2026 Indy NXT

2026 Indy NXT season
Firestone Indy NXT Series
Season
Races17
Start date1 March
End date6 September
Awards

The 2026 Firestone Indy NXT Series is the 40th season of the Indy NXT open wheel auto racing series and the 24th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. This is the fourth year of the championship running under the Indy NXT moniker following its acquisition by Penske Entertainment, the owner of the IndyCar Series, in 2022.[1]

Teams and drivers

All teams use Dallara IL-15 cars with an AER produced Mazda sourced 2.0 litre engine and Firestone tires. The following drivers and teams compete in the series.

Team No. Drivers Status Round(s)
Abel Motorsports 12 Max Garcia[2] R All
48 Jordan Missig[3] All
57 Colin Kaminsky[4] All
Abel Motorsports with Force Indy 99 Myles Rowe[5] All
Andretti Global 26 Lochie Hughes[6] All
27 Sebastian Murray[7] All
28 Max Taylor[8] All
29 Josh Pierson[9] All
A. J. Foyt Racing[N 1][10] 4 Nicholas Monteiro[11] R All
14 Alessandro de Tullio[12] R All
Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR[13] 20 Matteo Nannini[14] All
21 Nikita Johnson[15] R All
Chip Ganassi Racing[16] 8 James Roe[17] All
9 Bryce Aron[17] All
10 Niels Koolen[17] All
11 Carson Etter[17] R All
Cusick Morgan Motorsports[N 2][18][19] 15 Nicolas Stati[20] R All
68 Juan Manuel Correa[21] All
HMD Motorsports[18] 17 Salvador de Alba[22] All
45 Jack Beeton[23] R All
67 Enzo Fittipaldi[24] R All
71 Tymek Kucharczyk[25] R All
Juncos Hollinger Racing[26] 75 Alexander Koreiba[27] R All
76 Ricardo Escotto[28] All
Icon Status
R Eligible for Rookie of the Year
 RY  Rookie of the Year

Team changes

  • On August 27, 2025, IndyCar team Cusick Motorsports announced it would enter two cars in the Indy NXT series in a technical partnership with HMD Motorsports that would also see the latter team scale back its Indy NXT program to four cars.[18] On September 5, 2025, Cusick Motorsports announced it had rebranded to Cusick Morgan Motorsports after its team director Billy Morgan.[19]
  • On September 8, 2025, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced its return to the Indy NXT series. The team had previously competed in the series until the 2024 season, when it had elected to temporarily step back from competing in Indy NXT to focus on its IndyCar efforts.[26]
  • On October 21, 2025, IndyCar team A. J. Foyt Racing announced it would enter two cars in Indy NXT in a strategic alliance with HMD Motorsports.[10]
  • On October 24, IndyCar team Ed Carpenter Racing announced it would enter two cars in Indy NXT in a partnership with Cape Motorsports, who ended its association with Andretti Global.[13]

