Andretti INDY NXT Milwaukee Mile Race Report
Race Notes
Andretti INDY NXT’s return to the Milwaukee Mile ended on the highest of notes as Louis Foster and the No. 26 team clinched the 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone Championship after a dominant win from the pole in the penultimate race of the season. Today’s Championship victory is Andretti INDY NXT’s sixth in the development series and the first since 2021 when current Andretti INDYCAR driver Kyle Kirkwood took home the top INDY NXT title. This is Foster’s second Championship in the Road to Indy ladder after capturing the USF Pro 2000 title in 2022. The Andretti INDY NXT team has scored 19 consecutive podiums dating back to the Music City Grand Prix last year in Nashville.
After a practice session on Friday afternoon, the INDY NXT field qualified earlier today for the afternoon’s race as drivers’ two-lap averages on the one-mile oval formed the starting lineup. Today’s INDY NXT race, the first at the Milwaukee Mile for the series since 2015, was shortened to 90 laps from the original 100 after a fuel reevaluation on Friday. The 90-lap race saw only one yellow flag that lasted for three laps and only two penalties.
Following this afternoon’s qualifying session that saw Louis Foster capture his sixth pole of the season as the only driver in the field to break a two-lap average speed over 151 MPH, the Brit led the 90-lap race from green to checkered to score his seventh win of the season and ninth of his INDY NXT career. Foster also recorded the fastest lap of the race with a speed of 143.085 MPH.
Andretti Cape INDY NXT driver Salvador de Alba came out strong in qualifying today locking in his best INDY NXT career oval start in the third row. De Alba capitalized off of his starting position to make strategic passes, sitting as high as second. As the race continued, the No. 51 car recovered from his drop in positions in the beginning of the race, bumping de Alba down to third. The Mexican driver maintained his top-three spot for the rest of the race, taking home his second career INDY NXT podium.
Bryce Aron took the green flag from his best INDY NXT career oval starting position this afternoon from the fourth row. Aron kept a clean race and made strategic passes to gain position until the very end of the race, locking in his P4 spot with less than five laps to go. Today’s result marks Aron’s third INDY NXT career top-five finish and best finish on an oval.
Jamie Chadwick had a successful qualifying session this afternoon where she captured the third-fastest speed on the charts setting herself up to start in the second row. Due to the No. 51 car falling back at the start of the race and causing a shuffle of drivers, Chadwick moved her way up to second where she maintained a spot in the top three for the majority of the race. Lapped traffic at the end of the race made it difficult for Chadwick to maneuver, causing her to round out the top five at the checkered. This is the British driver’s third INDY NXT career top-five finish and best finish on an oval.
Joining teammate Aron in the fourth row on the grid today, James Roe had to fight his way up the field from the beginning of the race after shuffling back a couple of positions just outside of the top 10. Roe maintained strong pace throughout the race, managing to make enough passes to take the checkered directly behind teammate Chadwick and locking in his sixth top-10 finish of the season.
The green flag will wave for the last time this season for the INDY NXT by Firestone Series at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, September 15. The Andretti INDY NXT team will battle it out for their last chance to score a victory in the season finale on Peacock and INDYCAR LIVE.
Race Results
Louis Foster No. 26 Copart / Novara Technologies Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
P1
Started: P1
Standings: 1st (586pts)
“ I mean, I’m just speechless. I have to thank the Andretti team. They’ve been behind me for the last two years. Massive thanks to everyone on the No. 26 crew and to my sponsors Copart/Novara. It’s been a crazy two years, and I’m just super happy to be here and have won the Championship.”
Bryce Aron No. 27 Jaguar Land Rover Chesterfield Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
P4
Started: P7
Standings: 9th (276pts)
“It was a good race finishing P4 and we got some more good points. I’ve definitely felt like our evolution on the ovals has been really good this year. We were passing people and moving forward. I think with a couple more laps, we could have had a podium – really happy with that. I had a great car, thanks to everyone at Andretti and my engineer Matt. Congrats to Louis on the Championship – very well deserved to the No. 26 car and that crew. They’ve done a phenomenal job all year. Now, I’m excited for Nashville in a few weeks time.”
Jamie Chadwick No. 28 VEXT Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
P5
Started: P3
Standings: 6th (297pts)
“It’s a good day when you can be disappointed with fifth. I just got caught on the wrong end of lapped traffic. We still got some good points, and I’m really happy for the No. 26 guys and Louis on the Championship. I’m looking forward to finishing on a high in Nashville.”
James Roe No. 29 Topcon Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
P6
Started: P8
Standings: 8th (248pts)
“I think overall it was a good day. We dodged mayhem at the start and worked our way forward the rest of the race. I knew that we had a fast car out there and managed to get some huge points. We passed a lot of cars and Andretti flat-out dominated this weekend, so we’re happy.”
Salvador de Alba No. 2 Grupo Indi Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
P3
Started: P6
Standings: 5th (301pts)
“The car was in a pretty good window and we were fast enough to stay up at the front today. Jacob [Abel] was catching up to me and eventually took second, but we held onto third and got the podium. I’m really happy with my second podium of the year. It was awesome. Congratulations to Louis and the team on the Championship, and I’m looking forward to the last race of the season.”
Don Lambert Team Manager
“First of all, congratulations to Louis and the No. 26 crew on the Championship win today. This is really good for our program and shows the hard work that we put into our cars. We’ve brought on Cape this year, and it’s been a great way for us to spread the wealth a bit, so, it’s nice to see Salvador on the podium as well today. We’re just working very hard for all of our cars to succeed, and I think that today was a great example of that mission. Now, we’re going to give it all we’ve got in Nashville to finish things up this year.”
