Pierson insists new IndyCar eligibility rules “not my concern”

Credit: Travis Hinkle

Josh Pierson is not getting caught up in talk around updates to IndyCar’s driver-qualification restrictions, which could have prevented and may yet still prevent him from stepping up from Indy NXT to IndyCar amid links to a race seat in the premier series in 2027.

The refreshed requirements outlined that Indy NXT drivers must finish in the top three of the standings or win two or more races within a 24-month period to be “competitively qualified” to be signed to an IndyCar drive. Drivers with a single victory are “evaluation eligible” and will be granted an IndyCar evaluation test to determine eligibility for a license.

Drivers who do not align with those requirements fall in the “résumé review required” category, where further assessment of a driver’s background is deemed necessary.

Before the final weekend of the Indy NXT season at Laguna Seca, Pierson extended to 52 races in the series without winning, having crashed from the lead at the Milwaukee Mile after leading all 53 laps to that point from his first pole position. When the updated rules were formalised in midweek, he fell in the lowest of the three categories.

But in the penultimate round of the season to kick off the Laguna Seca doubleheader on Saturday, Pierson delivered a statement first open-wheel victory from a second successive pole-position start. With it, his status is raised to “evaluation eligible”.

Given reports around his consideration for IndyCar seats, it may just be a victory in the nick of time. But he has seldom paid attention to the rule-change saga.

“I feel like it’s a positive step,” Pierson said of the win. “I don’t know what the actual ruling is or the restriction. But it’s not my concern, right? I’m just focused on myself and doing the best I can here. For me, this is more of just proving to myself that I can do it.  

Credit: Chris Jones

“I know a lot of people have put a lot of stuff out there about me. People seem to talk about stuff that I don’t even know about. It really hasn’t been my concern. I’ve been able to focus on myself, do what I need to do to improve, find my footing. I feel like this has been a huge confidence boost [and] morale boost for the team coming off a rough year.”

According to IndyCar, drivers who are eligible for evaluation will be assessed on factors such as “pace, consistency, racecraft, traffic management, procedural competence and team/engineering communication” during the licensing process. 

Pierson weighed in on some of the factors he believes IndyCar teams value seeing from Indy NXT prospects, many of which can go beyond being a wholly proven race winner.

“I feel like there’s a lot to it,” he said. “Obviously coming from Indy NXT, IndyCar is a very different championship. You look at F2 in Europe, they do pit stops; they have a more structured approach that’s more similar to what you’re going to get in the big series. For us, it’s sprint racing, so the approach and strategy is different. 

“I feel like good consistency, maximising on bad days, showing you can run up front, proving you’re capable of being there [stand out]. Championship, race wins, those things help really too, [as does] proving you have the speed and proving you have the capabilities on tracks they also race at. Managing tools and tyres is a big one when you jump up to a car that has settings and tool management far beyond what we have right now.”

Success in Indy NXT has not come easily to Pierson, who debuted part-time in the series as a 17-year-old in 2023 before running three complete campaigns. His first podiums did not come until last season’s Laguna Seca doubleheader, racing for HMD Motorsports, before a further two podiums with Andretti Global this year, prior to his breakthrough win.

Credit: James Black

His single-seater experience was limited when he moved to Indy NXT as a teenager, having only run six F1600 Championship races and two USF2000 seasons in 2020 and 2021. Otherwise, his background came in LMP2 cars, debuting in IMSA and the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2022 at only 16 years old.

“I struggled a lot coming over here from prototypes,” said Pierson, who won two WEC races in the LMP2 class, including on debut at Sebring International Raceway in 2022. “This [Indy NXT] car hasn’t driven like what I’m used to. It’s been a tricky thing for me to adapt to. 

“Now, I’m really starting to discover what I need from the car, what helps me find the time and the speed. Before that, I was always trying things, experimenting, never really finding my footing. I was just on the edge but I could never find something that was stable ground and go from there. Now, [I am] able to know more or less what I need from the car.”

Pierson’s season with Andretti has been challenging, which means he still sits 11th in the standings - albeit only 15 points from seventh - after his victory. Some of the turbulence was down to misfortune early on, though Pierson also started to find a missing rhythm with podiums in Rounds 8 and 9 at World Wide Technology Raceway and Road America.

“It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of sleepless nights,” Pierson said. “Andretti and everybody that has been backing me this year, even when I’ve kind of given up on myself, they’ve been there to support me and keep me going. Super grateful to everybody at Andretti Global and everyone on this No.29 car. They deserve this more than I do.”

Credit: Paul Hurley

Naturally, Pierson was devastated after crashing into the inside tyre wall from the front in Milwaukee after a moment in Turn 2, even if eventual race winner Max Garcia appeared to be on-course to challenge for the lead. The weekend turned into an emotional tumult, having had the affirming high of his first pole position less than 24 hours prior.

But even with the possible looming implications of a self-inflicted denial of his first victory, Pierson was able to shelve the despair. He rebounded with the utmost authority at Laguna Seca on Saturday, leading all 35 laps and commanding a trio of restarts to fall under minimal pressure.

“That was a tough weekend,” he said of Milwaukee. “The pole did a lot for my confidence, to know that’s something I’m capable of. The race just got away from me; used up a little bit too much too soon, didn’t have the rear tyre to hang on to it, having big snaps every lap. Couldn’t save that one. Felt really bad. Definitely one of the worst moments of my career. 

“Definitely very distraught last Sunday. It was my mistake. I wanted it so bad at Milwaukee that I was definitely over the limit. Then coming through to this weekend, I was surprised at how quickly I put it out of my mind and just got back to work as soon as I got home for Laguna. Then rolling in here this weekend, I just felt strong like right out of the box. 

“We had a decent package in Practice 1. Feels like we kept evolving in the right ways for what I needed. I’ve definitely had a huge skew in emotion from last Sunday to now.”

Starting from second place in Race 2, Pierson now has a chance to sweep the Laguna Seca weekend on Sunday. And while he remains unflustered by any restrictions imposed, that would surely do his hopes of graduating to IndyCar next year the world of good.