NXT Gen Notebook: Rowe takes trailblazing breakthrough win

Archie O’Reilly
Jul 16
9 min read

As Andretti Global’s Dennis Hauger extended his Indy NXT championship lead to 76 points with five races remaining, there was a new winner as Abel Motorsports’ Myles Rowe stood on the top step of the podium at Iowa Speedway.

DIVEBOMB breaks down the key stories and how the weekend unfolded…

How Rowe took his maiden victory

It was a condensed weekend for Indy NXT, furthered by Friday’s inclement weather - featuring threat of a tornado - cancelling qualifying, forcing the starting field to be determined by entrant points, and seeing Saturday’s race time moved forward.

It was Hauger who led the field to green, getting an excellent start as those behind scrapped. But it was Rowe on the move from early on, quickly dispatching of HMD Motorsports’ Caio Collet, who also dropped behind Andretti’s Salvador de Alba.

Rowe charged on in pursuit of Lochie Hughes, sitting second in points for Andretti, and was on his tail by Lap 2. The pair ultimately made contact, for which Hughes was penalised for instigating with a block, before Rowe made his way into second on Lap 3. A drive-through penalty was detrimental for Hughes’ race, dropping the Gateway winner off the lead lap.

“I knew I was going to be able to figure out a way around as long as P2 got a decent start, which they did,” Rowe recalled. “That helped me not have to worry about P3 with Caio. Then it was just about maintaining that outside line for the first couple of laps.

“It was a bit hectic getting around with the defence that [Hughes] had but luckily there was no damage on the car after that.”

By Lap 20 of the short 75-lap race, the dominant lead pair of Hauger and Rowe found themselves catching backmarker traffic. But the race was neutralised on Lap 26 as Josh Pierson tried to put a move on Collet for fourth but getting up too high, losing the car and spinning onto the grass without contact.

There was an attempted restart on Lap 30 but, possibly a show of oval inexperience, Hauger’s slightly slow restart pace appeared to trigger separate spins for HMD’s Juan Manuel Correa and, further back, Andretti Cape’s Ricardo Escotto.

The entire field made it to the green flag four laps later as the race restarted again but this time HMD’s Davey Hamilton Jr spun before the lap was complete. Lap 38 onwards saw the race finally settle into a rhythm, though there were several frenetic post-yellow laps with lead-lap and lapped traffic mixed together, causing three, four and even five-wide moments.

Ahead of the jumbled-up bundle of cars, Hauger and Rowe streaked clear of the field again. But as Rowe stayed in close pursuit - within 0.5s of the race lead - it was not long before the leaders reached traffic again.

It was a driver with oval experience chasing a relative novice. And for every move Hauger made on traffic, Rowe had a response. On Lap 62, that experience paid off, with Hauger stuck behind Miller Vinatieri with Abel Motorsports’ Jack William Miller and Rowe going bold on the high line to take the race lead off the championship leader.

Rowe’s use of traffic was clinical, bold and timely, quickly dispatching of Miller and continuing to efficiently navigate the backmarkers and alleviate pressure from behind.

“I knew it was going to come down to the last half of the race with tyre wear and messing around with traffic,” Rowe said. “I was being patient at first, trying to take care of my tyres. Then once we got through all the yellows and came back on traffic again, I knew that was going to be the time to get through.

“I was able to get a bit of a run and get onto the high line and able to do what I needed to do to get the win.”

Rowe again caught a big train of traffic inside the closing laps but kept his composure, taking the chequered flag for a maiden Indy NXT victory - now in his sophomore season. And for the Abel Motorsports team, it was a first race victory outside of Jacob Abel.

“Glad I could reward the team with a win and get on a little bit more momentum to finish the season really well,” said Rowe, who remains fourth in the standings. “The confidence was always there. I knew we had a quick car and it was just about making sure I just stayed patient and executed in the right way.”

Hauger finished 1.3s back but secured a first career oval podium, ahead of teammate De Alba, whose measured drive earned him a first podium of the season. Collet had to settle for fourth and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR)’s Niels Koolen earned his and the team’s best result in fifth.

Rowe inspiring the next generation

Rowe’s victory meant more than simply being his first in Indy NXT. As he continues to cement his status as a trailblazer in the sport, he became the first black driver to win in the series with his Iowa success.

“I’m super proud to be able to represent and be winning now and be up front,” Rowe said. “It’s super crucial to be able to see somebody that looks like you doing well - someone to look up to, especially when you are younger and things are a lot bigger and seem a lot more unfeasible.

“So to all the kids out there… I was one of those kids before. It took a lot. Obviously a lot of things had to fall into the right place. But with that passion and desire, here I am and continuing.

“I’m just glad I can be a face to show that because I was one of those kids who believed anything was possible. It’s good to know that those possibilities are unfolding. I just hope that other kids will continue to believe that as that will shape our world in the future.”

Rowe has been the face of the Penske-led diversity and inclusion Force Indy programme during his two years in Indy NXT, with a primary goal of a black driver competing in the Indianapolis 500. It has been a massive part of his journey as a driver.

“[A win is] super valuable for me, for the programme, everyone coming through it - like some of the mechanics, engineers,” Rowe said. “It’s just helped us all grow. And they have treated us very well, the different things we’ve gone through.

