Kucharczyk holds off Taylor for maiden Indy Nxt victory

Photo: Penske Entertainment

Tymek Kucharczyk claimed his maiden Indy Nxt victory after holding off Max Taylor on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Taylor kept Kucharczyk under pressure throughout the race, but the HMD Motorsports driver held on to become the second first-time winner of the weekend after team-mate Enzo Fittipaldi won race one.

Kucharczyk swept through to the race lead on the opening lap as Taylor went side-by-side with team-mate Josh Pierson. Pierson was forced onto the grass and dropped down the order but Taylor was now running second.

The top two quickly pulled away from the rest of the pack and it wasn’t long before they were battling for position. Taylor managed to get alongside Kucharczyk multiple times, but the Andretti driver couldn’t quite get his nose ahead. 

The duo settled into a rhythm in the middle part of the race before Taylor resumed the attack. A big lock-up for Kucharczyk left him with a flat spot on his front right tyre, but he was still able to hold off Taylor’s attacks. Taylor was just 0.6273s behind at the chequered flag.

Behind them was an equally intense battle for third. Enzo Fittipaldi had taken third on the opening lap and spent much of the race leading a four-car group.

Towards the middle of the race, Alessandro de Tullio closed onto the back of Fittipaldi and began challenging for position. As they fought, Lochie Hughes was drawn into the battle. Hughes managed to find a way past de Tullio as the AJ Foyt Racing driver ran wide but couldn’t get past Fittipaldi. The pair ran side-by-side multiple times but Fittipaldi kept his nose ahead to finish just 0.3778s clear.

De Tullio took fifth ahead of Nikita Johnson, who spent most of the race under pressure from Pierson. Pierson briefly managed to get ahead but locked up and ran wide, dropping down the order and putting Johnson back in sixth. Matteo Nannini took seventh ahead of Pierson, Seb Murray and Salvador de Alba.

Race results (30 laps)