generation racer and grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi will make his debut in Indy NXT in an attempt to jump-start his career in his home continent. He spent 2025 racing in the European Le Mans Series with CLX Motorsport, finishing sixth in the LMP2 class with a podium at Le Castellet. The 24-year-old Brazilian is the younger brother of Pietro Fittipaldi, who previously raced in IndyCar and currently serves as a development driver for the Cadillac F1 team.

Tymek Kucharczyk (#71) is another talent out of the European ladder who will try his luck in Indy NXT. The Polish driver won the Euroformula Open championship last year with six wins and a total of 14 podiums in 24 races. In 2024, Kucharczyk – who turns 20 on Friday – competed in GB3 and finished third in the standings. He is set to be the first Polish driver in the history of Indy NXT and its predecessors. 

AJ Foyt Racing

The team led by the legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 winner AJ Foyt will make their first entry in the second tier since 2004, before either of their current drivers were born. AJ Foyt Racing have taken over two HMD Motorsport entries, but they still uphold a technical partnership with HMD. For their first season, the team have selected two rookie drivers.

Nicholas Monteiro (#4) will enter his first full season in the series. The Brazilian competed in two series full-time in 2025: USF Pro 2000, in which he finished 10th in the standings, and the Formula Regional Oceania Championship, in which he finished 12th. The 20-year-old also took part in one Indy NXT race with HMD last year at Portland, where he finished in 14th. 

Alessandro de Tullio (#14) is the second of the two rookies joining AJ Foyt Racing. Last year, the 19-year-old competed in USF Pro 2000. Though he was Max Garcia’s primary title rival early on with three wins from the first four races, he ultimately finished fourth in the standings with just one more win in the final 14 races. 

Cusick Morgan Motorsports

The second of the two teams functionally new to Indy NXT, Cusick Morgan Motorsports were founded in 2021 by Don Cusick. They are best known for their Indianapolis 500 partnership with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, which in 2025 supported entries for Ryan Hunter-Reay and Jack Harvey. CMM have a technical partnership with HMD Motorsports.

Having raced on the American side of the FIA motorsport ladder before, Nicolas Stati (#15) will enter his first Indy NXT season. The Australian teenager raced in multiple different series last year, moving from FR Oceania to FR Americas to GB3 and finally to the Formula Trophy series, which runs F4 cars. He also took part in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia and Super Trofeo Europe series. In the Asian series, Stati took one pole position and two podiums in four races, and in the European series, the Australian won both races he contested. In 2024, the 17-year-old finished second in both the Australian F4 Australian championship and F4 United States championships.

No matter where or how, it’s good to see Juan Manuel Correa (#68) behind the wheel of a racing car. The American barely survived the horror crash that resulted in the untimely death of Anthoine Hubert at Spa-Francorchamps in the 2019 F2 season. He returned to racing in 2021 with ART Grand Prix in F3 and returned to F2 for two seasons in 2023 and 2024, scoring one podium at Barcelona. Last year, Correa joined Indy NXT in the third race of the season, eventually taking part in nine races, with his highlight being a podium in Detroit. He also competed in IMSA with United Autosports in the LMP2 category.

Abel Motorsports 

Abel Motorsports have been steadily rising up the ranks in American motorsport. The team owned by Bill Abel, the father of 2025 Dale Coyne Racing driver Jacob Abel, joined Indy NXT in 2022. Last year, the team scored their best results through Myles Rowe, who finished fourth in the championship and won two races. 

Max Garcia (#12) will make his Indy NXT debut with Abel Motorsports after winning back-to-back championships in USF2000 and USF Pro 2000 with Pabst Racing in 2024 and 2025. At 16 years old, Garcia is the youngest driver in the series and is one of the most exciting prospects on the IndyCar ladder. 

Jordan Missig (#48) returns to the team for a second full-time season. The 27-year-old originally made his debut for the team at selected events in the 2024 season before competing in the full Indy NXT season last year. The American driver finished ninth overall in 2025, with a best finish of sixth place in the opening round at St Petersburg.

Colin Kaminsky (#57) returns to racing after a hiatus from motorsport last year. The 26-year-old took part in eight Indy NXT races in 2023 with Abel Motorsports with a best finish of sixth place at Barber Motorsports Park. In 2024, Kaminsky raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America, in which he finished 11th in the standings.

Myles Rowe (#99) stays with Abel Motorsports for a second consecutive season and will enter his third season in the series. The 25-year-old had a tricky start to his Indy NXT career but enjoyed a breakthrough season last year by finishing fourth in the championship with two victories and four further podiums. Rowe was particularly good in the four oval races, with his results including his two victories at Iowa and Nashville and a second place at Gateway.

