Andretti INDY NXT Nashville Superspeedway Race Report
Race Notes
The Andretti INDY NXT and Andretti Cape INDY NXT teams took on the INDY NXT by Firestone season finale today at Nashville Superspeedway. Leading the field to green for the seventh time this season, 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone Champion Louis Foster ended the season on a high note with a victory from the pole. After inclement weather rained out yesterday’s Qualifying session, the drivers lined up in Championship order this morning for the final race of the season.
Leading driver’s standings in points, Foster secured the pole position in Qualifying results yesterday. Leading all 65 laps and recording the fastest leader lap of today’s race, Foster scored his eighth win of the season and 10th of his INDY NXT career. This win ties him with Tommy Byrne, Alex Lloyd, Paul Tracy and current Andretti INDYCAR driver Kyle Kirkwood for second in most INDY NXT wins of all time.
James Roe took on Nashville Superspeedway with the determination to move his way up the field from his fifth-row starting spot today, and did just that. By Lap 22 of the race, after making a series of strategic passes to maneuver up the field, the Irish driver began running in fourth. Although Roe battled for his spot on the podium until the last lap of the race, he ultimately ended the day just inside the top five.
Jumping up two positions at the green flag, Salvador de Alba had a strong start to today’s race running inside the top five. After falling back into the top 10, de Alba quickly worked his was back up the field to lock in that P5 spot where he ran for 42 laps of the race. Ultimately, the No. 2 Grupo Indi driver took the checkered directly behind teammate Roe, marking his fifth top-five finish of his INDY NXT career.
Starting from the back of the field, Andretti Cape driver Michael d’Orlando was forced to battle it out for higher positions the entirety of the race. The hard work paid off as he was the most improved driver in today’s race, overcoming 11 positions and earning the Josten’s Biggest Mover Award. He took the checkered just outside the top five, securing his fifth top-10 finish in his INDY NXT career.
Starting in the fifth row today, Bryce Aron ran an aggressive race and was able to overtake three positions from where he started to ultimately finish the day directly behind teammate d’Orlando. This is Aron’s ninth top-10 finish of his INDY NXT career.
Jamie Chadwick took the green flag from the sixth row today and ran in the top 10 for the majority of the race. Unfortunately, Chadwick got caught in lapped traffic and made contact with the No. 40 car, causing the sole yellow of the race and cutting her race short with only 14 laps to go.
Andretti INDY NXT heads into the offseason after claiming its sixth INDY NXT by Firestone Series Championship. Current Andretti INDY NXT driver Jamie Chadwick will continue her on-track action later this month with an INDYCAR test at Barber Motorsports Park with the Andretti INDYCAR team.
Race Results
Louis Foster No. 26 Copart / Novara Technologies Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
P1
Started: P1
Standings: 1st (639pts)
“It was a strange race where we were pinned for pretty much the entire time. I had a bit of a gap to Caio [Collet] and Yuven [Sundaramoorthy] behind, but Yuven [Sundaramoorthy] was really strong that race. I had to keep him behind at the end. I was struggling with the balance of the car and I wasn’t sure if we’d have it, but luckily I was able to keep him [Sundaramoorthy] at bay and we finished off the year with a win. I’m very grateful to Andretti and the No. 26 crew. I’ve been with them for two years now and they’ve been absolutely amazing. We’ve worked day in and day out and had great teamwork, which has allowed us to make our goals come to fruition.”
Bryce Aron No. 27 Jaguar Land Rover Chesterfield Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
P7
Started: P10
Standings: 9th (302pts)
“We secured another good top-10 finish today. For a while, we were running P6 and fighting for P5. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the greatest start, but I think overall, we had a good race and season. We really developed and grown. Congrats to Louis and everyone at Andretti Global. It has been fun to race with all my teammates. Looking forward to seeing what is to come.”
Jamie Chadwick No. 28 VEXT Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
P17
Started: P7
Standings: 7th (310pts)
“I think we had a decent pace today. Our cars were really strong and I think we had the chance of capturing a top-five result today. Unfortunately, we got caught up in an incident that ended our race early. However, it’s been a great year and I’ve had a great time with the team. Thank you to the entire No. 28 team for their support this season.”
James Roe No. 29 Topcon Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
P4
Started: P9
Standings: 6th (316pts)
“It was a great race. Obviously, we were a little bummed about qualifying being cancelled because we knew we had a lot of pace. And during the race we were able to go from P9 to P4. I think we needed a few more laps to get on the podium, but the No. 29 Topcon Dallara was fast, and that definitely showed out there today. Once again, Andretti INDY NXT dominated. I’m excited to see what’s to come.”
Salvador de Alba No. 2 Grupo Indi Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
P5
Started: P6
Standings: 5th (331pts)
“It’s great to get a top five for the last race of the 2024 season – I’m really proud of the Andretti Cape team. They have given me everything they could for every race and I’m excited to end the season fifth in the Championship Standings. A special thanks also goes to my sponsors for making this possible – it has been a great year. Also, congratulations to Louis for his win today and clinching the 2024 Championship.”
Michael d’Orlando No. 3 Flatrock Motorclub Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
P6
Started: P17
Standings: 18th (171pts)
“What a fantastic race and weekend. First of all, I’d like to give a huge thank you to Flatrock Motorclub for putting me out here this weekend. And once again, a huge congrats and thank you to Andretti INDY NXT and Andretti Cape for an awesome weekend. The guys have been hard at work and that black and gold No. 3 car was absolutely wicked. Starting from essentially last and working my way up to P6 was a ride of my life for sure. I couldn’t be more proud of my performance, and I had so much fun.”
Don Lambert Team Manager
“Great day for Andretti INDY NXT. Congrats to Louis and the No. 26 team for ending the year on a high note and capturing that final win of the season. I think all of our drivers had strong cars today, so it’s a shame that Jamie got pulled down there near the end. Everyone else had a great day today and it’s a positive way to end the season. We can look back at this year and be proud of what we did.”
