NXT Gen Notebook: Barber stages dramatic doubleheader
- Archie O’Reilly
- 2 hours ago
- 11 min read
The first doubleheader of the Indy NXT season produced plenty of drama, as rookies Nikita Johnson and Alessandro de Tullio took the victories at Barber Motorsports Park.
Cape Motorsports powered by Ed Carpenter Racing’s Johnson has seized the championship lead after four rounds, ahead of a six-week hiatus for the series. Andretti Global’s Max Taylor remains in touching distance but slipped to second after a collision with race-leading AJ Foyt Racing’s de Tullio in Saturday’s opening race.
DIVEBOMB unpacks the big stories from Indy NXT in Alabama.
Pole three-peat as track records fall
Qualifying on Saturday was a story of track records tumbling, as Christian Rasmussen’s 1:10.7371 lap from 2022 was usurped by seven drivers in cool morning conditions.
Setting the ultimate benchmark, de Tullio secured a pole-position sweep, with his times of 1:10.3176 and 1:10.3885 the fastest two laps recorded in qualifying. With the drivers’ quickest laps setting the Race 1 field and second-quickest laps forming the Race 2 order, this confirmed three successive poles for the rookie.
Pre-weekend points leader and Arlington winner Taylor was standout in the slower Group 1 to secure two front-row starts. St. Petersburg winner Johnson was third for each race.
Behind in the Race 1 starting order was HMD Motorsports’ Enzo Fittipaldi, followed by Bryce Aron in a strong fifth after a tough start to the year for Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR). HMD’s Tymek Kucharczyk was only sixth, despite trading times with Taylor, after catching traffic.
Abel Motorsports trio Max Garcia, Jordan Missig and Myles Rowe, along with Cusick Morgan Motorsports’ JM Correa, completed the first-race top 10 - the latter duo having led practice, split by only 0.0007s. Row 6 was all-Andretti with Josh Pierson and Seb Murray.
There was some change in the Race 2 field, with the stable lead trio followed by a career-best qualifying effort from Missig in fourth. The same applied to reigning USF Pro 2000 champion Garcia in fifth after a steady-if-slow start to his debut year.
Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk dropped to sixth and eighth, while Rowe and Pierson climbed to seventh and ninth. Correa remained 10th, ahead of Aron and Murray. Further back, it was a challenging qualifying session for last year’s third-place championship finisher and the pre-weekend fourth-place driver, Lochie Hughes, who could only manage 19th and 21st.
The only incident came early in the opening group, with Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR)’s Niels Koolen beached after a spin in Turn 10. He was denied the chance to qualify as punishment for causing a red flag, meaning he started last for both races.
Leaders collide in dramatic Race 1
Up front, the start to Race 1 was orderly. De Tullio held off Taylor, with Johnson and Fittipaldi briefly trading positions but remaining in their starting order.
An incident further back in the pack at Turn 5 - Murray spinning Correa and clipping teammate Pierson, causing race-ending damage - meant a first-lap caution was brandished. Murray was handed a 30-second stop-and-hold penalty for the offence.
The race resumed on Lap 5 with the status quo maintained up front. A caution was avoided when Koolen, having recovered to the top 15, spun under braking in Turn 5 but continued. And with no stoppage, the race progressed without many close battles up front; Kucharczyk’s initial pursuit of Fittipaldi faded as the pair were cut adrift from the podium trio.
In the lead, de Tullio had constant company from Taylor within one second, albeit without any great threat posed with opportunities to pass limited. But with nine laps remaining, the fight took a dramatic twist.
The lead pair caught the dueling CGR backmarker duo of James Roe and Carson Etter at the rear of the lead lap. And into Turn 9, Taylor was opportunistic, passing de Tullio on the outside to only briefly take the lead before the pole-sitter fought back on the inside in Turn 12. It was initially impressively heads-up driving.
But as Taylor generated a run into Turn 16 and attempted an inside move of his own, catastrophe struck for the lead pair. Taylor’s front-left corner made contact with de Tullio’s right rear as a semi-gap naturally closed and the pair were sent spinning in synchronicity.
De Tullio was left beached and fell off the lead lap to finish 20th, while Taylor navigated his way out of the gravel but was handed a 30-second stop-and-hold penalty, deemed wholly at fault for the contact. And so, Johnson inherited the lead, Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk were promoted onto the podium and Garcia and Rowe into the top five.
Johnson fell under some pressure but never win-denying jeopardy. He kept his cool and picked up the pieces to win for a second time in three races.
“I had a lot less push-to-pass,” he said of the end of the race. “I was trying to stay with the two guys up front for most of the race; I knew that Enzo and Tymek behind me were saving a lot. I just had enough at the end where I ran out going into Turn 7/8/9 on the final lap.”
In second and third, rookies Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk repeated their finishes from Arlington.
