The Stage is Set for Andretti Global’s INDY NXT Team to Take on the 2026 Season
As the winningest program under the TWG Motorsports umbrella, with 98 wins since its inception in 2005, Andretti Global’s INDY NXT team is determined to continue the success as it embarks on the 2026 season. The team is still riding the momentum of winning back-to-back INDY NXT by Firestone Series Championship titles in 2024 and 2025, secured by INDY NXT standouts and current INDYCAR drivers, Dennis Hauger and Louis Foster. Overall, consistency has become a staple for the program, as an Andretti Global driver has finished first (2018, 2019, 2021, 2024, 2025) or second (2022, 2023) in points in each of the last seven INDY NXT seasons.
As the team looks to kick off 2026 on the Streets of St. Petersburg this weekend with a fresh lineup and new goals, it also provides them the opportunity to take a look back at the past season’s highlights, define the team’s commitment to driver development, introduce the driver lineup and explore the next chapter of INDY NXT racing.
2025 INDY NXT Championship in Review
This past season was another history-making year for the Andretti INDY NXT team, as twenty-two-year-old Norwegian driver Dennis Hauger helped lead the team to Championship glory once again.
Having never competed in a North American racing series before, Hauger took a leap of faith in his abilities as a driver to come to the INDY NXT Series. Before making this career shift, Hauger had spent three successful seasons in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. Right out of the gate at the 2025 season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Hauger managed to capture his first INDY NXT career pole, which he then converted into his first INDY NXT career win. From that point forward, Hauger became known as the “Norwegian Nightmare” by fans and broadcast as he continued to put on record-breaking, dominating performances the remainder of the season, collecting a total of six wins, five other podiums, seven pole positions and 301 led laps. Notably, while competing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, he secured Andretti Global’s 300th win across all the series that the team competes in, forever etching himself into Andretti Global history.
“I’m proud to wrap up 2025 as Champion,” said the Norwegian driver. “From the very first race, we were on it, winning races and consistently at the front. It wasn’t always easy, but the team worked so hard to prepare every weekend like it was the last, and that’s what I’m most proud of. Huge thanks to Andretti for making me look good out there and giving me everything I needed to succeed. Winning my first Championship means everything.”
Looking ahead, Hauger’s future remains bright, as it was recently announced that he has secured a seat in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Dale Coyne Racing in 2026, with the technical support of Andretti Global.
Commitment to Driver Development
Andretti Global’s INDY NXT team is the flagship of TWG Motorsport’s commitment to providing resources and experience to the next generation of racing talent. Over the years, the team has been part of the development journey for multiple standout drivers, including Andretti INDY NXT Champion and current Andretti INDYCAR driver Kyle Kirkwood, Cadillac Formula 1 test driver Colton Herta, INDYCAR drivers Pato O’Ward, Christian Rasmussen, Sting Ray Robb and more.
In addition, TWG Motorsports continues to help foster the careers of other up-and-coming drivers at all levels of the sport. For instance, Andretti Global announced last year that then eight-year-old Zayne Burgess had joined its ambitious Driver Development program designed to support young talents in reaching pinnacle levels of motorsport. With Andretti Global and Gainbridge’s support, the young driver is making waves in karting, as he recently secured the 2025 Rotax MAX Challenge Championship and came second in the 2025 Superkarts! USA Championship standings. Outside of karting, Andretti Global and Gainbridge are providing support for Sebastian (17) and Oliver Wheldon (14) as they work their way up the open-wheel racing system. Although they are both near the beginning of their own racing careers, the brothers already boast impressive stats as Sebastian, 2023 Skip Barber Race Series champion, recently wrapped up his first season in the FIA Formula 4 Championship at the end of 2025, where he secured six wins and finished third overall in the Championship standings. Oliver, 2024 Skip Barber Race Series champion, most recently spent the last year racing in USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire.
Get to Know the Drivers for 2026
As Andretti INDY NXT enters the 2026 season, the team is excited to take on the 17-race schedule with this year’s driver lineup, featuring faces both old and new.