Driver changes

  • On September 15, 2025, Abel Motorsports announced that 2025 USF Pro 2000 champion Max Garcia would graduate to Indy NXT with the team, driving the No. 12 entry for the 2026 season.[2]
  • On September 22, 2025, Cape Motorsports announced Nikita Johnson would join the team for his full-time debut in the 2026 season after previously competing in two rounds with HMD Motorsports in 2025.[15]
  • On September 23, 2025, Andretti Global confirmed that reigning champion Dennis Hauger would move up to the IndyCar series with Dale Coyne Racing.[29]
  • On September 30, 2025, Andretti Global announced that Sebastian Murray would move over from Andretti Cape Indy NXT to the main Andretti team for his second Indy NXT season.[7]
  • On October 14, 2025, Andretti Global announced their third driver in Max Taylor, who joined the team for his full-season debut after entering six events in 2025 driving for HMD Motorsports.[8]
  • On October 15, 2025, Cusick Morgan Motorsports announced that their first Indy NXT driver would be Nicolas Stati, who graduates from the Formula Regional Americas Championship.[20]
  • On October 21, 2025, Abel Motorsports announced that Colin Kaminsky would drive for the team in 2026 on his Indy NXT return after last competing in the series in 2023.[4]
  • On October 21, 2025, Andretti Global announced Josh Pierson as the final driver in its lineup, who moved over from HMD Motorsports for his fourth Indy NXT season.[9]
  • On October 24, 2025, Cusick Morgan Motorsports announced that Juan Manuel Correa would drive for the team in his full-time series debut.[21]
  • On October 29, 2025, HMD Motorsports announced the first driver of their four-car lineup: Jack Beeton made his Indy NXT debut after previously competing in the Formula Regional European Championship.[23]
  • On October 30, 2025, HMD Motorsport announced that former Formula 2 driver Enzo Fittipaldi would join the team on his Indy NXT debut in 2026.[24]
  • On November 5, 2025, A. J. Foyt Racing announced the first driver of the team's Indy NXT lineup in USF Pro 2000 graduate Alessandro de Tullio.[12]
  • On November 6, 2025, A. J. Foyt Racing confirmed reports that it had signed 2025 Indy NXT runner-up Caio Collet to drive the team's No. 4 IndyCar entry.[30]
  • On November 14, 2025, A. J. Foyt Racing announced the second driver of their Indy NXT lineup would be Nicholas Monteiro, stepping up from USF Pro 2000, where he came tenth in 2025.[11]
  • On December 17, 2025, Chip Ganassi Racing announced their expanded four-car lineup: returnees Bryce Aron and Niels Koolen were joined by James Roe, who moved over from Andretti Global for his fifth Indy NXT campaign, and Carson Etter, who stepped up from USF Pro 2000 after finishing the 2025 season in 17th with Exclusive Autosport.[17]
  • On January 13, 2026, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced the first driver of the team's Indy NXT lineup in Ricardo Escotto, who returned to the series after being released by Andretti Cape halfway through 2025. Escotto had previously made his Indy NXT debut with Juncos for a part-time program in 2024.[28]
  • On January 14, 2026, HMD Motorsports announced that reigning Euroformula Open Champion Tymek Kucharczyk would join them for the 2026 season.[25]
  • On January 15, 2026, HMD Motorsports announced that Salvador de Alba would move over from Andretti Global for his third year in the series, taking the final spot in their lineup.[22]
  • On January 31, 2026, Cape Motorsports announced their second driver in Matteo Nannini, who rejoined Indy NXT after last competing there in 2023 driving for Juncos Hollinger Racing.[14]
  • On February 19, 2026, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced the final driver of the 2026 grid in LMP3 driver and Indy NXT debutant Alexander Koreiba.[27]

Schedule

The schedule was released on September 25.[31]

Icon Legend
 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road course
 S  Street circuit
Rd. Date Race name Track Location
1 March 1 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg  S  Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida
2 March 15 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Arlington  S  Streets of Arlington Arlington, Texas
3 March 28 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama  R  Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama
4 March 29
5 May 8 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Indianapolis  R  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Speedway, Indiana
6 May 9
7 May 31 Indy NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix  S  Streets of Detroit Detroit, Michigan
8 June 7 Indy NXT by Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway  O  World Wide Technology Raceway Madison, Illinois
9 June 20 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
10 June 21
11 July 4 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio
12 July 5
13 July 19 Indy NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix  O  Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee
14 August 9 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon
15 August 30 Indy NXT by Firestone at the Milwaukee Mile  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
16 September 5 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey  R  WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California
17 September 6

Calendar changes

  • Indy NXT will see the debut of the Grand Prix of Arlington. This will be Indy NXT's first race in the state of Texas since it held two races at Circuit of the Americas in 2019.
  • Barber Motorsports Park, Road America, Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca will hold double-headers for the first time since 2021.
  • The Nashville round will no longer be the season finale and will instead be round 13, held on July 19, while the Monterey round will move from mid-July to the season finale, held on September 5 and 6.
  • Indy NXT will not return to Iowa Speedway.

