The 2023 Firestone Indy NXT Series season is the 21st season of the primary support series for the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

, sanctioned by

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

. Known as

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

before 2023, the championship was rebranded following its acquisition by Penske Entertainment, the owner of INDYCAR, in 2022. This rebrand coincided with the three lower support series, still run by Anderson Promotions, also changing their branding.

Linus Lundqvist Linus Lundqvist (born 26 March 1999) is a Swedish racing driver. He currently competes in Indy Lights driving for HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing. He is the 2022 Indy Lights champion. He is also the 2020 Formula Regional Americas Champion ...

, the reigning

2022 Indy Lights The 2022 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires was the 36th and final season of the Indy Lights open wheel motor racing series and the 20th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. It was held over 14 ra ...

champion, became a free agent after the season, so he did not defend his championship.

Series news

* On June 22, 2022, it was announced that after seven seasons,

Cooper Tires Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is an American company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sales of replacement automobile and truck tires, and has subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle, and racing tires. W ...

would be replaced as tire supplier by Firestone. * As part of the rebrand, the prize structure was changed. The champion will receive a sum of $850,000 to spend on tests at

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...

and

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

as well as to run the 2024 Indianapolis 500 and an additional IndyCar race. The drivers finishing second and third in the championship will receive $125,000 and $65,000 respectively.

Team and driver chart

All teams use Dallara IL-15 cars with an AER produced

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

sourced 2.0 litre engine and Firestone tires. The following drivers and teams compete in the series. * Legacy Autosport planned to enter the series, but later confirmed it would not do so.

Team changes

* In July 2022, Cape Motorsports, a long-time USF2000 team with consistent success, announced they would enter Indy NXT for 2023. They won the 2022 USF2000 Driver's Championship with Michael d'Orlando. * In September 2022, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced its return to the series after not competing in 2022 to focus on their IndyCar entry. * In October 2022, Force Indy announced a collaboration with HMD Motorsports to co-run the No. 99 entry under the HMD Motorsports with Force Indy guise.

Driver changes

* On September 7, 2022, new entrant Cape Motorsport announced their first driver to be Jagger Jones, grandson of

Parnelli Jones Rufus Parnell Jones (born August 12, 1933) is an American former professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race. In 1962, he became the ...

. Jones made the step up directly from the USF2000 series where he came fourth in 2022, skipping the Indy Pro 2000 series. * On September 15, 2022, HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing confirmed Josh Green, stepping up from Indy Pro 2000 after coming 6th in 2022 with Turn 3 Motorsports. * On October 6, 2022, Road to Indy double-champion Christian Rasmussen announced he would leave Andretti and move to HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing for the 2023 season. His replacement at the team was later announced to be Jamie Chadwick, three-time W Series champion and the first female driver in 13 years to compete full-time in Indy NXT. * On October 17, 2022, Rasmus Lindh announced his return to Indy NXT with HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing. He last competed in the series in 2021, coming 14th with Juncos Racing. * On October 18, 2022, HMD Motorsports announced the signing of Josh Pierson for a part-time schedule alongside his WEC and IMSA campaigns. His signing completed HMD's eight-car entry, confirming the exit of

Manuel Sulaimán Manuel Sulaimán (born 20 July 2000, in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican racing driver. who most recently raced in the 2022 Indy Lights for HMD Motorsports. Racing career Sulaimán started the 2021 Indy Pro 2000 Championship with Juncos Holli ...

and reigning champion

. * On January 4, 2023, Andretti confirmed that James Roe Jr. would move to their team. He drove for TJ Speed and HMD Motorsports in 2022 and came 12th in the championship. Roe replaced

Matthew Brabham Matthew Chase Brabham (born 25 February 1994) is an Australian-American racing driver. He competes full-time in Indy Lights, driving the No. 83 for Andretti Autosport. From 2015 to 2021, he was a regular in the Stadium Super Trucks, where he is a ...