“It was a pretty single-file race,” Fittipaldi said. “It was pretty hard to make any overtakes. Just a lot of aero wash in the high-speed corners. It’s really difficult to set up a move. I felt like I would have an opportunity on Nikita; it just wasn’t enough. He didn’t really make any mistakes so it was difficult to set up a move on him.”
Garcia’s fourth place was a personal best, heading an Abel train ahead of Rowe and Missig. Ricardo Escotto was a career-best seventh for Juncos Hollinger Racing, ahead of Aron. Cusick Morgan Motorsports’ Nicholas Stati and HMD’s Jack Beeton, the race’s biggest mover having started 17th, both recorded their first top 10s in their rookie seasons.
Hughes was only able to recover to 12th from 19th on a tough day for Andretti, which saw Taylor eventually finish down in 19th.
De Tullio & Taylor react
Tensions were high from de Tullio towards Taylor immediately after the race following the win-preventing contact. But the air was soon cleared between the two teenagers.
“We had a few exchanges of words,” de Tullio said. “He apologised immediately. That shows a lot of sportsmanship from his side. I immediately calmed down when he apologised. I told him it’s alright. You have to recognise sometimes a mistake.
“I also understand - I’ve been in that position before where I made an ambitious move, whether in karting, last year - it’s just stuff that happens. We shook hands and we move on.”
From Taylor’s perspective, impatience had crept in and frustration grew as he took the lead in traffic but was promptly repassed in the same exchange.
“It started about half-a-lap earlier when we caught the [backmarkers],” he said. “I was able to get around Ale. Just as I got in the lead, it got taken away from me because I got screwed by another lap car. It was just unfortunate.
“Maybe my emotions came through where I was waiting so long for the opportunity, it came, I seized it, I got taken away from me. Maybe that was part of the reason I made quite an ambitious and aggressive move.”
Finishing only 19th was an unhelpful non-result in Taylor’s championship bid after finishing second and first in the opening two rounds of the season. But he had no real arguments against being deemed at fault.
“There’s a few ways you can look at it. I was there; he did turn in. But it was ultimately my fault. I understand the penalty. I think it was harsh; of course I am going to think it’s harsh. It is good that the stewards are really on top of it. We can learn our lesson because that’s why we’re here in Indy NXT, is to learn and be prepared for the next step.”
“I knew chaos was going to happen”
Johnson had spent the entirety of Race 1 biding his time, with pace in hand and no desire to ruin his race by pushing too hard with passing so challenging. And by running a controlled race of his own, he was able to seize the opportunity when it arose.
“I just kept my distance. When I saw those lapped cars, I knew some type of chaos was going to happen,” he said. “I was thankful to get through it because I was passing one of the lapped cars at the same time while they’re both [spun] on either end of the track.
“I’ve also raced against them for many years now. I know both of them. Really good drivers. They’re going to go for it. I know they race each other hard. It happens sometimes.”
Johnson ran three NXT races with HMD early last year, alongside other exploits such as FIA Formula 3, but finished only once in the top 10 - seventh on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course - amid limited test time. The results of committing to a full season stateside for 2026 are already showing for the 17-year-old.
“It’s really hard because I didn’t really know what I was doing too much because it was my first time in the Indy NXT car,” he said of his debut races last year. “Doing the testing in the post-season [and] pre-season this year really helped. We dialled the car down with Cape.
“I’m happy with what I learned from last year with the three races I did, then all the testing with Cape. It’s great to win again. I can’t thank the team enough.”
Kucharczyk’s trio of thirds
Finishing third in Race 2 continued a 100-percent record of Kucharczyk finishing in the same podium position in the first three rounds of his debut NXT season. It took some luck on this occasion, though he indicated it was justice served after traffic ruined a possible shot at pole.
“I felt we had the pace to fight for the front row,” he said. “[But] most of the circuits around here, like Barber, [are new]. It’s quite hard to expect for yourself to fight for the pole positions and podiums straight away.
“I have really high belief in myself, high belief in my team. I know the car is strong. It’s just more about putting everything together. But if we’re able to start so strongly with triple P3 finish, it shows that we’ll get there. We’ll get the win or higher [finishes], pole positions.”
As it has become renowned for over the years, Barber provided a physical test for the reigning Euroformula Open champion. It was the Pole’s first outing on a high-downforce road course in NXT machinery, which was a challenge without power steering.
“It takes a bit of your confidence out if you can’t hold the car, you’re not basically risking enough, pushing enough,” he said. “First five laps I felt really strong but then I realised: ’There is still 30 laps to go.’ If you have a lot of compressions, which you do around here, it’s basically like [the] steering wheel trying to kick your hands off every time.
“If you have a snap in moment, you might not be able to catch it. I just tried to tie myself up in the seat and hold onto the steering wheel. Other than that, [Race 1] was pretty boring from my side, just driving around and waiting for someone else’s mistakes. Lucky for us it happened [and] we managed to capitalise on that. A lucky podium this time.”
