NXT Gen Notebook: Fittipaldi reigns as calamity & contention rule Detroit
- Archie O’Reilly
- 49 minutes ago
- 8 min read
Indy NXT exits Round 7 in Detroit with a new championship leader after HMD Motorsports’ Enzo Fittipaldi overcame an incident-ridden race to win on the streets of the Motor City.
It marked a second win in three races for the Brazilian, who shared the podium with Abel Motorsports’ Myles Rowe and HMD teammate Tymek Kucharczyk. Title protagonist Max Taylor crashed out of the race for Andretti Global, while AJ Foyt Racing’s Alessandro de Tullio was again victim of contact when leading from pole position.
DIVEBOMB tells the full story of the weekend in Michigan…
De Tullio’s one-lap domination continues
For the fifth time in six races, rookie de Tullio claimed the P1 Award in Saturday’s qualifying session, ousting the pace-setting Group 2 time by over two-tenths of a second. It is the sixth consecutive occasion on which the Argentine driver has claimed the bonus point for leading his group, having beaten Kucharczyk in Group 1 by a mere 0.0049s.
Taylor impressively led the second group with a car repaired entirely - including a fresh engine - in less than two hours after he crashed at Turn 1 late in Practice 2, a session which he led. It was the fifth time in succession that de Tullio and Taylor have shared the front row.
Kucharczyk had to settle for a close third, ahead of Cusick Morgan Motorsports standout JM Correa. Andretti’s Lochie Hughes showed some renewed pace but wound up fifth, leading HMD’s Salvador de Alba, who has endured a trying start to the year.
Fittipaldi, Andretti’s Seb Murray and the Cape Motorsports powered by Ed Carpenter Racing pair, Matteo Nannini and pre-weekend-championship-leading Nikita Johnson, completed the top 10. Notable for the race, Rowe started 11th and his Abel teammate Max Garcia 13th.
The only red flag of qualifying came as a result of a crash for Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR)’s Carson Etter after wall contact in Turn 4. He had already been caught up in an incident in Practice 1, running into the crashed Garcia in Turn 1.
Fittipaldi evades chaos to win again
There has almost become an expectation that incident is inevitable through the first racing corner on the Detroit streets, the heavy-braking Turn 3 hairpin. And indeed, there was first-corner calamity as a substantial lockup from Hughes on the inside from some distance back wiped out pole-sitting de Tullio.
After suffering contact from pole in Arlington, being spun from the lead by Taylor at Barber and locking up and ending up in the runoff due to a lockup on Indianapolis’ road course, it was the fourth time this season that de Tullio has suffered strife from the head of the field.
To the outside, Taylor had to take evasive action and found himself in the runoff. This dropped the pre-weekend third-placed driver in the championship to 19th in the order, ahead of only Andretti teammate Josh Pierson, Abel’s Jordan Missig and HMD’s Salvador de Alba - also all stuck in the roadblock - at the rear of the lead lap.
Hughes was handed a 30-second stop-and-hold penalty for the incident and finished the race three laps down in 21st, one position and one lap ahead of de Tullio, whose car required repairs after the contact.
But that was not the last of the penalties. Set to restart in second, behind only Kucharczyk, Correa was handed an avoidable-contact drive-through penalty for an unclear infringement - possibly moving across on de Alba, causing front-wing damage, on the start. Taylor was also dealt a further blow, given a drive-through penalty for jumping the restart.
With Correa out of the equation, Fittipaldi restarted second but, suffering with a drooping front wing and damaged nose after the opening-lap melee, promptly fell almost three seconds behind teammate Kucharczyk. The order remained as such until Lap 20, when Rowe was finally able to pass the wounded Brazilian in the Turn 3 hairpin.
A two-lap debris-induced caution deployed on Lap 26 briefly neutralised the race, before which Rowe had rapidly closed on Kucharczyk, as fourth-placed Garcia toiled in his attempts to pass Fittipaldi. And one lap after the restart, Rowe opted to make his move for the lead.
It was a bold attempt from the Abel driver into Turn 3, lunging on the inside of Kucharczyk and causing both to run wide. Lurking behind, Fittipaldi was able to stay tight to the apex and sneak past the scrapping pair to take the lead. Rowe was able to make the move stick on Kucharczyk but failed to gain a position, with the former race leader falling to third.
A third caution of the race fell on Lap 31, with CGR’s Niels Koolen finding the tyre barrier in Turn 8 after a lunge from Abel’s Colin Kaminsky. On the restart, after which the race moved to a timed affair with little over 10 minutes remaining, the leaders all held station.
Further back in the pack, Taylor continued to make moves, muscling past Missig into Turn 3 as he navigated his way back into the top 10 and as high as eighth. But his recovery drive went no further, as after his Practice 2 incident, he found himself crashed in Turn 1 again after a heavy lockup, bringing a close to green-flag running with only four minutes left.
Ending under caution, Fittipaldi secured a second win in three races, ahead of Rowe for his first podium of the season and first on a street course in Indy NXT. Kucharczyk was third - his fifth podium in seven races, continuing a 100-percent top-five record - ahead of Garcia in a joint-best fourth and Murray. Championship-leading Johnson ended the day only sixth.