, who returned to competing in the Stadium Super Trucks Series. * On January 18, 2023, IndyCar team

Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...

announced Andretti driver

Sting Ray Robb Sting Ray Robb (born September 3, 2001) is an American racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 51 Dallara-Honda for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing. Racing career Karting Robb received a go-kart at age five, kick ...

as their 2023 driver for the No. 51 car. Louis Foster, 2022 Indy Pro 2000 champion, was signed to replace him. * On February 3, 2023, IndyCar team

A. J. Foyt Racing A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...

announced a multi-year deal with Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports driver

Benjamin Pedersen Benjamin Pedersen (born 11 May 1999) is a Danish-American race car driver from Copenhagen, with residence in Seattle, Washington. He currently competes in IndyCar driving for A.J. Foyt Enterprises. Early career Lower formulae Pedersen began ...

, who came fifth in the 2022 season. * On February 8, 2023, Abel Motorsports announced Colin Kaminsky as their second driver alongside Jacob Abel. He made the step up after three years in Indy Pro 2000, achieving six podiums in that period. Abel Motorsports three other drivers would leave the series, with

Antonio Serravalle Antonio Serravalle (born 18 September 2002) is a Canadian race car driver from Toronto, Ontario with residence in Unionville, Ontario. Partial Seasons 2018-2019-2020-2021-2022 Indy Pro/Promazda- Best Finish P4 Indy lights- Best Finish P6 Rac ...

moving to the

IMSA SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (IMS ...

. * On February 25, 2023, Enaam Ahmed announced his move to new team Cape Motorsports. Ahmed stepped up from the Indy Pro 2000 championship after finishing the 2022 season in third.

Mid-season changes

* On March 14, 2023, Toby Sowery announced his return to the Indy NXT series. He last competed in 2021 and was signed by HMD Motorsports to replace Josh Pierson for the races at Barber, Detroit and Laguna Seca. * On April 28, 2023, Rasmus Lindh announced he had parted ways with HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing due to funding issues. * On May 5, 2023, it was announced that Reece Gold mutually parted ways with Juncos Hollinger Racing to join HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing in the No. 10 entry, replacing Rasmus Lindh. * On May 10, 2023, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced that Rasmus Lindh would drive the No. 76 entry, thereby completing a swap between Lindh and Gold. * On May 11, 2023, HMD Motorsports and Force Indy announced that Ernie Francis Jr. would be unable to compete in the third round of the championship because of a fractured wrist he sustained at the start of the Barber event. Francis returned to competition from round 4 onwards. * Josh Green and Colin Kaminsky left the championship ahead of round 7 at Mid-Ohio. * On July 18, 2023, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced the immediate termination of their contract with Matteo Nannini. Two days later, his replacement for Iowa was revealed to be Matthew Brabham, who came third with Andretti in 2022. * Enaam Ahmed was absent from Iowa, bringing the grid down to 16 cars.

Schedule

The schedule was released on November 3, 2022; with the only minor change from last season being the changed location of the Detroit round from Belle Isle to downtown Detroit. A small update to the schedule was announced on February 22, 2023: the Indianapolis doubleheader was split, with one race running on the

GMR Grand Prix The IndyCar Series hosts two races a year on the combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The first, the GMR Grand Prix is held in early May with an inaugural running in 2014. The second race, the Gallagher G ...

weekend and the other race moved to the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

Verizon 200 The Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 2021, replacing the Brickyard 400 which was run on a 2.5-mile oval from 1994 t ...

weekend in August.

Race results

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

; Scoring system * The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point. * Every driver who leads at least one lap is awarded a bonus point, the driver who leads the most laps gets two points.

Teams' championship

; Scoring system * Single car teams receive 3 bonus points as an equivalency to multi-car teams * Only the best two results count for teams fielding more than two entries

References

External links

* {{Road to Indy Indy Lights seasons

Indy NXT Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...