Tony Quinn Foundation Ambassador Callum Hedge was back in action over the weekend, taking on Iowa Speedway for Round 9 of the 2025 Indy NXT series.
It wasn’t the easiest build-up, with Practice shortened by rain and Qualifying cancelled altogether, but the quick Kiwi still brought home another sixth-place finish to continue his strong run.
Like the previous oval round, the Iowa weekend featured a condensed schedule, with just a single Practice session to get dialled in before Qualifying.
The 30-minute session, shortened by rain, saw Callum complete 45 laps aboard the #17 Abel Motorsports entry, with a best time of 19.7771s and a top speed of 162.734mph.
He finished the session 10th overall, just over three tenths off pace-setter Salvador de Alba, while teammate Myles Rowe slotted into second. Despite the limited running, it gave Callum a decent baseline to work from as the team kept an eye on the weather ahead of Qualifying.
Unfortunately, the weather didn’t improve, and Qualifying was ultimately cancelled altogether, alongside the rest of the day’s running for both IndyCar and Indy NXT. With no times on the board, the grid was set by Championship Order, placing Callum seventh for the 75-lap race.
Lining up from the fourth row, Callum didn’t get the launch he was hoping for and slipped back to eighth as Jack William Miller swept around the outside heading into Turn 1.
From there, the pair would lose touch slightly with the front-running pack, though Callum maintained position with a gap back to ninth-placed Niels Koolen.
He was promoted back to seventh on Lap 12 following a drive-through penalty for Lochie Hughes, before gaining another position on Lap 25 when Josh Pierson spun off and brought out the first caution of the day.
At the restart, chaos unfolded again with two cars spinning almost immediately, triggering a second caution. When the race finally got going again with 41 laps to go, Koolen got a better jump and made a move on Callum into Turn 1, demoting the Kiwi to seventh, though another spin behind meant yet another caution followed shortly after.
On the next restart, Miller in fifth struggled to get up to speed, allowing Koolen through, and Callum followed closely behind, making a bold move past his teammate to reclaim sixth position.
From there, Koolen and Callum broke away from the chasing pack, with the Kiwi keeping within striking distance but ultimately having to settle for sixth at the flag, his third consecutive P6 finish!
This consistent run of results sees Callum remain seventh in the Drivers’ Standings on 217 points, closing the gap to sixth-placed Josh Pierson, who now sits just 26 points ahead. With four rounds and five races still to come, there’s plenty to play for.
Teammate Myles Rowe broke through for his first career win at Iowa, and no doubt Callum will be aiming to join him on the podium in the coming weeks as he chases that first piece of silverware for the year.
Indy NXT now takes a short break before heading to California on 26-28 July for the next stop on the calendar at Laguna Seca, which hosts the second and final double-header of the season. With four rounds and five races remaining, there’s still plenty of opportunity for Callum to climb further up the standings.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment – Aaron Skillman