Cusick Morgan’s Nicolas Stati, who will miss the next round at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR) due to prior commitments, finished a career-best seventh, two positions ahead of teammate Correa, who recovered well to ninth after his penalty. The pair were split by CGR’s Bryce Aron, while Kaminsky completed a return to the top 10.
Just missing the top 10 in 11th was Nannini, who had been running comfortably in sixth before being ordered to give up two positions due to blocking. He did not follow those instructions so received a drive-through penalty.
The only retirements were Koolen and Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Ricardo Escotto, the latter having been unhappy with his car. Team owner Ricardo Juncos told FOX: “We [made] a big, big change on the setup and we knew that wasn’t probably right. But we [don’t] know what’s gone on. He’s just parked the car. We need to talk to him.”
Defying damage to win wounded
Fittipaldi has had easier days in a race car. With the Detroit streets punishing enough in their own right, battling a broken front wing and hole in the nose cone was suboptimal.
“It was really bad,” he said of the damage. “Everybody checked up. Someone rear-ended me [and] I tapped the guy in the front. I was a bit worried at the time; my front wing looked pretty messed up. I could feel it in the corners, was a bit worried the whole race to hang on and stay in the race. Luckily, we were able to stay in the race.
“I was losing a lot of time through [Turns] 6 and 7, then down the straights as well. A lot of drag. I could feel the air blowing through the cockpit. I just knew I had to keep my head down and stay in the race. I wouldn’t have ever pitted even if I didn’t have a front wing.”
Funnily enough, a further moment of strife, when Fittipaldi fell to third, enabled something of a second wind in the race, which allowed him to hold on once out front.
“When Myles overtook me, I hit the wall again in Turn 3 on the inside - like really hard,” he said. “I tried doing the crossover on him but he cut back really sharp on the exit. I didn’t want to clip him; I ended up just slamming into the wall.
“That actually helped my balance. That’s when I was able to find speed, after hitting the wall. It knocked the steering off a little bit. I was really struggling on the left-hand corners. The tow changed [and] I picked up front grip. It actually helped me out.”
Mixed reaction to Rowe-Kucharczyk clash
Ultimately, it was Rowe’s gutsy, late-braking pass attempt on Kucharczyk, allowing Fittipaldi past the pair of them, that gave the Brazilian the chance to win the race. Opinions on the move - immediately after a caution - were split from those involved.
“Probably messed up the restart a little bit,” Kucharczyk said. “I went a bit too late. My front tyres weren’t in [so] just struggled a lot in T1, T2. I [saw] Myles was pretty close but he still went for a pretty audacious move, sent us both wide. Was lucky to escape that.”
Rowe, meanwhile, did not shirk the fact that he played a role in Fittipaldi getting past courtesy of a move he was making for the lead himself. But equally, he was not entirely enamoured by Kucharczyk’s own actions in the exchange.
“There’s a little bit of responsibility [on] us both in how Enzo got around us,” Rowe said. “From my perspective, there was a reactive move from Tymek. In order to save both of us, I had to release the brake in order to make sure he made sure I was there. We went wide.”
A turnaround weekend for Rowe
The start to 2026 has been challenging for Rowe, who was ninth in the standings before the Detroit weekend. Having been tipped as a likely championship contender pre-season, only a single top-five result in the first six races was disappointing.
But while he feels he could have won on Sunday, he at least took advantage of the chaos at the start to position himself for a first podium of the year after starting down in 11th.
“That cleared the way pretty easily for me,” he said. “It gave us the opportunity. Definitely would have been a longer race for us without that. Detroit breeds these kinds of things. That’s racing. Sometimes you’re in the right position; sometimes you’re in the wrong position. We were in a position where we could take some advantage.
“It always means well to show strong. I’ve always had the confidence and knowledge I have that speed. It’s about the programme underneath me giving me the ability to extract that.”
The final 10 rounds of the season feature three oval races, including this coming weekend at WWTR, where Rowe finished second last year. Following that, he emerged as one of the series’ oval standouts with wins at Iowa Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway.
“Everyone around me is very excited for [the ovals] given our previous success,” Rowe said. “We’re going to go out there and do our best and enjoy the craft and capitalise as much as we can and bring that momentum forward, try to carry that into Road America and Mid-Ohio, road courses, which our programme has been struggling with this year.
“No doubt big things to take away from this weekend and we’ll be looking to implement those the rest of the year.”
The standings as Gateway beckons
Owing to his victory, Fittipaldi has vaulted to the head of the standings for the first time, leading Johnson by seven points after a quiet sixth-place weekend for the Floridian. Kucharczyk is only one point further back, meaning the top three is split by eight points.
“I love racing. I’m a racer. I don’t go conservative,” Fittipaldi said of how now leading may - or may not - alter his approach. “I’m on attack mode all the time. I’m super aggressive. Going forward, I’m not going to be conservative at all. I’m all-out. If I can overtake someone, I’m going to go for it. I’m not going to be thinking about going to lose points if I crash.”
Taylor has fallen to 38 points adrift in fourth but holds on within a quartet of clear contenders. Hughes is fifth but 52 points back at 90 points off the championship lead, followed by de Tullio at 95 points, Rowe at 107 points and Correa at 110 points behind. Murray (118 points behind Fittipaldi) and Missig (126 points) complete the current top 10.
Round 8 of the Indy NXT season kicks off at 16:30 CT (22:30 BST) at WWTR - the first oval race of the campaign - on Sunday.
