The 2025 Firestone Indy NXT Series is scheduled to be the 38th season of the Indy NXT open wheel auto racing series and the 23rd sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. This is the third year of the championship running under the Indy NXT moniker following its acquisition by Penske Entertainment, the owner of the IndyCar Series, in 2022. All races will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2.[1]

2025 Indy NXT season
Firestone Indy NXT Series
Season
Races14
Start dateMarch 2
End dateAugust 31
Awards
← 2024
2026 →

Teams and drivers

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

Team No. Drivers Status Round(s)
Abel Motorsports[2] 17   Callum Hedge[3] All
48   Jordan Missig[4] All
TBA   TBA TBC
Abel Motorsports with Force Indy 99   Myles Rowe[5] All
Andretti Global 26   Lochie Hughes[6]  R  All
27   Salvador de Alba[7] All
28   Dennis Hauger[8]  R  All
29   James Roe[9] All
Andretti Cape Indy NXT 3   Ricardo Escotto[10] All
Chip Ganassi Racing[11] 9   Jonathan Browne[12] All
10   Niels Koolen[12] All
HMD Motorsports 11   Nolan Allaer[13] All
14   Josh Pierson[14] All
16   Tommy Smith[15]  R  All
23   Caio Collet[16] All
38   Hailie Deegan[17]  R  All
39   Bryce Aron[18] All
TBA   Sophia Flörsch[19]  R  All
Juncos Hollinger Racing 75   Miguel María García[20]  R  All
76   TBA TBC
Miller Vinatieri Racing 40   Jack William Miller[21] All
Icon Status
 R  Eligible for Rookie of the Year

Team changes

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Driver changes

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  • On January 16, 2024, Andretti and Cape Motorsports announced Salvador de Alba would be driving the No. 2 car of the newly formed Andretti Cape partnership in 2024. This announcement also included that de Alba's 2025 Indy NXT program would see him move over to Andretti Global.[7]
  • On September 26, 2024, it was announced that Myles Rowe and the Force Indy program supporting him would switch to Abel Motorsports for the 2025 season to field the No. 99 Abel Motorsports with Force Indy car.[5]
  • On October 8, 2024, Andretti Global announced that 2024 USF Pro 2000 champion Lochie Hughes would graduate to Indy NXT with the team.[6]
  • On October 10, 2024, HMD Motorsport disclosed that Tommy Smith, who spent the previous two years in FIA Formula 3, would pilot the No. 16 car in 2025.[15]
  • On October 14, 2024, HMD Motorsport announced two further drivers for its 2024 campaign: Bryce Aron, who would depart Andretti Global, with whom he came ninth in his debut season in 2024, and former NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Hailie Deegan, who would make her series debut.[18][17]
  • On October 18, 2024, Andretti Global announced that Formula 2 driver Dennis Hauger would pilot the No. 28 car, thereby completing the team's lineup.[8]
  • On October 24, 2024, Andretti Global announced Ricardo Escotto would pilot the No. 3 car run under the Andretti Cape Indy NXT guise in technical partnership with Cape Motorsports, thereby entering his first full Indy NXT season after contesting five races in 2024 with Juncos Hollinger Racing.[10]
  • On October 30, 2024, Chip Ganassi Racing announced the driver lineup for their return to Indy NXT. It consists of two drivers departing HMD Motorsports in Jonathan Browne, who finished the 2024 season in 13th, and Niels Koolen, who finished his part-time 2024 campaign in 20th.[12]
  • On November 1, 2024, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced their first driver for 2025 in Miguel María García, who last competed in Super TC2000.[20]
  • On November 25, 2024, Abel Motorsports announced that Callum Hedge would join the team for his second Indy NXT season, departing HMD Motorsports after coming fourth in 2024.[3]
  • On December 4, 2024, Jamie Chadwick announced she would join IDEC Sport in the LMP2 class of the European Le Mans Series, thereby leaving the championship.[22]
  • On December 11, 2024, it was announced Yuven Sundaramoorthy, who was slated to drive for Abel Motorsports,[23] had to withdraw due to “unforeseen budget challenges.”[24]
  • On December 14, 2024, Abel Motorsports announced that Jordan Missig, who contested five races with the team in 2024 as a replacement for Josh Mason, would race full-time for the team in 2025.[4]
  • On December 19, 2024, HMD Motorsports announced that FIA F3 and endurance racing driver Sophia Flörsch would join the team for the 2025 season, making her Indy NXT debut.[19]

Schedule

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The 2025 schedule was announced on June 13, 2024. Indy NXT will visit the same twelve locations as the year before.[25]

