Photo: Fotospeedy
Josh Mason will race in Indy Nxt this year with Abel Motorsports after his plan to stay in Formula 2 fell through.
The 21-year-old Briton joined PHM Racing by Charouz in F2 half a year ago, and contested the final four rounds of the 2023 campaign. His best result was a 12th place finish, and he came 23rd in the standings.
He had planned to remain with PHM (which had bought Charouz’s assets) for 2024, but on February 6 the team announced Taylor Barnard would be filling its vacant seat. Shortly after, Mason put out a statement.
“Not the plan I had in mind for 2024,” he said. “Unfortunately, I am not going to be competing in the FIA F2 championship with PHM Racing this year due to last-minute funding issues. This is a driver’s worst nightmare, but I want to say a big thank you to PHM Racing for giving me the opportunity to compete at this level in the second half of 2023.
“I wish them all the best for the upcoming season. I’m not giving up on my dreams and goals within the motorsport world.”
Mason had begun 2023 in Formula Regional Oceania, winning one race and coming eighth in the standings, then he took a win and two other podiums from two rounds in Euroformula – a series he had spent the previous two years in and come fifth in the 2022 standings with three wins.
His single-seater career prior to that included two MRF Challenge campaigns, with Mason coming third in the 2019-20 season, and two-and-a-half years in GB3 where he won two of the 62 races he contested.
Mason has secured his racing future at late notice, with the Indy Nxt season starting next weekend. He will be team-mate to third-year driver Jacob Abel and Yuven Sundaramoorthy – who has four series starts to his name – at Abel Motorsports.
“It’s another chapter in my career, now racing in the USA for the first time, so it’s going to be a new experience and challenge for me, but I can’t wait to get started and do it with Abel Motorsports,” said Mason.
“I’m really looking forward to experiencing the American racing culture and to get to experience the corkscrew at Laguna Seca, which looks mega. Overall, my goal for 2024 is to work hard with Abel Motorsports to extract the best performance and succeed together.”
There are now 20 full-time drivers signed up to race in Indy Nxt this year, a figure never reached since IndyCar’s primary feeder series was created as the USAC Mini-Indy Series in 1977.