The 2024 Firestone Indy NXT Series is the 37th season of the Indy NXTopen wheelmotor racing series and the 22nd sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. This is the second year of the championship running under the Indy NXT moniker following its acquisition by Penske Entertainment, the owner of the IndyCar Series, in 2022.[1]
Series news
Indy NXT saw a revised qualifying procedure introduced for 2024. After the whole field previously had only eight minutes to set a time to form the grid, drivers are now split into two groups based on their practice times, with each group getting the track to themselves. The drivers of the faster group starts from the odd-numbered grid spots, with the other group in the even-numbered spots. On double-header weekends, the fastest two laps of each driver are taken to form both races' grids.[2]
Teams and drivers
All teams use Dallara IL-15 cars with an AER produced Mazda sourced 2.0 litre engine and Firestone tires. The following drivers and teams compete in the series.
On September 5, 2023, Andretti Autosport announced a rebrand that would take effect for the 2024 season, with all of its race teams running under the Andretti Global banner.[7]
On November 28, 2023, former IndyCar Series driver Jack Miller announced that his team MillerVinatieri Motorsports would be joining Indy NXT in 2024.[25]
On January 15, 2024, Andretti Global and Cape Motorsports announced that the two teams had formed a "technical partnership" for the 2024 season, with the latter running its cars under the Andretti Cape Indy NXT guise.[12]
Driver changes
On September 6, 2023, reigning USF Pro 2000 champion Myles Rowe announced he would join HMD Motorsports in the No. 99 entry co-run by Force Indy.[23] This meant Ernie Francis Jr. would leave the team.
On September 18, 2023, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that development driver Kyffin Simpson would join the team full time in 2024.[26] Simpson came tenth in 2023 driving for HMD Motorsports.
On November 28, 2023 coinciding with Miller Vinatieri Motorsports' announcement, the team confirmed that Jack William Miller would be driving the No. 40 car, graduating after three years of competing in the USF Pro 2000 Championship.[25]
On November 29, 2023, HMD Motorsports announced their sixth driver would be Jonathan Browne, who steps up after two years spent in the USF Pro 2000 Championship and drives the No. 23 car.[20]
On December 21, 2023, HMD Motorsport revealed that the eighth driver joining their squad in the No. 33 car would be Niels Koolen, who moved over from European Formula Regional competition, where his 2023 season saw him contest two championships, albeit without scoring points.[28]
On December 22, 2023, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that Lindsay Brewer would be stepping up full-time to Indy NXT in 2024 after two years of competing in USF Pro 2000.[24]
On January 16, 2024, Andretti and Cape Motorsports announced Salvador de Alba would be driving the No. 2 car of the newly formed Andretti Cape partnership. The teams also already announced his 2025 Indy NXT campaign to be with Andretti Global.[13]
On January 24, 2024, SCCA National Runoffs Champion Nolan Allaer announced his graduation to Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports, jumping up from Formula Ford and F1600 competition.[29]
On February 7, 2024, HMD Motorsports announced the tenth and final driver of their lineup: Caio Collet joined the championship after competing in FIA Formula 3 for three years and collecting three wins over that timespan.[19]
On February 27, 2024, Abel Motorsports announced that it would expand to a three-car program in 2024, with former Formula 2 and Euroformula Open driver Josh Mason piloting the No. 21 car.[3]
On March 5, 2024, USF Pro 2000 driver Michael d'Orlando confirmed his step up to Indy NXT with Andretti Cape for the season opener at St. Petersburg.[2]
Mid-season
On March 26, 2024, Abel Motorsport announced they would enter a fourth car for the four oval events, piloted by USAC short-track driver Taylor Ferns.[6]
Schedule
The 2024 schedule was announced on October 4, 2023. The IMS weekend in May became a double-header again as the second IMS weekend was removed, while the Detroit weekend will only hold a single race. The Laguna Seca double-header was moved to June following the rescheduling of the Monterey Grand Prix. The round at Nashville became the season finale to follow the same move for the Music City Grand Prix. The championship will return to the Milwaukee Mile for the first time since 2015.[30]
On February 14, It was announced that the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix would be moved from the downtown Streets of Nashville to the Nashville Superspeedway instead due to anticipated construction beginning on the new Tennessee Titans Stadium, which would interfere with the course for the race.[31]