Race results

Rd. Track Pole position Fastest lap Most laps led Race winner
Driver Team
1 Streets of St. Petersburg Max Taylor Max Taylor Nikita Johnson Nikita Johnson Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR
2 Streets of Arlington Alessandro de Tullio Max Taylor Enzo Fittipaldi Max Taylor Andretti Global
3 Barber Motorsports Park
4
5 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
6
7 Streets of Detroit
8 World Wide Technology Raceway
9 Road America
10
11 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
12
13 Nashville Superspeedway
14 Portland International Raceway
15 Milwaukee Mile
16 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
17

Season report

Opening rounds

The 2026 Indy NXT season began with 24 cars at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the series' biggest grid since 2009.[32] Cape/ECR's Nikita Johnson topped the first qualifying group, before Andretti's Max Taylor bettered his time in the second group to take pole position.[33] Taylor covered the inside entering turn one at the start of the race, but a move around the outside saw Johnson claim the lead. HMD's Tymek Kucharczyk slotted into third, before a caution was called at the end of the lap. Two more interruptions followed, but the top group remained static throughout. Taylor shadowed Johnson but was unable to deter him from winning as Kucharczyk held off Andretti's Sebastian Murray for third.[34]

The second round of the season was held at the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington. Andretti Global driver Max Taylor earned his first Indy NXT victory.[35]

Championship standings

Scoring system
Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   11th   12th   13th   14th   15th   16th   17th   18th   19th   20th   21st   22nd   23rd   24th 
Points 50 40 35 32 30 28 26 24 22 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6
  • The fastest driver in each qualifying session is awarded one additional point.
  • Every driver who led at least one lap is awarded a bonus point, the driver who led the most laps gets two points.

Drivers' championship

Pos Driver STP ARL BAR IMS DET GAT ROA MOH NSS POR MIL LAG Points
1 Max Taylor 2 1L 92
2 Nikita Johnson 1L* 6 82
3 Tymek Kucharczyk 3 3 70
4 Lochie Hughes 5 5 60
5 Sebastian Murray 4 7 58
6 Enzo Fittipaldi 17 2L* 57
7 Juan Manuel Correa 9 4 54
8 Myles Rowe 6 9 50
9 Alessandro de Tullio 10 11 40
10 Jordan Missig 14 10 36
11 Matteo Nannini 19 8 35
12 Ricardo Escotto 13 12 35
13 Salvador de Alba 8 20 34
14 Jack Beeton 11 15 34
15 Max Garcia 12 14 34
16 Josh Pierson 7 23 33
17 Niels Koolen 22 13 25
18 Alexander Koreiba 20 16 24
19 Bryce Aron 18 18 24
20 Nicolas Stati 16 21 23
21 James Roe 21 17 22
22 Colin Kaminsky 15 24 21
23 Carson Etter 24 19 17
24 Nicholas Monteiro 23 22 15
Pos Driver STP ARL BAR IMS DET GAT ROA MOH NSS POR MIL LAG Points
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place
Light Blue 6th–10th place
Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple Did not finish
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn (Wth)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Blank Did not

participate (DNP)

Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position (1 point)
Italics Ran fastest race lap
L Led a race lap (1 point)
* Led most race laps (2 points)
1 Qualifying cancelled
no bonus point awarded
Rookie
Rookie of the Year
  • Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

Entrants' championship

Entrants score points in the same way drivers score points, including bonus points for pole position and laps led.

Pos Entry STP ARL BAR IMS DET GAT ROA MOH NSS POR MIL LAG Points
1 #28 Andretti Global 2 1L 92
2 #21 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR 1L* 6 82
3 #71 HMD Motorsports 3 3 70
4 #26 Andretti Global 5 5 60
5 #27 Andretti Global 4 7 58
6 #67 HMD Motorsports 17 2L* 57
7 #68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports 9 4 54
8 #99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy 6 9 50
9 #14 A. J. Foyt Racing 10 11 40
10 #48 Abel Motorsports 14 10 36
11 #20 Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR 19 8 35
12 #76 Juncos Hollinger Racing 13 12 35
13 #17 HMD Motorsports 8 20 34
14 #45 HMD Motorsports 11 15 34
15 #12 Abel Motorsports 12 14 34
16 #29 Andretti Global 7 23 33
17 #10 Chip Ganassi Racing 22 13 25
18 #75 Juncos Hollinger Racing 20 16 24
19 #9 Chip Ganassi Racing 18 18 24
20 #15 Cusick Morgan Motorsports 16 21 23
21 #8 Chip Ganassi Racing 21 17 22
22 #57 Abel Motorsports 15 24 21
23 #11 Chip Ganassi Racing 24 19 17
24 #4 A. J. Foyt Racing 23 22 15
Pos Entry STP ARL BAR IMS DET GAT ROA MOH NSS POR MIL LAG Points

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Technical partnership with HMD Motorsports.
  2. ^ Technical partnership with HMD Motorsports.

