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IndyCar

The difficult transition from Indy NXT to IndyCar is on full display

The top two drivers from the 2024 Indy NXT season are now racing in IndyCar, but so far, things have not gone their way. Does this mean they can't get better, though?

Nick DeGroot

Edited: Apr 2, 2025, 4:09 PM

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Louis Foster, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Louis Foster is hoping to be the latest British racing driver to shine in IndyCar and there is good reason to hype him up. Foster dominated the 2024 Indy NXT season, winning eight of 14 races on his way to collecting the championship by a clear margin. Meanwhile, the Indy NXT championship runner-up, Jacob Abel, was the only driver besides Foster to win multiple races (winning three total) last season, which was an impressive feat considering how dominant Foster was.

Both found their way to the IndyCar grid for 2025 with Foster joining Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Abel joining Dale Coyne Racing. But after two races, neither have outstanding results for such an outstanding prior season in Indy NXT. Abel so far has scored just 12 points and sits second-to-last in the standings. The only driver below him – shockingly – is Foster, with 11 points.

Foster's misfortune

Now, in all fairness to Foster, he has shown some promise – notably in qualifying. He started 16th in his debut race at St. Pete, beating veteran teammate Graham Rahal and qualifying within two tenths of his other teammate, Devlin DeFrancesco. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it very far in the race as he was collected in a first-lap melee where he simply had nowhere to go.

At Thermal, he continued to showcase his potential with a tenth-place qualifying effort, easily the best of the three RLL entries. But the race itself did not go his way either, despite a strong start where he reached as high as eighth on track. However, he faded as the laps ticked away, finishing a disappointing 24th.

Patricio O'ward, Arrow McLaren

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

So, what happened? According to Foster, the problem had nothing to do with the car. “We had some issues with the seat with my shoulder so I was driving in a lot of pain, just struggling to honestly finish the race at that point,” he explained. “We need to look over the seat and the belt and understand what exactly the cause of that pain was. The positives are we’ve got the pace, we just need to now try and get myself more used to IndyCar racing.”

The Indy NXT to IndyCar transition

It's a common trend. Well, not the belt issue, but Indy NXT drivers needing time to 'get more used to IndyCar racing,' and it's rare to see an Indy NXT champion succeed in the top division.

The problems for Abel are more pace-related, unfortunately. He has trailed teammate Rinus VeeKay in both races to start the year. As he finished 25th at St. Pete and 23rd at Thermal, VeeKay was ninth and 17th.

But it makes one wonder how previous Indy NXT (previously Indy Lights) graduates have done, especially in recent years. Christian Rasmussen, who won the crown in 2023, has been competing with Ed Carpenter Racing since the start of the 2024 season, finishing as high as ninth. The 2022 Indy NXT champion has fared a bit better with Linus Lundqvist earning two podiums with Chip Ganassi Racing last year. However, despite winning Rookie of the Year honors, he is not on the grid for 2025 after an inconsistent season that left him 16th in the standings.

Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Autosport Honda

Photo by: Richard Dole

Things get better when you look to the 2021 Indy NXT champion -- Kyle Kirkwood. A two-time race winner in IndyCar, he is doing a great job with Andretti and is currently enjoying the best start of his career. Unfortunately, he is the exception to the rule -- along with 2018 champion Pato O'Ward, who is the most successful Indy NXT champion of the last 13 years.

How it differs from NASCAR's secondary division

Some falter once they reach the top step of the American open-wheel ladder, but others never get a fair shot in adequate equipment. It's a far cry from the equivalent division in NASCAR -- the Xfinity Series. Excluding series regular Justin Allgaier who has made a home there, 12 of the 13 Xfinity champions before him are all racing in Cup right now. A stunning 11 of them are winners in the Cup Series, four have won the Daytona 500, and three went on to become Cup Series champions.

Going back to 2008 at the end of the IndyCar/CART split, only three -- yes, three of their champions -- have gone on to win a race in IndyCar. Josef Newgarden, who in the Indy NXT title in 2011, is the only one of the entire batch to become an IndyCar champion as well. If you go back further, there are a couple more names who emerge including Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, but the fact that the last Indy NXT champ to go on and do the same in IndyCar was 14 years ago is staggering.

Josef Newgarden, Team Penske Chevrolet, Borg-Warner Trophy

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

Despite all this, Foster could still be the driver who breaks the mold and joins the small group of Indy NXT graduates to succeed at the top level. He may be last in the standings right now, but his domination in the junior division was something special and his qualifying pace hints at yet to be seen potential behind the wheel of an IndyCar.

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