Talented Trio Laying It All on Line in Three-Race Sprint to Title

Three drivers. Three races. One championship.

Enzo Fittipaldi leads Nikita Johnson by one point and Tymek Kucharczyk by 18 with three races remaining in the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season (photo, top, from left: Kucharczyk, Johnson, Fittipaldi).

The championship battle resumes Sunday, Aug. 30, on the Milwaukee Mile oval, before concluding with a doubleheader Sept. 5-6 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Fittipaldi reclaimed the championship lead after finishing seventh in the most recent race, Aug. 9 at Portland International Raceway. Johnson finished eighth, while Kucharczyk finished fourth to close the gap.

Johnson led Fittipaldi by one point and Kucharczyk by 25 entering the Portland weekend.

“Back on top of the championship,” Fittipaldi said. “I think it’s really good. Need to bounce back stronger for the next one.”

The three-way championship battle ranks fifth in series history in terms of the combined gap among the top three drivers with three races remaining.

Six points separated Fabrizio Barbazza, Jeff Andretti and Mike Groff in 1986, the inaugural season of the series. There was a 13-point margin in 1989 among Groff, Tommy Byrne and Gary Rubio. Jon Beekhuis led Dave Simpson by one point and Byrne by 14 points with three races remaining in 1988. Carlos Munoz led Gabby Chaves and Sage Karam by 16 points in 2013.

The one-point gap between Fittipaldi and Johnson ties the margin between Beekhuis and Simpson for the closest championship battle at this juncture in series history.

Milwaukee Could Reshape Championship Battle

Milwaukee Mile could play a pivotal role in the championship battle.

Johnson (photo, above) is one of seven drivers to finish in the top 10 in both oval races this season. The Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR driver finished seventh at World Wide Technology Raceway and second to teammate Matteo Nannini at Nashville Superspeedway.

Fittipaldi finished 13th at World Wide Technology Raceway and 11th at Nashville. His HMD Motorsports teammate Kucharczyk finished ninth and 18th, respectively.

But Fittipaldi was the quickest driver June 23 in the Milwaukee Mile Open Test. Kucharczyk was 10th and Johnson was 13th.

That test could prove valuable when the championship contenders return to the historic 1-mile oval for the penultimate weekend of the season.

The 90-lap race is scheduled for 11 a.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 30 on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

Road Course Form Could Decide Title

After Milwaukee, the championship will be decided at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where a doubleheader will conclude the season.

Race 1 airs at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 5 on FS2 and FOX One. Race 2, the season finale, airs at 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 6 on FS1 and FOX One. Both races air on INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

Nine of the season's 14 races have been held on permanent road courses, giving all three contenders plenty of experience.

Kucharczyk (photo, above) owns the best average finish among the championship contenders on permanent road courses at 3.77. He won Race 2 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course doubleheader and has recorded eight top-five finishes in nine permanent road-course races.

Johnson ranks second with a 4.44 average finish. He won Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park and has five podium finishes in eight starts on permanent road courses.

Fittipaldi leads all drivers with three permanent road-course victories (Race 1 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course doubleheader sweep) but has a 5.0 average finish after a 22nd-place result in Race 1 at Road America. He finished fourth or better in seven of his other eight permanent road-course starts.

History Favors Leader … But Not Always

If Johnson or Kucharczyk can overtake Fittipaldi (photo, above) and win the championship, they would become just the seventh driver in series history to win the title after entering the final three races behind the championship leader.

In each of the previous six instances, the eventual champion entered the third-to-last race second or third in the championship standings.

Champions Who Were Not the Points Leader With Three Races Remaining

• 2016: Ed Jones, 16 points behind Santi Urrutia
• 2015: Spencer Pigot, 16 points behind Jack Harvey
• 2013: Sage Karam, 16 points behind Carlos Munoz
• 2012: Tristan Vautier, 25 points behind Esteban Guerrieri
• 2008: Raphael Matos, four points behind Richard Antinucci
• 1997: Tony Kanaan, eight points behind Helio Castroneves

Fittipaldi has the advantage entering the final three races, but history shows the championship is far from settled.

HMD Motorsports Chasing Another Championship

HMD Motorsports seeks its third INDY NXT championship. The team won titles in 2022 with Linus Lundqvist and 2023 with Christian Rasmussen.

A third championship would be a remarkable accomplishment for a team formed in 2019. Founded by Henry and Daiva Malukas, parents of Team Penske NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver David Malukas, HMD Motorsports has grown into one of the series' premier organizations.

Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk give the team two of the three drivers with the strongest opportunity to win the championship.

The team has 37 INDY NXT victories from 11 different drivers.

Cape Motorsports Making Mark

Cape Motorsports has captured 14 USF2000 championships and built a reputation for developing young talent. But this season marks the strongest INDY NXT campaign in team history.

The team first competed in the series in 2007 and 2008 in partnership with RLR Anderson, earning one victory with JR Hildebrand at Kansas Speedway in 2008. Cape returned in 2010 alongside Wayne Taylor Racing before spending more than a decade focused primarily on the USF ladder and sports car competition.

Brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape (photo, above) always envisioned returning to INDY NXT. They relocated the team from St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2020 with that goal in mind before launching Andretti Cape in partnership with Andretti Global in 2024.

The team's alliance with ECR this season has accelerated that growth.

Together with Jay Howard Driver Development, the partnership provides a development ladder from USF Juniors through the USF Pro Championships and INDY NXT, with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES ultimately serving as the destination.

Now, Cape Motorsports has a championship contender of its own.

Johnson enters the final three races just one point behind Fittipaldi, setting up a championship showdown that could come down to the final laps of the Laguna Seca doubleheader.