INDY NXT RACE REPORT: INDY NXT by Firestone at Milwaukee Mile
Race Results
| INDY NXT by Firestone at Milwaukee Mile |
| Lochie Hughes | P14 |
| Seb Murray | P11 |
| Max Taylor | P4 |
| Josh Pierson | P22 |
Race Notes
- The Andretti Global INDY NXT team lined up inside the top 10 on the grid for today’s 90-lap race at The Milwaukee Mile. Josh Pierson led the field to green after earning a record-breaking pole position in qualifying yesterday.
- Due to a grid penalty assigned to a competitor, Max Taylor, Lochie Hughes and Seb Murray all started today’s race one position higher than they qualified.
- After a caution-filled race, Max Taylor emerged as Andretti’s top finisher of the day in fourth place after on-track incidents forced Josh Pierson and Lochie Hughes to the back of the field. Seb Murray finished the day just outside the top 10.
- Today’s race saw four caution periods lasting total of 21.
- INDY NXT by Firestone will return to action next weekend for the 2026 season finale doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to wrap up the year.
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 Andretti Global Dallara
P14
| Started | P7 |
| Standings | P6 (402 points) |
- 2025 Milwaukee Mile podium finisher Lochie Hughes made his second start on the historic oval from seventh place on the grid this morning.
- Getting caught in traffic early, Hughes dropped three spots to 10th place. As the race progressed past the halfway point, he worked his way back forward, reaching sixth place after the first caution period.
- On Lap 69, Hughes spun in Turn 2 and made light contact with the SAFER barrier. He recovered to finish the race in 14th place.
“That was an unfortunate race. I just really thought we were going for the win there. We lost some positions at the start, and from there I was just kind of saving it, seeing what we had in the car. Then in that middle to second half of the race, we were cutting through cars. We were one of the fastest cars on the racetrack by a fair bit. On the restart, we got ourselves up toward the front, and I was trying to pass other cars, but I lost the rear and spun, hit the wall and had to nurse it back home. I was a bit damaged. So, that’s our day. On to Laguna.”
Seb Murray
No. 27 Megatron Dallara
P11
| Started | P8 |
| Standings | P13 (279 points) |
- Seb Murray took on The Milwaukee Mile today from eighth place, marking his INDY NXT career-best starting position on an oval.
- Murray lost position within the first five laps to drop to ninth, eventually settling into 10th place by Lap 33.
- Despite several passing attempts, difficult restarts and minor contacts at the end of the race kept Murray outside the top 10, ultimately taking the checkered flag in 11th to tie his career-best oval result.
“That’s our race in Milwaukee. Honestly, as a whole, it was an amazing race for us. The team built out an awesome car, and we were one of the fastest and most competitive cars throughout the race. I felt good at the start, and we were in the mix, but then we had a bad safety car restart and lost a few spots. Then, unfortunately, I got squeezed on the second-to-last lap and had some contact, which didn’t help. Still, I think the car was definitely capable of a top five in terms of pace, but we were just unlucky. Massive thank you to the team. It was a really good race car.”
Max Taylor
No. 28 Susan G. Komen Dallara
P4
| Started | P5 |
| Standings | P4 (428 points) |
- Making his second start at the Mile today, Max Taylor lined up fifth on the grid, improving 11 spots from his starting position last year.
- Taylor made a pass at the green flag to move into fourth, though as the race continued, he dropped to sixth just before the halfway mark.
- Utilizing late-race restarts, Taylor stayed in the fight and managed to navigate his way up into fourth place, and despite his best efforts to break into podium contention, crossed the finish line just outside the top three and his career-best race result on an oval.
“It was a pretty crazy race out there. No one had any grip, and we were definitely struggling a lot for rear grip. So I just kind of held on and did what I could. I didn’t make any mistakes, but it’s a bit of a shame that we didn’t have the car to compete for a podium or a win. I just took advantage of other people’s mistakes. Still left here with some good points today.”
Josh Pierson
No. 29 Starchive Dallara
P22
| Started | P1 |
| Standings | P12 (303 points) |
- Taking the green flag from pole position for his INDY NXT career-best start, Josh Pierson made his third race start at The Milwaukee Mile today.
- Launching off the line with strong pace, Pierson maintained the lead through the opening stint of the race.
- On Lap 54, after leading every lap from the start, Pierson got loose on the exit of Turn 4 and spun into the inside barrier, ending his day prematurely.
“Everybody here at Andretti Global, and specifically on that No. 29 car, believes in me, and I just really wanted to give them something that they deserve. This year has been really hard, and I feel like we’ve had speed at every track to win, but it’s always been something, whether it’s in my control or not. We just have never been able to put together the full weekend. I was super grateful for everything yesterday and to start on pole today. It was my failure today that ended our race. The car was just getting more and more oversteer every lap, but everybody has that same issue here. It’s always that case with the tire deg. I just mismanaged on my part.”
Don Lambert
INDY NXT Team Manager
“Well, it could have been a lot better day for us. Cars might be just a little bit loose; it seems like a tendency here. Looks like a lot of people had a lot of trouble with that today. Lochie lost it trying to pass Tymek, and obviously Josh got loose coming out of Turn 4. Kind of a tough day. Although, Max did a great job. He was in the same boat, but worked pretty hard today. And Seb did another outstanding job on an oval today. So, we’ll get everything cleaned up and go to Laguna.”
