2026 INDY NXT by Firestone Season, By The Numbers

The 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season was electric.

Nikita Johnson edged Enzo Fittipaldi by 29 points for the championship, with the title coming down to the final race of the season for the first time since 2021. Johnson also delivered Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR its first series championship, making the team the 20th organization to win an INDY NXT title.

The series averaged 24 starters per race, with drivers representing 11 countries, marking its highest average number of entries in 17 years. Here are five more stats that told the story of the 2026 season.

Johnson's Consistency

Johnson (photo, above) put together a remarkably consistent season. He finished with two victories, 10 top-five finishes and 51 laps led. He also placed inside the top 10 in all 17 races and was the only driver to complete every lap of the season.

That consistency proved especially valuable in a championship fight that wasn't decided until the final race.

Youth Movement

The season also was filled with milestones for some of the series' youngest competitors. Johnson became the youngest champion in series history at 18 years, 3 months and 12 days old. Also, when Johnson won the season opener on the streets St. Petersburg in his hometown, he was the second-youngest winner in series history at 17 years, 9 months old.

That was until Max Garcia's victory at Milwaukee Mile moved Johnson to third on the list of youngest race winners. Garcia (photo, above) became the second-youngest winner in series history at 17 years, 5 months old, earning his first career victory for ABEL Motorsports.

Myles Rowe Sets Another Record

Myles Rowe became the first Black driver in series history to win a race, during the 2025 season. This season, he set another record.

On-track passing records were broken at nine tracks, including all three oval races. The biggest came June 7, when Rowe (photo, above) climbed from 24th and last on the starting grid to win the INDY NXT by Firestone race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

It was the longest climb to victory in the 40-year history of the INDYCAR development series. The previous lowest starting position for a race winner was 18th, set by Esteban Guerrieri in the 2012 Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Rowe was forced to start last in the 24-car field after losing his qualifying run for failing to follow the direction of INDYCAR. Rowe continued on a third flying lap after taking the checkered flag for his two-lap run, which would have earned him the pole, because of what he said were radio communication problems. But Rowe wasted little time charging toward the front on the asymmetrical 1.25-mile oval just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis and its famous Gateway Arch.

Outstanding Parity

The season featured a record-tying 10 different race winners, matching the mark set in 2008. There also were a record-tying seven first-time winners, matching totals from 1998, 2008 and 2011. Five different teams won races and led laps, the highest number since 2009.

One of those teams was AJ Foyt Racing, which earned its first victory since 2003 when Alessandro de Tullio (photo, above) won the fourth race of the season, at Barber Motorsports Park, earning his first series win. HMD Motorsports won six races, highlighted by the series' first 1-2-3-4 finish by a single team as Enzo Fittipaldi led an HMD Motorsports sweep of the top four positions at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

A total of 12 different drivers finished on the podium, the most since 2023. Six different teams were represented on the podium, the most since 2010, when eight teams had podium finishes.

Close Finishes

It wasn't just parity that defined the 2026 season. The finishes were close, too. The season featured seven sub-one-second margins of victory, the most in a season since there were eight in 2006.

Johnson's .699-of-a-second victory in St. Petersburg to open the season was the second-closest finish on the street circuit in the past decade. Add in a series-record 2,490 on-track passes, including 2,170 passes for position, and the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season delivered action in virtually every facet.