NXT Gen Notebook: A dream weekend for Cape & Nannini in Nashville

Credit: Gabriella Hughes

The underdog Cape Motorsports powered by Ed Carpenter Racing team dominated Round 13 of the Indy NXT season at Nashville Superspeedway last weekend. 

Starting from pole position on Sunday, Matteo Nannini claimed his second victory of the campaign in essentially the first oval race of his career, having failed to take the start at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) last month. Nikita Johnson finished second to restore his championship lead, confirming the first 1-2 race finish in Cape’s NXT history.

DIVEBOMB tells the story of the second oval round of the campaign…

A surprise pole and mixed-up grid

The weekend commenced with an unexpected pole-sitter crowned in Nannini, partaking in his second-ever oval qualifying session. The Italian driver claimed the second P1 Award of his NXT career, which resumed in 2026 after a two-year hiatus, ending a three-year wait to add to his Indianapolis Motor Speedway road-course pole from May 2023.

Much like at Road America, where Nannini won Race 2 after post-race penalties were applied, his Cape team starred, as Johnson, who was third in the standings and only 20 points off the championship lead pre-weekend, qualified third.

Between the pair, AJ Foyt Racing’s Alessandro de Tullio secured an 11th front-row start in 13 rounds this season. Abel Motorsports’ Myles Rowe completed Row 2 in fourth, avoiding a repeat of his World Wide Technology Raceway blunder of inadvertently completing an additional lap and being forced to start at the back of the field, from where he won.

Chip Ganassi Racing showed well with Niels Koolen in fifth and Byrce Aron in eight, sandwiching two more Abel machines, Max Garcia and Colin Kaminsky. Row 5 hosted the first Andretti Global and HMD Motorsports cars, with Lochie Hughes ninth and Jack Beeton 10th, followed by an all-Andretti row of Josh Pierson and Max Taylor.

It was further back again before reaching the then-lead two drivers in the standings - both of HMD. Championship leader Enzo Fittipaldi could manage only 14th, with Tymek Kucharczyk (17 points adrift of the standings lead pre-event) a mere 17th.

Credit: Gabriella Hughes

Cape secure 1-2 in Sunday frenzy

The Cape pair got off to an excellent start in Sunday’s 65-lap race, as Nannini held the lead and Johnson promptly jumped past de Tullio for second. Rowe also made early progress within the lead positions after working on passing de Tullio for several laps, finally making a move down low in Turn 3 on Lap 5 to seize the final podium position.

There were mixed fates for CGR in the early exchanges after their encouraging qualifying showing, as Aron made an excellent start to climb to fifth but Koolen and Carson Etter both found themselves confined to the pit lane with problems. 

A first caution was deployed on Lap 6, as Abel’s Jordan Missig had a loose moment in Turn 4 and, already bound for the wall, was collected by Cusick Morgan Motorsports’ JM Correa behind as the pair heavily struck the barrier together. Both cars were significantly damaged but both drivers, who were running outside the top 15, emerged unassisted. 

The race restarted on Lap 14, as Johnson forced a side-by-side exchange on the high side of Nannini. Behind them, de Tullio briefly passed Rowe, who quickly came back at the Argentine and, having gained a head of momentum, made a decisive inside move on both Cape drivers to take the lead.

But Rowe’s advantage only lasted a solitary lap, as Nannini forced his way back past on the following tour - moments before a second caution was brandished for debris on Lap 18.

With the neutralisation brief, the race restarted on Lap 20, with the lead positions unchanged but de Tullio, who had already lost out on fourth to Hughes before the stoppage, falling down the top 10. A battle for fifth had also started to brew between Garcia and Beeton.

On Lap 23 came a significant moment for the championship fight, as Kucharczyk rolled down pit lane with a dislodged front wing. It transpired he had made contact with the rear of his title-rival teammate Fittipaldi as the pair hung on the brink of the top 10 and the Pole attempted to make a late pop out from behind, with repairs sending him three laps down.

Credit: Bella Rosen

As the midpoint of the race neared, the battle for the podium intensified. On Lap 28, Hughes found his way past Rowe for third. But only moments after that pass, Rowe washed up into the left-rear corner of the Andretti driver with the right side of his own front wing. This momentarily teammate promoted Garcia to fourth as Rowe gathered himself up.

“A lot of close racing,” Rowe reflected afterwards. “I was happy I could come away with that kind of racing. It was clean, very respectful. It was good fun. Got tight with [Hughes], clipped my wing a little bit, had to look over to make sure I didn’t ruin his race or mine. 

“It was pretty light contact. Definitely was a little shaken up, wondering if the car had some damage. But it was all good. No problems after. That’s the fine line of these milliseconds to get the draft, make passes happen.”

Hughes continued his charge forward from that point, passing Johnson for second on Lap 36 and, for about 10 laps, working on Nannini for the lead. But as that lead pursuit continued to no avail, Hughes started to fall back into the clutches of Rowe, who had re-overtaken Johnson as the Cape driver fell off the podium.