Chip Ganassi Racing

Last year, Chip Ganassi Racing returned to the series for the first time since 2009. The IndyCar giant – who field IndyCar’s current dominant force, Álex Palou – joined Indy NXT with two cars, but the results were not quite what you’d expect from a team owned by Chip Ganassi, with only two top-five finishes across the whole season. This year, Chip Ganassi have upped their entries from two to four cars in hopes of finding strength in numbers.  

James Roe (#8) is now the quintessential veteran of Indy NXT as he enters his fifth season. The Irishman joins CGR after having raced the past three seasons with Andretti Global. In his time in the series, Roe has three podiums to his name. Last season, the 27-year-old finished 12th in the standings.

Bryce Aron (#9) joined CGR last year in the second round after starting the first race of the season at HMD Motorsports. In the end, the 22-year-old finished 11th in the championship. Aron made his debut in Indy NXT for Andretti in 2024, a season in which Illinois native stood on the podium twice.

Niels Koolen (#10) was the best CGR driver last season by finishing eighth in the championship. The Dutchman will enter his third year in the series after making his debut in 2024 for HMD Motorsports, but he did not compete in the full season and instead moved to F2 to contest two rounds with AIX Racing. His personal best finish was a fifth place at Iowa in 2025. 

Carson Etter (#11) is the sole rookie at CGR this season. The 21-year-old spent last year in USF Pro 2000, finishing 17th in the championship with a season-best finish of sixth in the season finale at Portland. 

Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR 

Cape Motorsports are a familiar name in the American feeder series world, having won  eight USF2000 championships. In Indy NXT, however, they are still searching for their maiden victory. Last season, Sebastian Murray was their best-placed driver in 13th place in the standings. After ending their two-year partnership with Andretti Global, Cape Motorsport have now formed a new alliance, this time with Ed Carpenter Racing. 

Matteo Nannini (#20) returns to the series after a two-year hiatus from racing. The Italian, who competed in both F3 and F2 in 2021, last raced in Indy NXT in 2023 with Juncos Hollinger Racing. While racing for JHR, he was victorious at Barber Motorsports Park but couldn’t complete the season because of budgetary issues. 

Nikita Johnson (#21) returns to American motorsport after adventures overseas in the FR Oceania, GB3 and F3 championships. The 17-year-old finished third in FR Oceania but did not hit the same heights in GB3 and F3 as he hopped from one series to the other. In his previous American campaigns, Johnson finished second in USF2000 in 2023 and second the following year in USF Pro 2000. He entered three races in the early part of 2025 with HMD Motorsports, taking a best finish of seventh in the second Indy NXT race at Indianapolis.

Juncos Hollinger Racing 

Juncos Hollinger Racing return to the series after a hiatus in 2025. The team led by Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger has had some ups and downs in recent years, but they have produced two Indy NXT champions in Spencer Pigot in 2015 and Kyle Kaiser in 2017.

Alexander Koreiba (#75) is perhaps the most surprising name on the grid. The 28-year-old will enter his rookie season in Indy NXT after mostly racing in IMSA-supported series in the past few years. In 2024, he won the HSR Prototype Challenge with Wolf Motorsports while competing in the Pro-Am class. Koreiba previously tested Indy NXT machinery for Juncos in 2024 and 2025 in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test.

Ricardo Escotto (#76) will enter his first full season of Indy NXT, though that statistic belies his experience. The 21-year-old Mexican has bounced in and out the series since 2024. Last season, Escotto took part in nine races with Cape by Andretti, taking a best result of ninth at Barber Motorsports Park, before abruptly ending his campaign on the Friday of the Laguna Seca double-header.

The grid at a glance

AJ Foyt Racing	4	Nicholas Monteiro (R)
	14	Alessandro de Tullio (R)
Chip Ganassi Racing	8	James Roe
	9	Bryce Aron
	10	Niels Koolen
	11	Carson Etter (R)
Abel Motorsport	12	Max Garcia (R)
	48	Jordan Missig
	57	Colin Kaminsky
	99	Myles Rowe
Cusick Morgan Motorsports	15	Nicolas Stati (R)
	68	Juan Manuel Correa
HMD Motorsports	17	Salvador de Alba
	45	Jack Beeton (R)
	67	Enzo Fittipaldi (R)
	71	Tymek Kucharczyk (R)
Cape Motorsports powered by ECR	20	Matteo Nannini
	21	Nikita Johnson (R)
Andretti Global	26	Lochie Hughes
	27	Max Taylor
	28	Sebastian Murray
	29	Josh Pierson
Juncos Hollinger Racing	75	Alexander Koreiba (R)
	76	Ricardo Escotto

Header photo credit: Paul Hurley / Penske Entertainment