Photo: Paul Hurley
Evagoras Papasavvas has called the runner-up finish on his Indy Nxt debut “unbelievable” after making a double step up the single-seater ladder last weekend.
The 17-year-old has spent the last three years in USF2000, IndyCar’s fourth-tier support series which has cars that are more reliant on mechanical grip than downforce, and won three races in that time as well as coming fourth in the standings twice.
He decided to skip USF Pro 2000, the next rung up, for 2025 and instead do three Indy Nxt races. Last week’s round at Barber Motorsports Park was then added to his schedule, denying the opportunity for more test outings before his race debut.
The HMD Motorsports driver was 15th in practice, but qualified third and finished second after holding off Andretti Global’s Lochie Hughes.
“Second place, even if it’s not my debut, is still great. And to do it on my debut is really amazing. It’s unbelievable, really,” Papasavvas said afterwards.
“I never expected anything like this on my debut. Coming from USF2000 is where I primarily race, and then jumping in an Indy Nxt car. I only had one day of testing before this, so it was really amazing to get this done and I just can’t thank the team enough for supporting me, helping me through this. I have no words, it’s just amazing.”
He added: “[They were] the longest laps of my life with Lochie behind me, pressuring me. There came a point those last few laps where I was just holding on. It’s really a big step up into an Indy Nxt car in the first race, especially at a track like this, it’s really crazy. I was trying my best just to stay cool, I made a few mistakes here and there but I was able to make up for it in the next few corners and hold on.”
Papasavvas had targeted a top-five finish after qualifying, and his Barber race has left him targeting similar results in his remaining races at the Gateway oval, Road America and favoured track Mid-Ohio where he first tested the Indy Nxt car.
He credited his adaptation to it on “just being able to trust the car will stick, being able to trust the downforce”, and said after a “strong” test at similar high-speed road course Mid-Ohio “the team wanted me to do this race”.
“I feel pretty comfortable in the car, and I do really love driving this car. I like the higher downforce than what I’m used to. So far I feel pretty confident and I’m loving every second of it,” the American-Cypriot grinned.
Papasavvas’s original plan for 2025 was to contest USFP2000, but “then thinking about it and considering everything when it comes to sponsors, to money and team deals, we found it was better to move up into Indy Nxt” part-time with an eye on a full 2026 campaign.
For now he sits ninth in the points table, and there are three races before his next outing in June.