Brazilian driver Kiko Porto will make his INDY NXT by Firestone debut Friday, Aug. 12 with Cape Motorsports in the INDYCAR development series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Porto, 20, will drive the No. 47 Cape Brothers Speed Shop entry as a teammate to Jagger Jones in the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix, with live race coverage starting at 4:50 p.m. ET Friday on Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Porto also will compete with the team in the season-ending doubleheader Sept. 9-10 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“We are super excited to have him here on our team,” team owners Nicholas and Dominic Cape said. “We have known him and been watching him for years; we can't wait to see him drive our car. I think Jagger and Kiko will be a really good pairing.”

Porto has come up through the junior development series ladder, winning the 2021 USF2000 title with four wins, 10 podium finishes and a season-high six pole positions. He sits in second place in the USF Pro 2000 championship standings with five podium finishes this season. He earned numerous karting titles before moving up through Formula NACAM and US F4 Powered by Honda to the USF Pro Championships.

IMS has been a showplace for Porto during his junior formula career. He won the USF2000 race on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course in 2021 and has earned three poles and four podium finishes on the circuit that includes part of the famous 2.5-mile oval.

“We’ve been focused on the USF Pro 2000 championship this year, but in the back of our mind, we wanted to take a look at INDY NXT,” Porto said. “This opportunity with Cape became available, and I’m so excited.

“I know Indianapolis well and have had a lot of success here. I understand the track, so that will make the transition a bit easier. I can just focus on adapting to the car, which I’ll have to do quickly since there is just one practice session. I will just have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. It will be a big jump, so I will need to have the mindset of not just repeating what I know with the USF Pro car because that’s not the way to go.”

The INDY NXT event is a one-day show Friday during the busy Brickyard Weekend at IMS. Practice starts at 11 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 2:20 p.m. and the 35-lap race at 5 p.m.