Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
Indy Nxt has moved one of its races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course this season from May to August.
The 2023 calendar originally included a double-header at the track on May 11-13, with race one on Friday and race two on Saturday, supporting IndyCar’s first road course race of the year there.
Indy Nxt will now move the first of its races from the May weekend to August 11, where it will take place as part of NASCAR’s ‘Brickyard Weekend’. IndyCar will also be at the track in August, racing the day after its support series.
This is the only instance in recent years of the top levels of single-seaters and stock car racing in America sharing a race weekend bill, and it will also mark an even rarer instance of the secondary tier of each also being present as the NASCAR Xfinity Series is supporting the top-class Cup Series.
“To feature Indy Nxt during this elite NASCAR-IndyCar weekend is a tremendous opportunity,” said Indy Nxt’s director Levi Jones. “This season, 19 Indy Nxt entries will compete for the 2023 championship – the most since 2009. It is a growing series matching the growing Indycar paddock and a phenomenal moment to showcase the next generation of stars on a huge stage.”
The race will be dubbed the ‘Indy Nxt by Firestone Grand Prix’, and it will be the 10th in a 14-race season.
Despite two trips to IMS, Indy Nxt has no intention to return to using the oval layout of the track. The Freedom 100 race used to be the highest profile race on the calendar, but was last held in 2019.