Callum Hedge has climbed into the top five of the 2024 Indy NXT Series standings after a fourth-placed finish in this morning’s race on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Brazilian rookie Caio Collet led all 35 laps from the pole to earn his first career Indy NXT victory, heading home championship leader Louis Foster by 6.8091 seconds.
Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship alumnus Jacob Abel completed the podium to keep pressure on Foster at the top of the points table.
Hedge had earlier qualified on the second row for the race, finishing second fastest in Group A, only behind Foster, three-tenths in arrears.
Collet and Abel were the fastest in Group B, with the Brazilian rookie securing pole next to Foster and Abel third, next to Hedge.
Collet was never threatened from the pole, keeping his position off the line and again on a Lap 4 restart.
Foster kept pace over the opening 20 laps and sat under two seconds back, but the hammer went down over the final 15 laps.
Abel finished 6.3 seconds behind in third, with Hedge a further 9.5 seconds in arrears. The Kiwi’s HMD Motorsports teammate, Christian Brooks, completed the top five, an additional 2.5 seconds behind.
Foster’s runner-up result increases his championship lead. The British driver tops the standings with 386 points, followed by Abel with 345 and Collet with 315.
Hedge now sits fourth, 95 points off the top three, and 8 points clear of fifth-placed Reece Gold.
Five races remain this season for the INDYCAR development series, four of which are ovals.
The next event is the first oval race of the season, the Iowa 100, this Saturday, July 13, at Iowa Speedway.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment: Paul Hurley
