INDY NXT RACE REPORT: Grand Prix of Alabama Race 2
Race Notes
- Andretti Global’s INDY NXT team was back on track at Barber Motorsports Park this morning for the second half of the weekend’s doubleheader with a 30-lap race. Max Taylor led the Andretti stable to the green flag again, where he secured a redeeming podium finish this morning, placing him in second in the Championship standings. Finishing in the top 10 with Taylor was No. 27 driver Seb Murray.
- The series now enters a brief hiatus before returning to the on-track action for the Month of May. Racing resumes at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for another doubleheader weekend on May 8 and 9.
Race Results
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 Andretti Global Dallara
P16
| Started | P21 |
| Standings | P7 (92 points) |
- Despite being the highest-finishing Andretti INDY NXT driver in Race 1 yesterday, Hughes faced a steep uphill battle this morning, starting from 21st on the grid.
- As the green flag waved, Hughes made aggressive passes to move up into 16th, which he managed to hold on to through the hectic race traffic to checkered.
“Unfortunately, with qualifying yesterday, we were forced to start pretty far back down the grid. We made up some positions early on, but around here, it’s just super difficult to pass. So, I didn’t quite have enough to move up much farther than I did. Pretty annoying day.”
Seb Murray
No. 27 Prosperity Dallara
P10
| Started | P12 |
| Standings | P10 (86 points) |
- Following a challenging race yesterday where he served a penalty for avoidable contact, Seb Murray started from the middle of the pack for today’s race.
- By Lap 1, Murray was able to break into the top 10, which he maintained for the remainder of the race, taking home his fifth INDY NXT career top-10 finish and best finish at Barber.
“That’s a wrap on Round 4 here in Barber. It was a bit of a tricky weekend for us, but we finished in the top 10 today, so it’s not too bad. I can’t complain. The team did a really good job repairing the car from yesterday and put me out there with good pace. We had a strong start and just held it there the rest of the time. Not much action happened on my end. We were just kind of stuck in P10. The pace was really good, but I just really struggled to pass around this tight circuit. So, we’ll debrief next week and look forward to Indy.”
Max Taylor
No. 28 Susan G. Komen Dallara
P2
| Started | P2 |
| Standings | P2 (145 points) |
- After securing a front-row start for Race 2, Taylor looked for redemption following yesterday’s collision with Alessandro de Tullio that cost him a potential win.
- The Championship contender focused on a clean, aggressive drive and kept pressure on the leader throughout the entire 30-lap event.
- In doing this, Taylor secured his third podium of the 2026 INDY NXT season and valuable Championship points, sitting in second in the standings.
“We‘ll take the strong points. It’s a long season, and I didn’t realize that yesterday when I made that bit of an aggressive move, which messed up my race. We definitely could have come away from this weekend with two P2s, at least, and we had the car to win all weekend. We’ve just been unlucky not to get the pole. Not having the track position for a race where it’s so hard to pass makes things challenging. Ale (de Tullio) did a really good job and didn’t really make any mistakes, and that’s all he had to do. I was just pushing him the whole way there, trying to get him to mess up, but he held on. It was a good race, and thanks to Andretti, we were fast.”
Josh Pierson
No. 29 Starchive Dallara
P14
| Started | P9 |
| Standings | P18 (55 points) |
- Josh Pierson took the green flag from the fifth row today, eager for a complete race after Race 1 ended prematurely when he was taken out on the very first lap.
- After getting caught in race traffic in the opening moments of the race, Pierson fell back several spots to 15th. Although he remained aggressive through the race, making strategic passes to run as high as 11th by Lap 24.
- Unfortunately, Pierson received a penalty for avoidable contact in the final five laps of the race and was forced to drop three positions, ultimately taking the checkered in 14th.
“It was a rough start to the race. I just got shuffled back on the curb in [Turn] five. I made a good move on the brakes, and then I think Miles [Rowe] just didn’t see me, and the curbs are so high here that it bottomed out, and lost all the ground. After that, I just had stuff on my tires, and it was hard to get it off. I tried to make a good run back up the field, and as far as I’ve been told, I’m pretty much the only car that made passes today. I was able to move forward, but unfortunately, I got squeezed into the grass, and it knocked the wing off. I don’t agree with how I was penalized because I was squeezed all the way to the grass, which wasn’t fair. So that’s a bit unfortunate, but regardless, the No. 29 car was fast today. We’ve been fast all weekend since Practice 1. I just feel like our weekend has been a series of unfortunate events, and it should have gone a lot better. So I’m frustrated, but confident for the next one.”
Don Lambert
INDY NXT Team Manager
“It was a much better day today. The No. 28 scored some points and showed some patience, so that was a definite improvement. Seb did a great job as well, staying calm and holding onto his spot. It was a bit of a tougher day for Josh, making those passes just to get the penalty and fall back there at the end. Lochie also had a tough one and was being blocked a lot at the end of the race, and unfortunately, there were no calls on those. So, not the best weekend we’ve had, but we just have to keep our heads down and get to the Indy GP to see what we can do out there.”
