INDY NXT RACE REPORT: Grand Prix at Mid-Ohio Race 2
Race Results
| Grand Prix at Road America Race 1 |
| Lochie Hughes | P10 |
| Seb Murray | P15 |
| Max Taylor | P9 |
| Josh Pierson | P6 |
Race Notes
- The Andretti Global INDY NXT team wrapped up the Fourth of July doubleheader weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this morning with an all-green, shortened 30-lap Race 2.
- Josh Pierson was the team’s highest starter and finisher this morning, taking the checkered flag in sixth place. Joining him in the top 10 were teammates Max Taylor and Lochie Hughes, who finished ninth and 10th, respectively.
- INDY NXT by Firestone will take a week off from the on-track action before transitioning to oval racing at Nashville Superspeedway. The green flag is set to wave on Sunday, July 19, at 1:00 PM ET with live coverage on FS1.
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 Andretti Global Dallara
P10
| Started | P11 |
| Standings | P5 (319 points) |
- Following a strong top-five finish in yesterday’s opening match, Lochie Hughes rolled off for Race 2 further back on the grid, taking the green flag from just outside the top 10.
- In the opening lap of the race, Hughes launched forward to pick up two positions to ninth. He held this position until the last five laps of the race, where he was slotted into 10th place.
- Today’s race result marks Hughes’ 20th career INDY NXT top-10 finish.
“Not the best day. I started 11th and got up to ninth at the start. I was just trying to manage my push-to-pass, and I started going off a little bit towards the end. So, I brought it home with a top-10 finish.”
Seb Murray
No. 27 Megatron Dallara
P15
| Started | P16 |
| Standings | P13 (228 points) |
- Seb Murray set out for Race 2 at Mid-Ohio from the same starting spot as yesterday, looking to move up through the field from 16th.
- Murray utilized a strong start and fresh tires to steadily move up to 12th by the halfway point of the race. Shortly after, as the car directly ahead of him went off course on Lap 17, he secured a spot in 11th.
- On Lap 19, just as Murray was consistently recording some of the quickest lap times on track, an undetermined boost problem he had been experiencing throughout the race intensified. Pace in the car began to fade over the final 10 laps, dropping him back in the field to ultimately cross the finish line in 15th.
“Race 2 done here in Road America. There are a lot of positives to take away from it, to be honest. The team put together a great setup today; the car was on rails. We made up loads of positions, fighting in the top 10 and setting fast lap after fast lap. So, that’s really good. But after Lap 5, we noticed that we started to have some issues with the engine. There was just no power coming out of the corners, and as the race went on, it just got worse and worse. Unfortunately, that issue led us from being one of the fastest cars on track to one of the slowest, just because we ran out of power. It’s a really unfortunate way to end a weekend. We’ve had no luck these past two races, so hopefully we can reset and look forward to Nashville in two weeks.”
Max Taylor
No. 28 Susan G. Komen Dallara
P9
| Started | P10 |
| Standings | P4 (331 points) |
- Joining teammate Hughes in the fifth row, Max Taylor lined up 10th on the grid to wrap up his INDY NXT debut weekend at the midwestern road course.
- Taylor fell back one position as the field went green, but kept his composure to break back into the top 10 by Lap 8.
- In the last five laps of the race, the American driver made a clean pass for ninth, where he took the checkered flag to mark his 12th career INDY NXT top-10 finish.
“It was a pretty typical race, but we just fell back a bit at the start. We had good speed after the crew worked on the car to make it even better for today, but it’s very difficult to pass around here. Thankfully, we managed a few moves and finished ninth, but we wanted more. We figured it out in the end in terms of the car, but we just need to look back and figure out why we didn’t qualify well this weekend.”
Josh Pierson
No. 29 Starchive Dallara
P6
| Started | P6 |
| Standings | P10 (254 points) |
- Leading the Andretti INDY NXT effort to green this morning from sixth place, Josh Pierson made his fifth career INDY NXT start at Mid-Ohio.
- While he held position through the start, Pierson fell to seventh place by Lap 4. However, he managed to bounce back in the final 10 laps of the race, making a pass to reclaim sixth.
- Despite his best efforts to run in the top five, he ended the day as Andretti’s highest finisher in sixth, earning his 29th career INDY NXT top-10 finish.
“It was a tough weekend for us as a team. We didn’t quite have the pace. I think the gamble we made was smart with saving the fresh tires for Race 2 to give ourselves a better shot today. But we just didn’t quite have the pace on the car to make it work. I felt like I could’ve run up in the top five, but we just didn’t have that little extra bit we needed to make moves and to work our way forward. It felt like I was stagnant and just stuck. But I’m confident in this team and these guys. I know that everybody on this No. 29 crew and everybody at Andretti Global is going to work harder than ever to come back fighting at the next one. I know it’ll come back to us, but this was a frustrating weekend. We just didn’t quite have it.”
Don Lambert
INDY NXT Team Manager
“We struggled since we unloaded the cars this weekend. So, honestly, this was just two races of getting points and surviving. I think that’s the best thing we had going for us this weekend, unfortunately. We just have to keep looking forward. These guys are working hard, and we’re just trying to make up points. Off to Nashville.”
