LWOS’ IndyCar 101 series is continuing to cover the basics of IndyCar racing as part of the buildup to the 2025 season. Today, we’ll be giving you a look at the Indy NXT grid for the upcoming season.
Indy 101: The 2025 Indy NXT Grid
Andretti Global with Cape Motorsports
Sebastian Murray
Age: 18
Season: 1st
Murray’s making his Indy NXT debut this season. He’s previously raced in Formula 4 for Cram Motorsport and Hitech Pulse-Eight. In 2024, Murray graduated from Formula 4 to the GB3 Championship as a driver for Chris Dittmann Racing and finished ahead of his teammate in the standings.
Ricardo Escotto
Age: 20
Season: 2nd
2025 marks Escotto’s second season in Indy NXT but it will also be his first time racing full time in the series. Last year, he was a part-time entry for Juncos Hollinger Racing. He competed in five races in 2024 with his best finish being P13 at both Race 2 at Laguna Seca and the Milwaukee Mile.
Abel Motorsports with Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
Jack William Miller
Age: 21
Season: 2nd
Miller has experience racing in Formula 4 before competing in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship for two years. He then raced in the USF Pro 200 Championship before moving up to Indy NXT. Miller has raced with Miller Vinatieri Motorsports for almost all of his racing career.
Abel Motorsports with Force Indy
Myles Rowe
Age: 24
Season: 2nd
Rowe has spent a majority of his racing career driving for Force Indy with the exception of racing for Pabst Racing in 2022 for the USF2000 Championship. He spent the 2024 season racing for HMD Motorsports with Force Indy. He’ll be looking to grab a top ten finish in the standing this year after finishing 11th last season with 285 points.
Andretti Global
Lochie Hughes
Age: 22
Season: 1st
Hughes is an Australian driver who most recently competed in the 2024 USF2000 Championship. He won the title last year with five wins and 11 podiums. Hughes is also the winner of the 2022 Formula 4 United States. He was also the runner-up in the Australian Formula 4 Championship.
Salvadro de Alba
Age: 25
Season: 2nd
Alba is a two-time NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series champion with wins in 2021 and 2023. In addition to this, he’s also a four-time Gran Turismo (SuperCopa) Mexico champion. His wins came in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Most recently he raced for Andretti Cape Indy NXT but is now joining Andretti Global. Last season he finished fifth in the standings with two podiums and 331 points.
Dennis Hauger
Age: 21
Season: 1st
Hauger’s racing career spans across driving in the lower Formulae before moving to Indy. he raced in Formula 2 as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team from 2022 to 2024. He’s also the 2021 FIA Formula 3 title winner, before that, he won the 2019 Italian F4 Championship driving for Van Amersfoort Racing,
James Roe
Age: 25
Season: 3rd
As Roe prepares to enter his third NXT season, fans can also see him race in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Pratt Miller Motorsports. He previously drove for TJ Speed Motorsports in 2022. He’s also competed in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship for Turn 3 Motorsport.
Chip Ganassi Racing
Jonathan Browne
Age: 24
Season: 2nd
Browne enters his second NXT season as a member of Chip Ganassi Racing this season. He spent last year racing for HMD Motorsports where he finished 13 in the driver standings. He also raced in the Indy Pro 200 Championship during 2022 and 2023 where he finished 12th and 8th respectively.
Niels Koolen
Age: 23
Season: 2nd
Koolen’s race record includes him competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2024 for a couple races in Monza and Baku. He’s also raced in Formula 4, Formula Regional and Eurocup-3. Last year, he switched to Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports. In his first race of the season he finished 10th which was also his best result of the season.
HMD Motorsports
Noal Allaer
Age: 22
Season: 2nd
This will be Allaer’s second season racing with HMD Motorsports after spending 10 races with the team in 2024. Aside from his time in Indy NXT, Allaer has won both the SCCA National Championship Runoffs – Formula Continental and the SCCA National Championship Runoffs – Formula F.
Josh Pierson
Age: 19
Season: 3rd
Pierson made his racing debut when he was 14 years-old. In the U.S. F2000 National Championship where he eventually had regular top 10 finishes during the races. From there he moved on to LMP2 before returning to United Autosport. He competed with United in the 2023 WEC season alongside Oliver Jarvis. He began his Road to Indy journey in 2023 and since then joined Ed Carpenter Racing for a while as a development driver for the team.
Tommy Smith
Age: 22
Season: 1st
A lot of Smith’s racing career can be traced back to the lower formulae series. He has experience racing in New Zealand Formula Ford, F3 Asian Championship, Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula Regional European Championship, GB3 Championship, FIA Formula 3 and the Formula Regional Oceania Championship. He’s set to return to the Formula Regional Oceania Championship, competing on the first two rounds for GIles Motorsport.
The following drivers will alternate as the pilots for the no. 18 car:
Nikita Johnson
Age: 16
Season: 1st
Racing in rounds: 1, 3, 4, 14
Max Taylor
Age: 17
Season: 1st
Racing in rounds: 2, 5, 9-11, 13
Evagoras Papasavvas
Age: 17
Season: 1st
Racing in rounds: 6-8
Caio Collet
Age: 22
Season: 2nd
Colley is another driver who’s competed in the FIA Formula 3 Championship. He competed for three seasons with MP Motorsport and Van Amersfoort Racing. Afterwards he spent time racing in Formula E for the Nissan Formula E Team. He spent last season with HMD Motorsports with one win and six podium finishes.
Sophia Fiorsch
Age: 24
Season: 1st
Fiorsch has previously raced in Formula 3, DTM, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. She was a podium finisher in ADAC Formula 4 and ELMS. She’s also the youngest race winner of the Ginette Junior Championship. In February 2023, she joined the Alpine Academy.
READ MORE: Why F1 Academy is a Success Compared to the W Series
Liam Sceats
Age: 19
Season: 1st
Sceats has experience racing in Formula Regional Japanese Championship in 2023 and 2024. He had six wins in total before moving on to the USF Pro 200 Championship where he won one race and had five podiums. He most recently raced for TJ Speed Motorsports
Hailie Deegan
Age: 23
Season: 1st
Deegan is most known for her career competing in NASCAR stock car racing. She drove the No. 15 Ford Mustang for AM Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2024 before parting ways halfway through the season. Indy NXT will be her first time competing in any aspect of Indy racing.
Bryce Aron
Age: 21
Season: 2nd
Aron spent last season as a driver for Andretti Global. He had two podium finishes and ended up 9th in the driver standings with 302 points. During 2024 he also competed in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship for six races where he had one podium position.
Stay connected to Last Word on Motorsports for all the Indy NXT coverage from the 2025 Season
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