INDY NXT RACE REPORT: GRAND PRIX OF ARLINGTON
Race Notes
- The Andretti Global INDY NXT team took on the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington this morning, led by a standout performance from Max Taylor. Starting from the second row, Taylor navigated a chaotic opening to secure his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory and vault to the top of the Championship standings.
- Today’s winning result captured by Taylor marks the 99th victory in Andretti Global INDY NXT team history since the team’s inception in 2005.
- Due to high winds on the street circuit, the event was converted to a 30-minute timed race. The session saw five of the 15 total laps completed under Full Course Yellow conditions.
- Following the excitement in Arlington, the series will take a week off from racing before returning to action for the Grand Prix of Alabama doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park on March 28-29.
Race Results
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 Andretti Global Dallara
P5
| Started | P8 |
| Standings | P4 (60 points) |
- Taking the green from the fourth row, Hughes immediately capitalized on multiple on-track incidents in the front and mid-field, allowing him to gain two positions at the start as the yellow came out.
- Hughes stayed competitive as the race continued and made a pass on the penultimate lap of the race to break into the top five. This result marks the Australian driver’s 12th career top-five finish.
“Decent points day today. Obviously, not the result we wanted, but starting eighth, there was only so much we could do. Drove back to finish fifth, which is good points, but unfortunately, I only had less than 10 racing laps to make up those positions because of the yellows. Damage limitation today.”
Seb Murray
No. 27 Prosperity Dallara
P7
| Started | P11 |
| Standings | P5 (58 points) |
- Starting today’s race just outside of the top 10, Seb Murray skillfully avoided the opening-lap turmoil, capitalizing on the mid-field chaos to move into eighth position by Lap 4.
- At the halfway point of the race, Murray made a pass into seventh, which he maintained for the entirety of the race, securing his fourth INDY NXT career top-10 finish.
“Just finished Round 2 here in Arlington. Really messy race, to be honest. I’m not sure what happened at the start. It’s like everyone went and stopped again. We had some minor damage from the start of the race onwards, but the car was great today. Huge thank you to the No. 27 crew. We came across the line in P7, which is not too bad when the race is only about 10 laps of green. Massive thanks to the Andretti team this weekend. We’ve been very dominant on pace. We just missed out on qualifying, which would have changed our weekend. Massive congratulations to Max too. He drove very well today.”
Max Taylor
No. 28 Susan G. Komen Dallara
P1
| Started | P4 |
| Standings | P1 (92 points) |
- Following the incident at the start of the race at the front of the field that sent a competitor in the top three to the back of the field, Taylor was shifted up into third place by the time the track returned to green on Lap 5.
- Continuing to build speed, Taylor capitalized on his improved on-track position to make two skillful passes near the end of the race to claim his INDY NXT career-first victory, and the 99th overall for the Andretti Global INDY NXT team.
- Taylor closed out the race by recording the fastest lap of the event on the final lap and moving up to the top of the INDY NXT Driver Championship standings, leading by 10 points.
“It was an incredible time of fun racing out here in Arlington. The track makes for such good racing. I really had to fight for it, and I was able to make some good moves out there, have some fun, and really show our pace that we were missing in qualifying. So, I was really happy about that. It was all about patience in the beginning of the race and letting everyone run over each other, then I took the opportunity when I had it. It was probably the move of my career, if I’m honest. It’s all thanks to the hard work that the Andretti guys do. They’re everything.”
Josh Pierson
No. 29 Starchive Dallara
P23
| Started | P12 |
| Standings | P16 (33 points) |
- Taking the green flag alongside teammate Murray this morning in Row 6, Josh Pierson moved up one position into 11th by Lap 5, following the Full Course Yellow that opened the race.
- On Lap 9, Pierson was forced into the outside on Turn 14 when a competitor made slight contact with his tires. This led Pierson to make contact with the wall, damaging his front wing beyond repair, and he was ultimately forced to retire early from the race.
“Really tough weekend for the No. 29 crew. The Andretti Global cars have been really strong all weekend, but just for me, it’s been a big challenge. I’m really disappointed in how the weekend’s gone. I would have liked to have driven the car back to the pits after my front wing broke, but I wasn’t allowed to, so that was a bit of a tragic tale for me. I don’t know if we would have been able to fix it, but it would have been nice to at least salvage a few points and just get to finish. Especially with how I’ve been struggling this weekend, it would have been nice to try and get some more learning done. Barber is a new opportunity and hopefully a weekend for us to bounce back. So, I’m proud of all the work that the Andretti Global crew has done and the guys on the No. 29 car. But for myself, just not good enough, and there’s definitely a lot more for me. I’ll focus forward.”
Don Lambert
INDY NXT Team Manager
“An outstanding day for Max Taylor. All the guys did a great job. We had a problem in qualifying, and all four cars didn’t meet expectations, which drew us down a bit, but we found our way back. And I tell you what, that Max Taylor, what a run he did today. He just shows he’s not going to be denied. We’re ready for the next one.”
