Silly season in INDY NXT by Firestone continues to ramp up, with several drivers signing contracts to compete in 2026.

The grid is projected to increase to 24 entries, continuing a trend of growing field sizes since the series’ 2023 rebrand. This era has produced the largest fields since 2009.

The 14-race 2025 season averaged 19.4 starters.

Next season, several new teams will be on the grid: Juncos Hollinger Racing, AJ Foyt Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing.

JHR will be a stand-alone team while AJ Foyt Racing has aligned with HMD Motorsports. ECR has partnered with Cape Motorsports.

Cusick Morgan Motorsports is a brand-new team, fielding two cars, also in a joint effort with HMD. Chip Ganassi Racing expands from two cars to four.

As the 2026 INDY NXT season approaches, more announcements are expected in the coming weeks as teams finalize their lineups. With new drivers, team expansions and technical alliances shaping the paddock, the 2026 season promises to deliver one of the most competitive and diverse fields in recent memory.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s been confirmed so far, along with what’s to come.

HMD Motorsports (Jack Beeton, Enzo Fittipaldi, two seats open)

Jack Beeton was the first driver named to the team on Oct. 29. Beeton, 17, from Australia, comes to the series after competing for Prema Racing in the Formula Regional European Championship. He also finished second in points in the Italian F4 Championship and won the Formula 4 South East Asia title.

Enzo Fittipaldi was named on Oct. 30 to join Beeton with the team. Fittipaldi is an Italian F4 champion and FRECA runner-up with the Ferrari Driver Academy. He later advanced to Formula 3 and Formula 2, earning two victories and 13 podiums in F2 as part of the Red Bull Junior Team, with which he remains affiliated as a Red Bull athlete.

In 2025, Fittipaldi broadened his experience, racing in the European Le Mans Series with CLX Motorsport and taking part in NTT INDYCAR SERIES tests with McLaren and Formula E sessions with Jaguar.

Cusick Morgan Motorsports (Nicolas Stati, Juan Manuel Correa)

On Aug. 27, Cusick Morgan Motorsports announced a new two-car effort for 2026, in partnership with HMD Motorsports. The team, established in 2021, previously entered cars in the Indianapolis 500 in 2024 and 2025 in collaboration with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Nicolas Stati was announced Oct. 15 as one of the two drivers. Stati, 16, has competed in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship, Formula Regional Americas, GB3 Championship, F4 U.S. Championship, F4 U.A.E. Championship and F4 Australian Championship, among others. In 2024, he finished second in the F4 U.S. Championship, falling just 4.5 points short of the title. Stati also was second in the F4 Australian Championship that year.

Juan Manuel Correa was announced on Oct. 24 as his teammate. The American-Ecuadorian driver made nine starts in the INDYCAR development series in 2025 with HMD Motorsports, with a best finish of third on the streets of Detroit. Correa, 26, brings extensive experience in Formula 3, Formula 2 and IMSA to the new Cusick Morgan team.

AJ Foyt Racing (No. 4 Nicholas Monteiro, No. 14, Alessandro De Tullio)

AJ Foyt Racing extends its program into the INDY NXT by Firestone. The team will field a two-car effort backed by a strategic alliance with HMD Motorsports.

Alessandro De Tullio was the first driver named on Nov. 5.

In 2025, Italian-American De Tullio, 19, completed his first full season in the USF Pro 2000 Championship, finishing fourth in the overall standings. The previous year, De Tullio made six starts in the same series while also capturing SKUSA Winter Series titles in both X30 Pro Senior and KA Senior classes. His background also includes a full season of competition in USF Juniors.

Nichilas Monteiro

Nicholas Monteiro (photo, above) was named as his teammate on Nov. 14. The Brazilian-American, Monterio, 20, made his INDY NXT debut with HMD Motorsports on Aug. 10 in the Grand Prix of Portland. He raced in USF Pro 2000 from 2023-25.

The addition of an INDY NXT by Firestone program marks AJ Foyt Racing’s second foray into the developmental ranks. In 2002, A.J. Foyt IV won the first INDY NXT by Firestone championship. Ed Carpenter drove for the team in 2003 and won the Freedom 100, the Series' inaugural race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

ABEL Motorsports (No. 12 Max Garcia, No. 48 Jordan Missig, No. 99 Myles Rowe, Collin Kaminsky)

Myles Rowe returns for a third full-time season in the series, his second with ABEL Motorsports and should be among the championship favorites. That move was announced on Sept. 5.