Inside those final 20 laps, with 16 remaining, Rowe seized second from Hughes, who started to tumble himself as, within two more laps, Johnson had climbed back into the podium places. The Australian soon succumbed to Garcia and fast-charging teammates Taylor and Pierson inside the closing 10 laps, too.

Out front, the squabbling of those behind - Johnson re-passing Rowe on the high side with six laps remaining - was the dream scenario for Nannini, who could break clear of the field. By the chequered flag, his advantage stood at 5.6449 seconds: the second-biggest win margin of the 2026 season after Fittipaldi’s 12-second Mid-Ohio win a fortnight prior.

Credit: Bella Rosen

Nannini ultimately led all bar Lap 17, which was headed by Rowe, as Johnson’s second place confirmed a 1-2 result for Cape. The pair led home Rowe, who achieved his fourth successive oval podium.

Garcia matched his personal-best finish of fourth, ahead of Taylor, who again charged from near the back of the field after a moment on one of the early restarts. Pierson, Hughes, Beeton, de Tullio and Aron completed the top 10.

Fittipaldi could only gain three positions from his starting spot to 11th, while Kucharczyk trundled round to finish 18th after falling behind due to his earlier front-wing repairs.

From sidelines to Victory Lane (twice)

For Nannini, after two years away from racing following a seven-race debut campaign in Indy NXT with Juncos Hollinger Racing in 2023, the intention was never really to return to racing this year. Off the track, he was busy enough, engaged in co-founding and running USF2000 team ENVE Motorsports, pivoting away from a role as a driver.

“We made the deal up pretty late in the season,” he said of his return to Indy NXT. “I wasn’t even thinking about racing; I was focused on our USF2000 team. When the opportunity shows up, you can take it because then you might regret at the end. 

“I’m still not too old to do it [at 23 years old]. I was [only] out of the game for a couple years. At the end, this is the reason why I moved to the US and the reason why I did so many sacrifices. When the opportunity came, I definitely took it.”

Nannini won in only his third race in NXT three years ago, succeeding from his pole on the Indianapolis road course. His return to the winners’ circle at Road America last month came in unusual circumstances, given he was promoted from second place hours later, following the disqualification of de Tullio. But Nashville had no such oddities.

Credit: Gabriella Hughes

As was shown for his first win as a rookie in 2023, Nannini displayed again that he is a fast learner with his adaptation to the oval craft. A fuel leak at WWTR last month had meant he did not take the green lap and merely cruised around after repairs were made, as to pick up points should there be any attrition. So Nashville was his first complete oval race. Ever. 

Nannini’s decision to return to the sport in a driving capacity continues to be vindicated. The season started slowly - two top-10 results logged through eight races - but he is hitting a remarkable stride with the plucky Cape team.

“Definitely the hardest part [was] to racecraft,” he added of his return. “You don’t really lose the raw speed. Like riding a bike, you can find details, the speed. We had a few test days before St. Pete. Obviously the more races I do, the better I get. 

“With the team, we find whatever setup works best for me to have more confidence and push as much as I can every single lap. This [win] shows it. Our season so far has been a lot of up and downs. We started kind of rough but we’re getting better and better.”

Cape Motorsports, “small but mighty”

The Cape Motorsports name is well-established on the IndyCar ladder - ruthlessly dominant for many years at USF2000 level. But in 2023, they decided to focus their attention on Indy NXT, in 2026 partnering with Ed Carpenter Racing after a previous bond with Andretti. 

Even still, a family-run operation, they are underdogs against the traditional front-runners. But that is something drivers often relish.

“Cape is a small but mighty team,” Johnson described. “We’re going against all the big teams. So far, we’re surprising people with how well we’ve done as underdogs. I’m so thankful to be back on a smaller team again. Some of the big teams are not amazing, where you didn’t have the connection.”

Credit: Gabriella Hughes

In 2026, they are really coming into their own and showing surefire signs of the level of performance they produced as a championship-winning force further down the Road to Indy ladder.

“I think this is Cape’s first year of having two really good drivers to fine-tune the car and the setup,” Johnson added. “Dominic and Reggie [Cape] listen to the both of us really well, shoot ideas back and forth. Everybody has a really good bond and understanding of what our roles are, how to get better. The attention to detail is like no other race team I’ve been in.”

As a result, as a rookie, Johnson currently heads the standings once more, with seven podium finishes - including two wins - and still no result worse than seventh all season.

A sole point splitting the title fight

It is tight at the top of the championship. An average weekend for Fittipaldi has seen him squander his 20-point advantage over Johnson, dropping to second in the standings but remaining only a single point behind the lead with four rounds remaining.

The final of the three realistic challengers, all of whom are in their first campaigns in the series, Kucharczyk has dropped to 25 points behind the standings lead after his first non-top-10 result of the season, having entered the weekend 17 points adrift.

Taylor has maintained fourth, 90 points behind Johnson, while other outside contenders from the season, Hughes, Rowe and de Tullio, all remain over 100 points off the standings lead. Nannini has climbed to ninth after his second win of the year, sandwiched by Beeton in eighth and Pierson to complete the top 10.

Indy NXT returns for a single race in Portland on 9th August after a two-weekend hiatus.