“Has been huge towards our development, towards what we’ve done to affect the community in a positive way. Roger [Penske]’s commitment to the programme has shown huge rewards for the whole industry.”

Rowe finished 11th in the Indy NXT standings as a rookie with HMD last year, coming off the back of winning the USF Pro 2000 title. He was inside the top eight in the first five races but only repeated that twice in the final nine rounds last year. And ahead of the 2025 season, he made the switch to an Abel team going from strength to strength.

Factoring in the Iowa win, he now has four podiums and seven top-five finishes in nine races and sits seven positions higher than he finished in the championship last year.

“The switch of teams was a big help,” Rowe said. “The whole package that we have has really given me the assistance to fight up front a lot more consistently. I’m very happy with that decision we made.

“That and just obviously confidence rising and everything has played a part [this season]. Support system has only been getting better. I’m really glad we could do that with Abel Motorsports. I love that team so much. They mean so much to me in my heart, just like Pabst Racing was in [the USF Pro Championships].

“When I win, I feel like a lot of other people win, which is something great to be a part of.”

Rowe was greeted by countless overjoyed members of the IndyCar paddock following his victory, including a certain Dale Coyne.

“I’m glad he made the time to come out and see me,” Rowe said. “It means a lot that IndyCar is watching us because that’s the next and, for most of us, the final step to being pros in this motorsports industry. To see him out there supporting means a lot.

“I just love that they’re looking at us. And it’s not just talk but it’s actually serious and they really care about what’s happening in the ladder below because it’s so hard sometimes.”

For now, all Rowe will disclose on his future is that his focus is on heading to the Laguna Seca doubleheader with Indy NXT as his season continues at pace. There is no news to report on any possible IndyCar graduation or Indy 500 attempt.

“That’s all I know right now,” he said. “And [Laguna Seca] is all I care about right now.”

But at the same time, Rowe realises taking a maiden victory and the platform that could provide is a helpful boost.

“I’ve always thought my confidence has been pretty stable,” he said. “But no doubt, this isn’t going to hurt it. I’m obviously just looking for more. Racing drivers, we’re never satisfied. I just want more of this so that’s what I’ll be doing and chasing.

“It’s great that this is the first but I’m really looking for multiple and multiple wins, then to carry that onto IndyCar.”

Hauger takes first oval podium

For a driver who had never seen an oval until this year, Hauger has taken to an unfamiliar style of track and racing impressively. While his five wins have come in his seven road and street races, a second-place oval result in only his second race in the discipline is creditable.

“Definitely a very different style of racing,” Hauger said. “So it’s still about just making progress every race. Feel like we’re doing the job. We were close but still a good day. We have two more races this season [on] ovals and I think we can keep on building the momentum.”

The 75 laps at Iowa furthered his education, including getting trapped behind the backmarker of Miller as Rowe was able to make the race-winning pass.

“I went to defend on the inside and got a bit stuck,” Hauger said. “[Rowe] just got clean air up. He had better pace than us. He was able to stay really close the whole race. Once we dropped off a bit the second half of the race, he was just able to get runs.”

Hauger is another remaining tight-lipped about his future. But there should be no doubt that his stellar rookie season has caught the eyes of IndyCar teams aplenty.

“We’ve still got a lot of races left,” he said. “Still long way to go in the championship. But obviously working towards the goal, which is IndyCar. But still focus is on Indy NXT and doing the job there. Then we’ll see where we end up. Nothing specific yet.”

Patience key in De Alba’s podium

After topping practice, there was a hint of frustration from De Alba that qualifying was cancelled on Friday. On points, he was forced to start sixth and fight his way to a third-place finish - his third podium in Indy NXT after finishing third twice on last year, at Iowa and the Milwaukee Mile.

“We had a mega car as soon as we roll out the trailer,” De Alba said. “We showed speed. The first restart didn’t win us as we wanted to; we lost some momentum with the contact with a lap car.

“We had a great car so I could come back and fight for third place again with Caio. Just trying to work different lines and move through the field. I knew we had a good car so we had to be patient.

“Happy with the podium. Obviously we wanted more but we didn’t have the quali. This is where we ended up. Very happy overall.”

Odds and ends through the field

Unfortunately, despite initially being cleared by medical and travelling to Iowa, Andretti Cape’s Sebastian Murray was deemed unfit to race due to concussion symptoms following his airborne crash at Mid-Ohio the weekend prior. The team withdrew the No.2 car as the Scottish driver watched on from the sidelines.

Looking through the field, Pierson recovered to 11th - the lead car one lap down - after his spin but has dropped to sixth in the standings. Hughes was confined to 16th after his penalty but remains second in points.

Abel’s Callum Hedge finished sixth and maintains seventh in the standings. He was followed in the order by Andretti’s fourth-year driver James Roe in a season-best seventh, Abel’s Jordan Missig in eighth, CGR’s Bryce Aron in ninth and HMD rookie Max Taylor - up nine spots from 19th - as the final car on the lead lap in 10th.

Only two drivers were two or more laps down: HMD’s Hailie Deegan two laps behind and teammate Nolan Allaer three laps down.