Rd. Date Race name Track Location
1 March 2 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg  R  Streets of St. Petersburg St. Petersburg, Florida
2 May 4 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama  R  Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama
3 May 9 Indy NXT by Firestone Indianapolis Grand Prix  R  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Speedway, Indiana
4 May 10
5 June 1 Indy NXT by Firestone Detroit Grand Prix  R  Detroit Street Circuit Detroit, Michigan
6 June 15 Indy NXT by Firestone Outfront Showdown  O  World Wide Technology Raceway Madison, Illinois
7 June 22 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
8 July 6 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio
9 July 12 Indy NXT by Firestone Iowa 100  O  Iowa Speedway Newton, Iowa
10 July 26 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey  R  WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California
11 July 27
12 August 10 Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Portland  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon
13 August 24 Indy NXT by Firestone Milwaukee 100  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
14 August 31 Indy NXT by Firestone Music City 100  O  Nashville Superspeedway Lebanon, Tennessee
O Oval track
R Road/street course

Championship standings

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Drivers' Championship

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Indy Lights rebranded for 2023 as "INDY NXT by Firestone"". MSN. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Pruett, Marshall (October 4, 2024). "Amid NXT expansion, Abel Motorsports eyes IMSA, Indy 500". RACER. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Donahue, Jacob (November 25, 2024). "New Zealand's Callum Hedge Joins ABEL Motorsports for Sophomore INDY NXT Season". ABEL Motorsports. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Donahue, Jacob (December 14, 2024). "Radical Cup Champion Missig Joins ABEL Motorsports for Rookie Season in INDY NXT". ABEL Motorsports. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Myles Rowe Joins ABEL Motorsports with Force Indy for 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone Season". September 26, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Lochie Hughes to Make INDY NXT Debut With Andretti Global in 2025". Andretti Global. October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "De Alba To Drive for Andretti Cape in Rookie INDY NXT Season". IndyCar.com. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Andretti Global Adds Rookie Hauger to 2025 Lineup". IndyCar.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  9. ^ "Roe Staying with Andretti, Aiming for Title in 2025". INDYCAR.com. October 16, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Ricardo Escotto to Join Andretti Cape INDY NXT in 2025". Andretti Global. October 24, 2024. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Chip Ganassi Racing confirms IndyCar downsizing; plans Indy NXT return". RACER. September 4, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Barnes, Joey (October 30, 2024). "Chip Ganassi Racing finalizes its 2025 lineups for IndyCar and Indy NXT programs". Motorsport. Retrieved October 30, 2024.
  13. ^ Media, R. T. D. (October 15, 2024). "NOLAN ALLAER RETURNS FOR FIRST FULL SEASON IN INDY NXT BY FIRESTONE". RTD Media. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  14. ^ Media, R. T. D. (September 25, 2024). "JOSH PIERSON CONFIRMS 2025 INDY NXT PLANS WITH HMD MOTORSPORTS". RTD Media. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Media, R. T. D. (October 10, 2024). "TOMMY SMITH JOINS HMD MOTORSPORTS FOR 2025 INDY NXT BY FIRESTONE SEASON". RTD Media. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  16. ^ Pruett, Marshall (September 12, 2024). "Collet returning to HMD for 2025 Indy NXT season". Racer.com.
  17. ^ a b Pockrass, Bob. "Hailie Deegan moving from NASCAR to open-wheel racing for 2025". FOX Sports. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Media, R. T. D. (October 14, 2024). "BRYCE ARON MOVES TO HMD MOTORSPORTS FOR 2025 INDY NXT BY FIRESTONE CAMPAIGN". RTD Media. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Sophia Floersch joins HMD Motorsports for 2025 Indy NXT by Firestone Season". RTD Media. December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Juncos Hollinger Racing is excited to announce the addition of MiguelMa García to their INDY NXT by Firestone team. – Juncos Hollinger Racing". www.juncoshollinger.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  21. ^ "Miller Vinatieri Motorsports on X: "Ready for year 2"". X.com. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  22. ^ Newbold, James (December 3, 2024). "Chadwick switches to ELMS with LMP2 seat for 2025". autosport.com. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  23. ^ Donahue, Jacob (September 16, 2024). "ABEL Motorsports Back on INDY NXT podium to close season". Abel Motorsports. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  24. ^ "Sundaramoorthy Forced to Withdraw From 2025 Ride". Indynxt.com. December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  25. ^ "INDYCAR, FOX Sports Announce Historic Media Rights Deal". IndyCar.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
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