Race 2 rebound brings maiden win
It was probably just as well that no bad blood persisted between de Tullio and Taylor, given that less than 24 hours later, the pair shared the front row again for Race 2. But coming from third again, Johnson immediately passed Taylor into Turn 1, only for the Andretti driver to manoeuvre his way back into second exiting Turn 5.
Like the day prior, there was more first-lap teammate contact - this time between Abel stablemates as Rowe bounced off the kerb in Turn 13, helplessly into Garcia. The pair limped back to the pits, where they remained for several laps undergoing repairs, and Rowe was handed a 30-second stop-and-hold penalty. Rowe finished 23rd and Garcia 24th.
A Lap 1 caution was avoided this time. And soon enough, Taylor was in pursuit of de Tullio - remaining steadily within one second of the lead, often within half-a-second. Once again, it appeared to become a two-horse fight, though a train started to form in the closing laps.
A two-car battle soon became a four-car fight involving Johnson and Fittipaldi; not far behind, Kucharczyk, Missig, Aron and Correa formed an eight-driver train. But similar to Saturday, passing was a struggle and, without the same dramas, the order remained as that.
Taylor never had a clear opportunity to lunge for the lead again, so de Tullio held on for his maiden win, while Johnson was staunch in his defence against Fittipaldi. Behind the eight cars finishing within five seconds, Beeton - the biggest mover again - was almost 17 seconds off de Tullio for another top 10 in ninth, as Murray completed the top 10 for Andretti.
Salvador de Alba, who finished fifth in the standings last year, was 11th for HMD - an improvement from 18th the day before - after a slow start to the season, leading James Roe in 12th amid another better day for CGR. Hughes could only salvage 16th.
De Tullio overcomes mass misfortune
Taking three of the four available pole positions, it has been a storming start to the year for de Tullio. But after Race 1 at Barber, despite starting from the front twice, he had been innocently denied victory twice - both after contact from another driver.
Fighting past that disappointment made Sunday’s success all the sweeter.
“It’s a great feeling to finally get it done. We had some racing stuff happen in Arlington, starting on pole. Same thing [on Saturday],” said de Tullio, who didn’t make it through the first corner in Arlington. “But we kept our head cool, kept working hard. We never gave up. The team has done a phenomenal job so it’s a great feeling to finally get it done.”
At Barber, racing from pole again the following day, there was no time to dwell on the incident with Taylor. Maybe that was for the best.
“[Saturday] was tough,” de Tullio said. “It’s part of racing. I hope it doesn’t happen but eventually it will happen again; maybe I’m the one that makes a mistake. Keeping your head down and staying calm, especially when you have another race the next day, is super important. That’s what the team helped me with a lot.
“My engineer Joe kept me very calm. My family was here to support. I didn’t see Larry [Foyt, team president] after the race but he sent me a message; that was nice as well, just about resetting, moving on, focusing on today.”
An education for Taylor
Having led the championship after the first two rounds, denying himself another top-two result after the contact with de Tullio provided Taylor something of an education. Lessons about patience were already applied in Race 2 to ensure he came home at least runner-up.
“I learned my lesson. I won’t make the same mistake again. That’s what it’s for,” Taylor said. “It’s just about taking the opportunity of what you can control. You can set the sails but you can’t control the wind. I wasn’t given the opportunity [in Race 2] to go for the win.
“I put up a good race; I was applying the pressure, doing everything I could all the race to make Ale mess up and get the win. That’s what I learned: making the decisions, thinking about a long year - it’s for the championship. I gave up a lot of points [on Saturday].
“We’re fast, we’re going to be fast the rest of the year [and] we’re going to keep racking up the podiums and more wins.”
Johnson heads the early standings
Exiting Barber, Johnson leads the standings ahead of Taylor by 23 points. Kucharczyk is 10 points further back - now only six points ahead of teammate Fittipaldi. At 60 points adrift of the lead, de Tullio’s victory has vaulted him into fifth.
“I just keep [the standings] in the back of my head,” Johnson said. “It’s such a long championship that I’m not really looking. If you’re looking at the standings, it’s not the smartest because you’re going to be overthinking it. I like to just go out and drive and be relaxed. I’m just finishing races and getting good points.”
Correa sits sixth at 71 points back after four rounds, with Hughes - a pre-season favourite - already 76 points behind Johnson in seventh. Level with Hughes, Missig leads the Abel battle at five points ahead of Rowe, another pre-season tip. Murray completes the current top 10.
Indy NXT does not race again until another doubleheader across May 8th and 9th. In the meantime, there are oval tests at Nashville Superspeedway (this Thursday) and World Wide Technology Raceway, as well as a road-course outing at Mid-Ohio.
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