INDY NXT by Firestone returns to action this weekend on the streets of downtown Detroit. Beginning with Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix, the INDYCAR development series will share each of the next five race weekends with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, sparking the busiest stretch of the season.
INDY NXT by Firestone has six races in a seven-week stretch, including Sunday’s event at 10:20 a.m. ET (Peacock, INDYCAR Live, INDYCAR Radio Network).
SEE: Race Details
Let’s look at a few storylines ahead of Sunday’s 45-lap race.
500th Race
Steve Millen won the first INDY NXT by Firestone race in 1986 at Phoenix Raceway. The winner of Sunday’s Detroit Grand Prix will be remembered as the victor of the 500th series race, joining Eddie Lawson the winner of the 100th race at Cleveland in 1994, AJ Foyt IV as the victor of the 200th race in 2002 at Texas Motor Speedway, James Hinchcliffe as the winner of the 300th race in 2010 at Long Beach and Colton Herta the winner of race No. 400 at Barber Motorsports Park in 2017.
Just One Race This Weekend
Last year’s visit to the streets of Detroit was a doubleheader format. This weekend, there’s one race. That has the potential to shake things up.
In the opening race of last year’s twin bill, the top four in the final points standings finished ninth (Christian Rasmussen), seventh (Hunter McElrea), eighth (Nolan Siegel) and 19th (Louis Foster), respectively. A day later, they each rebounded to finish second, fourth, first and third, respectively.
This weekend, the top drivers in the championship can’t afford a throwaway race since there’s no chance to rebound 24 hours later.
Abel’s World
Jacob Abel is the latest example of a driver who enjoyed success in bunches once he reached victory lane for the first time.
Following his maiden INDY NXT by Firestone victory from the pole on April 28 at Barber Motorsports Park, Abel won both poles on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the pair of races May 10-11. He won the May 10 race and was runner-up a day later.
Abel opened a 25-point lead in the standings in his No. 51 Abel Construction entry over second-place Siegel and comes to Detroit on the heels of three consecutive poles and four straight top-two finishes.
Last year, Abel finished fourth and ninth, respectively at Detroit. Can he extend his points lead Sunday?
Siegel’s Rebound
Sophomore driver Siegel began 2024 with a pole and victory in the season-opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg. He finished runner-up at the next two events.
Then on May 11 in the second leg of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway doubleheader, Siegel finished fifth, losing ground to Abel, who finished second behind Foster. Five days later, in his Indianapolis 500 debut, Siegel crashed in practice. Three days after that, he was the lone driver outside the field of 33 following a Bump Day crash during his final qualifying run.
Can Siegel halt the downward spiral?
Siegel showed during the Detroit race weekend last year he has the mental fortitude to bounce back. He had his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory in sights in Race 1 at Detroit before a mechanical failure on the last lap dropped him from first to eighth. A day later, he came back to win.
If Siegel wants to keep Abel in his championship sights, he can’t afford to stack bad weekends.
Foster Needs Clean Weekend
Foster battled mechanical problems all weekend at Barber Motorsports Park that didn’t allow him to qualify his No. 26 Copart/Novara Technologies Andretti Global entry. Even starting last, he charged from 21st to finish fifth.
The last race weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he dropped from a fourth-place start on Friday to finish seventh in the opening race. A day later, he climbed from fourth to win, his third career victory. Can the Andretti Global driver keep it clean this weekend in Detroit?
He's third in the standings, 48 points behind Abel and can’t afford another choppy weekend.
Gold Returns to Winning Site
Reece Gold expected an improvement in his second season in INDY NXT by Firestone. Unfortunately, the results haven’t matched his expectations.
Gold has finished fifth, 11th, sixth and 11th, respectively, without a lap led in the No. 10 HMD Motorsports entry. Maybe that changes Sunday.
He returns to the site of his maiden INDY NXT by Firestone victory on the streets of Detroit last season needing a victory. He’s 94 points out of the lead, in a tie for seventh.
Track Specs: Nine-turn, 1.645-mile street course
Qualifying Record: Louis Foster, 1 minute, 6.8374 seconds, 88.603 mph, June 2, 2023
Push To Pass Parameters: 150 seconds of total time, with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation