In the last race of the IndyNXT season, Kiwi driver Callum Hedge had a successful start to the race in Nashville before a disastrous crash took him out of the race.
Qualifying:
When Hedge came out as the 12th driver to qualify in the 18-car field, Michael D’Orlando held the top position with an average speed of 182.69mph.
Unfortunately, Hedge wasn’t able to increase his speed in the second lap and finished in 9th with an average speed of 180.954mph, just 0.001 mph behind Hamilton Jr. in 8th.
He soon fell in the starting order as the other 7 drivers came out with quicker times, ending the qualifying session in 15th place.
Salvador De Alba earned the pole position with an average speed of 184.471mph, with only he and Caio Collet earning an average speed above 184mph.
Race:
Hedge had a great start in Nashville, pushing ahead of three other drivers as soon as the green flag dropped to put himself into 12th and just behind Josh Pierson.
Both Hedge and Pierson had a good race pace, soon overtaking rookie Sebastian Murray at the same time.
While Pierson soon got ahead and overtook a competitor, leaving Hedge behind, he couldn’t maintain his momentum and dropped back down, helping Hedge to pass for 10th on lap 9.
Hedge kept gaining positions as 3 laps later, he passed Niels Koolen to earn 9th, putting himself up 6 spots in just 12 laps. Ahead in 8th place, James Roe had built a 2-second gap for Hedge to start trying to reduce.
At the front, pole sitter De Alba maintained the lead after tight racing with Collet, seeing the drivers come side by side multiple times. While he started in 9th, Miles Rowe made a clean pass onto Collet on lap 28 to take 2nd position and began trying to take on De Alba in the lead.
After steadily bringing down the gap, Hedge made a pass on Roe on lap 31 and took 8th place, putting himself right behind a constantly changing front pack.
Disaster struck in the next lap as Hedge attempted to overtake D’Orlando, causing the two to collide with sending the Kiwi flying into the wall. The heavy hit caused Hedges’ front suspension to collapse braking the car’s front wing among other damages.
Before the crash, Hedge was up 7 positions and was about to become the race’s biggest mover. D’Orlando was given a 10-second stop and hold penalty to be served after the safety car for causing the collision with Hedge.
When the race restarted 13 laps later, Rowe got on the inside of De Alba around a corner and took the lead of the race.
Rowe was able to push ahead and maintain a lead of at least three car lengths ahead of De Alba, securing his second IndyNXT win and fourth in the championship.
After crashing out of the race, Callum Hedge finished the championship in 7th place, an impressive effort from the Kiwi.
Dennis Hauger was officially crowned as the 2025 championship winner and Rookie of the Year by former Indycar driver James Hinchcliffe to finish off the 2025 season.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment – Chris Owens
