INDY NXT RACE REPORT: Grand Prix at Road America Race 2
Race Results
| Grand Prix at Road America Race 2 |
| Lochie Hughes | P22 |
| Seb Murray | P17 |
| Max Taylor | P19 |
| Josh Pierson | P24 |
Race Notes
- Following yesterday’s historic 100th win for the Andretti INDY NXT team by Lochie Hughes and a podium finish by Josh Pierson, INDY NXT by Firestone took on Road America once again to round out the doubleheader race weekend in a shorter 18-lap race.
- The team’s fortunes quickly changed as teammates Hughes and Pierson made contact early in the race, putting them on the back foot as they both were forced to pit for repairs. Then, as Max Taylor and Seb Murray were making impressive moves up the field for top-10 finishes, issues beyond their control forced them to the back of the field.
- Today’s 18-lap race saw two caution periods for a total of three laps.
- The Andretti INDY NXT team returns to road course racing in two weeks at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where the green flag will wave on another doubleheader weekend July 3-5.
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 Andretti Global Dallara
P22
| Started | P6 |
| Standings | P8 (267 points) |
- Lochie Hughes started fifth this morning at Road America, fresh off yesterday’s dominant performance, where he charged from fourth to first to secure his third career INDY NXT victory.
- In the early moments of the race, Hughes was involved in a multi-car incident that resulted in heavy contact from teammate Josh Pierson, severely damaging the rear wing of the No. 26 car. The Australian driver pit immediately for a rear wing replacement and managed to return to the track by Lap 4.
- Due to the extensive time spent in the pits for repairs, Hughes spent the remainder of the race at the back of the field, ultimately crossing the finish line three laps down.
“This has been a super frustrating race today. It feels like this was definitely one that got away. We’ve had so much pace here this weekend. Unfortunately, I got hit in the rear into Turn 2, which bent the rear wing, and that was pretty much game over. Very frustrating. It seems like whenever we start moving forward, something sets us back. But there is still some racing to come, and races left to win this season, so we’ll just keep on pushing.”
Seb Murray
No. 27 Megatron Dallara
P17
| Started | P11 |
| Standings | P13 (196 points) |
- Seb Murray took on Race 2 at Road America this morning from the fifth Row on the grid.
- Murray stayed clean and made aggressive moves in the first half of the race to carve his way up to sixth place by Lap 8. Although he struggled to keep pace in traffic and began to start falling deeper into the top 10.
- Just as the checkered flag was about to wave, the rear of Murray’s No. 29 car was hit by a competitor, forcing him to fall to the back of the field, where he finished the day.
“That’s Road America done. In the big picture, it was a really strong Race 2 for us when we made our way up to sixth. Then, we went into the last lap with a little bit of damage and no push-to-pass and ended up getting hit in the rear. That pushed us all the way to the back of the pack. So, really unfortunate for what could have been a really strong finish. But a massive thank you to the team. They’ve done a great job this weekend. Chin up and we’ll move on to Mid-Ohio.”
Max Taylor
No. 28 Susan G. Komen Dallara
P19
| Started | P9 |
| Standings | P11 (287 points) |
- Following a difficult race yesterday due to tire issues, Max Taylor lined up ninth on the grid this morning for Race 2. Although Taylor originally qualified third, the No. 28 car was issued a six-spot grid penalty for failing post-qualifying technical inspection.
- Taylor made up ground early in the race, launching up to fourth place before the full course yellow on Lap 6, successfully maintaining the position through the Lap 8 restart.
- Despite his best efforts to defend, Taylor jumped to fifth on the Lap 15 restart but quickly cycled back to sixth. On the final lap, a flat spot on his front tire caused it to explode while turning into Canada Corner, sending him off course and ending his race day early.
“Obviously not the day that we were looking for. We had a good run going and made up a lot of spots. I think that we had a shot at the podium today. I just ran into some issues at the end there, and then my tire went out going into Canada Corner, and that was the day. We’ll focus now on Mid-Ohio.”
Josh Pierson
No. 29 Starchive Dallara
P24
| Started | P7 |
| Standings | P6 (205 points) |
- Coming off a strong second-place finish yesterday in Race 1, Josh Pierson started today’s event from the third row.
- Pierson faced trouble early in the race when traffic forced him into the rear of teammate Hughes, damaging the front of the No. 29. After making a quick front wing replacement and suspension repair in pit lane, Pierson was back out on track by Lap 1.
- Soon after, Pierson reported issues with the right front tire and pit during the full course yellow for adjustments, eventually returning to the field on Lap 10.
- Pierson eventually retired early from the race on Lap 13, nine laps down.
“It was a tough day. I guess we’re just experiencing the highs and lows of motorsports with these two races. Race 1 was really solid yesterday, and once again today, we had a really fast car, which we were able to prove after the guys fixed the suspension damage that we had. Unfortunately, everything got stacked up at the start, and then Lochie was just a bystander. I don’t know if I got hit or if he [Hughes] had to check up, but I got stuck in the middle and ended up pretty high in the air and landed pretty hard, which didn’t feel great. Aside from that, shout out to this crew. They worked their tail off to get this car back out there to see if we could salvage something. Andretti Global and everybody on this No. 29 car have done a great job. I’m disappointed, but that’s racing. I think we’ve still had a strong Race 1 here and a really strong St. Louis to look back on right now.”
Don Lambert
INDY NXT Team Manager
“It was a tough day. I think all four cars had promise today. It’s hard to do anything when they start bumping into each other and knocking people off the track. Then you have to try to fix the damage. The rear wing was the worst thing to try to fix on Lochie’s car, and then, obviously, Josh ended up with a broken wishbone and a front wing. Not much we could do with that. Then at the end of the race, Max and Seb both got punted off the track, and that was that. So, we’ll just gather ourselves up and come back to fight in Mid-Ohio.”
