Photo: Chris Jones
Andretti Global’s Louis Foster set the pace in both Indy Nxt practice sessions at Laguna Seca.
Foster was the only driver to lap sub-1m13s in FP1, setting a 1m12.9592s to lead title rival Jacob Abel by 0.3577 seconds.
HMD Motorsports’ Reece Gold and Andretti’s Jamie Chadwick were third and fourth fastest, the only other two drivers within a second of Foster, while the same gap covered fifth to 16th place.
By FP2 the track had gripped up, and four drivers set laps in the 1m12s as everyone improved their pace. Foster posted a 1m12.4174s to be fastest by 0.1537s over Caio Collet, whose HMD Motorsports team-mate Reece Gold was a further 0.4095s behind in third after he made a late improvement.
Abel just broke the 1m13s barrier in fourth, setting a 1m12.9993s, and had briefly been top of the times early in FP2 before Foster moved ahead.
It was a relatively trouble-free session, although a few drivers did make their way into the gravel at various points. Salvador de Alba and Josh Pierson were among those, but both managed to get back on track without assistance or causing any yellow flags.
Andretti’s James Roe Jr ended practice in fifth place overall, just ahead of HMD’s Callum Hedge and Jonathan Browne. Their debuting team-mate Christian Brooks was ninth fastest, 1.052s off the pace on his first day of competitive Indy Nxt action, while Juncos Hollinger Racing’s returnee Ricardo Escotto started his second weekend in the championship by being 18th fastest out of 20.
Free practice results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis Foster | Andretti Global | 1m12.4174s | 33 | |
| 2 | Caio Collet | HMD Motorsports | 1m12.5711s | +0.1537s | 36 |
| 3 | Reece Gold | HMD Motorsports | 1m12.9806s | +0.5632s | 35 |
| 4 | Jacob Abel | Abel Motorsports | 1m12.9993s | +0.5819s | 30 |
| 5 | James Roe Jr | Andretti Global | 1m13.2113s | +0.7939s | 34 |
| 6 | Callum Hedge | HMD Motorsports | 1m13.2689s | +0.8515s | 35 |
| 7 | Jonathan Browne | HMD Motorsports | 1m13.3173s | +0.8999s | 37 |
| 8 | Myles Rowe | HMD Motorsports | 1m13.4647s | +1.0473s | 33 |
| 9 | Christian Brooks | HMD Motorsports | 1m13.4694s | +1.0520s | 34 |
| 10 | Jamie Chadwick | Andretti Global | 1m13.6239s | +1.2065s | 33 |
| 11 | Christian Bogle | HMD Motorsports | 1m13.7447s | +1.3273s | 33 |
| 12 | Yuven Sundaramoorthy | Abel Motorsports | 1m13.7595s | +1.3421s | 34 |
| 13 | Salvador de Alba | Andretti Cape | 1m13.8053s | +1.3879s | 35 |
| 14 | Nolan Allaer | HMD Motorsports | 1m13.8162s | +1.3988s | 37 |
| 15 | Josh Pierson | HMD Motorsports | 1m13.9307s | +1.5133s | 37 |
| 16 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Racing | 1m14.1114s | +1.6940s | 31 |
| 17 | Bryce Aron | Andretti Global | 1m14.1354s | +1.7180s | 28 |
| 18 | Ricardo Escotto | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 1m14.7165s | +2.2991s | 30 |
| 19 | Niels Koolen | HMD Motorsports | 1m15.0892s | +2.6718s | 27 |
| 20 | Lindsay Brewer | Juncos Hollinger Racing | 1m16.8974s | +4.4800s | 25 |