References

  1. ^ "Indy Lights rebranded for 2023 as "INDY NXT by Firestone"". MSN. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Donahue, Jacob (September 15, 2025). "Max Garcia and ABEL Motorsports to Contest Rookie Season in INDY NXT by Firestone". Abel Motorsports. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  3. ^ "Jordan Missig Returning to ABEL Motorsports in 2026". www.foxsports.com. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Colin Kaminsky To Return to INDY NXT with ABEL in 2026". Indy NXT. October 21, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  5. ^ Wood, Ida (September 5, 2025). "Myles Rowe commits to third Indy Nxt season and second with Abel". Formula Scout. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  6. ^ "Lochie Hughes Staying With Andretti Global in 2026". Indy NXT. October 7, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Seb Murray To Join Andretti Global for 2026 Season". Indy NXT. September 30, 2025. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  8. ^ a b gabbyhamill (October 14, 2025). "Andretti INDY NXT Welcomes Max Taylor to 2026 Driver Lineup". Andretti Globa. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Josh Pierson Completes Andretti INDY NXT Lineup for 2026". Indy NXT. October 21, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (October 21, 2025). "AJ Foyt Racing partners with HMD for Indy NXT return | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (November 14, 2025). "Monteiro joins Foyt Indy NXT team | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  12. ^ a b "Alessandro De Tullio To Compete In 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone Season with AJ Foyt Racing". ajfoytracing. November 5, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "ECR Partners With Cape To Join INDY NXT by Firestone in 2026". IndyCar.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Matteo Nannini Joins Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR for 2026". Indy NXT. January 30, 2026. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  15. ^ a b "Nikita Johnson To Drive for Cape Motorsports in 2026 Season". IndyCar.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  16. ^ "Ganassi expanding Indy NXT program to four cars". RACER. October 7, 2025. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Chip Ganassi Racing Signs James Roe, Carson Etter to Join Bryce Aron, Niels Koolen in INDY NXT". chipganassiracing.com. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c "Cusick Team Joins Series in 2026 in Technical Alliance with HMD". Indy NXT. August 27, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  19. ^ a b "Cusick Team Rebrands to Cusick Morgan Motorsports". Indy NXT. September 4, 2025. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (October 15, 2025). "Stati joins Cusick Morgan HMD | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Juan Manuel Correa Signs With Cusick Morgan for 2026". IndyCar.com. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Salvador de Alba Moves to HMD Motorsports for 2026 INDY NXT Season". HMD Motorsports. January 15, 2026. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  23. ^ a b "Jack Beeton To Drive for HMD Motorsports in 2026 Rookie Season". Indy NXT. October 29, 2025. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  24. ^ a b "HMD Motorsports Signs Enzo Fittipaldi for 2026 Season". Indy NXT. October 30, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Tymek Kucharczyk Set to Make Indy NXT Debut With HMD Motorsports in 2026". HMD Motorsports. January 14, 2026. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  26. ^ a b "Juncos Hollinger Racing Returning to INDY NXT in 2026". Indy NXT. September 8, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  27. ^ a b "Juncos Hollinger Racing Signs Alexander Koreiba". Indy NXT. February 19, 2026. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  28. ^ a b "Juncos Hollinger Racing Kicks Off 2026 INDY NXT Lineup with Ricardo Escotto". Juncos Hollinger Racing. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  29. ^ "Coyne Hires Dennis Hauger for 2026, Enters Partnership with Andretti". IndyCar.com. September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  30. ^ Horner, Scott. "Rookie joins A.J. Foyt Racing's 2026 IndyCar Series lineup to replace David Malukas". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 6, 2025.
  31. ^ "INDYCAR Announces 17-Race 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone Schedule". IndyCar.com. Retrieved September 25, 2025.
  32. ^ van der Hoek, Vincent (February 24, 2026). "Indy NXT: 2026 season guide". Feeder Series. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  33. ^ Wood, Ida (February 28, 2026). "Taylor untouchable in Indy Nxt's St. Petersburg qualifying". Formula Scout. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  34. ^ Wood, Ida (March 1, 2026). "Johnson holds off Taylor to win caution-filled Indy Nxt opener". Formula Scout. Retrieved March 5, 2026.
  35. ^ "Max Taylor Emerges From Chaos To Earn First Career Win at Arlington". IndyCar.com. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
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