Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
HMD Motorsports has announced that Jagger Jones will take over the #33 car usually driven by Niels Koolen in an upcoming Indy Nxt round, but has not specified if Koolen will be absent.
Koolen stepped up from Formula Regional to Indy Nxt at the start of 2024 for his second full year in single-seater racing, and the 23-year-old Dutchman sits 16th in the standings with a 10th place his best finish from the first six races.
There is a double-header round at Laguna Seca next weekend, then it is for the race at Mid-Ohio on July 7 that Jones has been announced as driving the #33 car. HMD’s announcement did not mention Koolen at all.
Jones is a third-generation racer whose grandfather Parnelli was the winner of the 1963 Indianapolis 500 and his father P.J. was a CART podium-finisher and an Indy Nxt race-winner. As for the 21-year-old’s own career, he has a win and four other podiums from a USF2000 season in 2022 and then a podium and three other top-10 finishes in Indy Nxt from last year.
So far in 2024 he has been racing LMP3 prototype sportscars with success, winning four races in the IMSA Sportscar Challenge.
“Indy Nxt is the stepping stone to the IndyCar series and I’m excited to be back with a championship-winning team,” Jones said of his single-seater return. “I’ve had a lot of success in sportscar racing this year, and I am looking to bring that momentum to Mid-Ohio.”
HMD’s team president Mike Maurini added: “Jagger is no slouch behind the wheel of a race car and proved that in his USF2000 results, and then making the jump straight to Indy Nxt. He has been active in other cars this season and winning races, so we are all confident that he will be a valuable addition to our programme for Mid-Ohio.”