Rowe, 25, continues driving the Force Indy No. 99 after earning his first two career victories in the INDYCAR development series in that car in 2025. Rowe amassed an impressive nine top-five finishes, five podium finishes and oval victories at Iowa Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway in his first season with ABEL Motorsports in 2025. He became the first Black driver to win in the series with his Iowa victory. Georgia native Rowe climbed to INDY NXT in 2024 with HMD Motorsports after winning the 2023 USF Pro 2000 championship.

Max Garia, 16, joins ABEL after winning consecutive championships in the USF2000 Championship in 2024 and USF Pro 2000 Championship in 2025. He was named on Sept. 15 for that ride.

Jordan Missig was named on Oct. 8 to return to his second full-time season with the team. Missig scored six top-10 finishes and finished ninth in points last season.

Collin Kaminsky was announced Oct. 21 to round out of the four-car outfit. Kaminsky returns to ABEL Motorsports after spending 2024 competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series and 2025 launching a new business.

Illinois native Kaminsky, 26, made his INDY NXT debut in 2023, producing three top-10 finishes in a limited schedule of eight races.

Andretti Global (No. 26 Lochie Hughes, No. 27 Seb Murray, No. 28 Max Taylor, No. 29 Josh Pierson)

Andretti Global aims for its eighth INDY NXT championship, including a third straight after winning in 2024 and 2025 with Louis Foster and Dennis Hauger, respectively, both of whom graduated to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Can Lochie Hughes follow suit? The 2024 USF Pro 2000 champion returns for a second season.

Sebastian Murray

He is joined by Seb Murray, who was announced on Sept. 30 to replace Salvador de Alba in the No. 27 entry. Murray (photo, above) earned two top-10 finishes as an INDY NXT rookie with Andretti Cape INDY NXT in 2025, with a best result of fifth at the second race of the doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He was fastest in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Oct. 27.

Andretti Global added Max Taylor, naming him on Oct. 14 as the driver of the No. 28 entry. The 2025 season saw the 18-year-old New Jersey resident compete full-time in the USF Pro 2000 Championship and make six INDY NXT starts. Taylor completed his rookie USF Pro 2000 season with one win, four podiums, nine top-five finishes and 13 top-10 finishes in 18 races. The American driver also gained valuable experience while competing in a partial INDY NXT season this year, collecting one top-five finish and four top-10 finishes. Most recently, Taylor competed in the Donington Park Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the 2025 GB3 Championship, where he scored top-10 finishes in every race of the tripleheader weekend.

Taylor made his open-wheel racing debut in 2023 when he competed in the USF Juniors Championship, rounding out his rookie season with one win, three podiums and six top fives, finishing sixth in the Championship that year. During this time, he also competed in partial seasons in the USF2000 Championship (11 starts) and the Formula 4 United States Championship (three starts), where he scored four top 10s in USF2000 and had a best race finish of sixth place in Formula 4.

Josh Pierson was named to the fourth seat on Oct. 21, replacing James Roe in the No. 29 entry.

Pierson,19, from Portland, Oregon, has competed in the INDYCAR development series for the last three seasons, making his debut in 2023. This year was his most successful season in INDY NXT, as he collected two podium finishes and 11 top-10 results, finishing sixth in the series standings with HMD Motorsports.

Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR (Nikita Johnson, one seat open)

Ed Carpenter Racing announced on Oct. 24 a partnership with Cape Motorsports to join the INDY NXT field in 2026. Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR will field two entries in INDY NXT, the developmental series of INDYCAR.

Nikita Johnson

Nikita Johnson was named in one of its two planned entries on Sept. 23. This is the first full season in the INDYCAR development series for Florida native Johnson, 17, who made three INDY NXT starts in 2025 with HMD Motorsports. Johnson finished second in the USF Pro 2000 championship in 2024 and second in the USF2000 championship in 2023.

In advance of his full-season USF Pro 2000 effort in 2024, Johnson jumped to the series at the end of the 2023 season and triumphed at Circuit of the Americas to become the youngest race winner in USF Pro 2000 history, at age 15.

The second seat remains open.

Chip Ganassi Racing (all four seats open)

CGR rejoined INDY NXT in 2025 for the first time since 2007, fielding Niels Koolen full-time and splitting the second seat between Jonathan Browne and Bryce Aron. The team will expand to four full-time entries in 2026. All seats are currently unfilled for a team still searching for its first series victory.

Juncos Hollinger Racing (both seats open)

After pausing its INDY NXT program in early 2025, Juncos Hollinger Racing announced its return to INDY NXT on Sept. 8 with a two-car effort. Both rides remain open.

The team earned two INDY NXT championships, in 2015 and 2017. The team also recorded 18 wins, 18 pole positions and 51 podium finishes in INDY NXT competition between 2015 and 2021.