The team is looking forward to welcoming back Lochie Hughes and Seb Murray for their sophomore seasons, both with the Andretti team and in the INDY NXT Series. Hughes, piloting the No. 26 Andretti Global Dallara, is originally from Gold Coast, Australia. He had an impressive INDY NXT rookie campaign with Andretti in 2025, which saw the 23-year-old collect two wins, two pole positions, eight podiums, 54 lead laps and 12 top-10 finishes. Highlights from Hughes’ debut season include converting his first career INDY NXT pole into his maiden victory in Race 1 of the Indianapolis Grand Prix and, just three rounds later, charging from fifth to first in his oval debut to claim his second win of the year in impressive fashion. Hughes’ consistent, strong performances carried him to third in the Championship standings and earned him the role as an Andretti Global INDYCAR reserve driver for the 2026 season.
Eighteen-year-old Scottish native Seb Murray completed his rookie INDY NXT season last year with Andretti Cape INDY NXT, a team forged out of the technical partnership between Andretti Global and Cape Motorsports at the time. Now, as he’s transitioned to the Andretti team full-time, Murray is looking to build off the two top-10 finishes and one top-five finish he collected in 2025. For having just entered his second year in INDY NXT, Murray has already become familiar with overcoming challenges, as halfway through last season, an on-track incident at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course sidelined Murray from the following round at Iowa Speedway after INDYCAR Medical did not clear him to compete. Thankfully, the Scot returned two weeks later for the doubleheader at Laguna Seca, where he delivered a career-best weekend, qualifying eighth for both races and converting Race 2 into his first top-five finish. Now, the Scot is eager to take his strong offseason testing results into his second INDY NXT season in the No. 27 Priority Dallara.
Making up the other half of the Andretti INDY NXT lineup this season are Andretti program newcomers, Max Taylor and Josh Pierson. Taylor, an 18-year-old New Jersey resident, stayed busy last year as he competed full-time in the USF Pro 2000 Championship and made six INDY NXT by Firestone starts. In devoting his time to two different open-wheel developmental racing series, Taylor gained valuable experience and track time, which saw him score one top-five finish and four top-10 finishes in INDY NXT. Unlike for drivers on the grid this year, Taylor only began his open-wheel racing career three years ago in 2023, when he competed full time in the USF Juniors Championship, while also completing partial seasons in the USF2000 Championship (11 starts) and the Formula 4 United States Championship (three starts), where he scored four top 10s in USF2000 and had a best race finish of sixth place in Formula 4. This culmination of open-wheel racing experience helped Taylor succeed in 2024, as he secured the USF Juniors Championship title and third place in the USF2000 Championship that season. This season, he will be able to focus the majority of his time on track to a full INDY NXT season in the No. 28 Susan G. Komen Dallara.
Rounding out the lineup is 19-year-old Josh Pierson, who, although new to Andretti, is the most experienced INDY NXT driver in this year’s lineup with a total of 37 career starts in the Series. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Pierson made his debut in the development series with a partial season in 2023 and has competed full-time for the past two years. The 2025 season was Pierson’s most successful INDY NXT campaign to date, ending in sixth place in the Championship standings. In addition to his open-wheel racing experience, Pierson also boasts an impressive history of competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2022 and 2023 in the LMP2 class. Notably, Pierson has competed in the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, with a best result of 10th place in 2022, and holds the Guinness World Record as the youngest person to compete in and finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans, achieving this at 16 years and 117 days old on June 11, 2022. He also became the youngest-ever winner in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the 1000 Miles of Sebring in March 2022. Pierson will make his Andretti debut in the No. 29 Starchive Dallara this weekend.
Looking Ahead
Building on the success of back-to-back Championship seasons, Andretti Global INDY NXT heads into the 2026 season with a clear focus on maintaining their high standard of excellence. This success is a direct result of the collective hard work and passion shared by every driver, engineer, mechanic and crew member on the team. As the team is looking ahead to the season opener in St. Petersburg this weekend, it’s clear that this mindset remains the same for 2026. With a talented lineup and a proven foundation, Andretti Global is eager to get back on track and begin the journey toward another successful year of racing.
