Photo: Aaron Skillman
Juan Manuel Correa told media the full story of how his surprise move to Indy Nxt materialised after claiming his maiden podium in Detroit.
The 25-year-old American-Ecuadorian, who raced in Formula 2 in 2019 and then from 2022 to ’24, was in attendance at Indy Nxt’s round at Barber Motorsports Park a month ago where he met HMD Motorsports boss Mike Maurini.
A week later Correa was racing for him at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He qualified 20th on debut and left with a non-finish and a 14th place, and on his second outing in Detroit last weekend Correa qualified ninth and made his way through a chaotic race to finish third.
“I’ve been doing a bit of coaching [in USF Juniors] on the side because I love being at the racetrack, and it’s fun for me,” Correa explained.
“I was literally going to the bathroom with my scooter [at Barber]. I crossed Mike Maurini, and Mike and I go back a long way. Karting days here in the US. And he’s like:
‘Hey, what are you doing here?’
‘Not much.’
‘You wanna drive Indy Nxt?’
‘Yeah, let’s do it.’
“And it was within 24 hours that we had signed a contract, I did my medicals and I was on my way to Indy for the GP. Pretty random coincidence, but I’m so, so happy to be here. I’m enjoying every second of it. I love driving, whatever car it is, and this is a great series, it’s fun, and very lucky to have had this opportunity.”
Correa was “definitely not” expecting to make the podium three races in, particularly on a circuit “nothing like we have over there [in Europe] in terms of bumpiness”.
“Indy Nxt, it was not my plan. 28 days ago I was not going to be here. I was going to be coaching throughout the season and trying to find a drive next year somewhere.”
While “it hasn’t been that difficult” adapting to Indy Nxt, his lack of preparation has proven restrictive.
“So far, I’ve just been finding the right window with the car, and that’s the main limitation for me right now. It’s not a matter of confidence, it’s just this is a car that likes to be in a different window to be fast compared to the F2 or the Formula 3. And unfortunately I haven’t had any testing time to really explore that yet. So right now I’m kind of going off what Caio [Collet, his team-mate] likes to drive, and trying to adapt to that.
“Hopefully with a little bit more time, I can start building something that suits me a little better. But at the moment I feel pretty good with the car, and I think we’ll be pretty competitive for the rest of the year, and I’m looking forward to that.”
Being in Indy Nxt has now made IndyCar “the ultimate goal” for Correa, and while he is “looking forward” to his oval debut at Gateway in a fortnight, he’s also “a little scared”.