It was a race to forget for Hunter McElrea in the Indy NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama, the Kiwi being spun on Lap 2 to drop down the order and out of contention.
McElrea had qualified fourth for the race and looked likely for a solid result to back up his fifth place at the season opener at St. Petersburg.
The Kiwi started the race strongly, holding his position behind Louis Foster over the opening lap.
It was Turn 5 on Lap 2 where McElrea came unstuck, a late dive from Kyffin Simpson seeing his front-right make contact with McElrea’s left rear, sending the Kiwi into a spin and tumbling down the order.
Ultimately, McElrea was never able to recover, requiring to stop three times to finish 13th, five laps off the pace. A race full of drama minimised the Kiwi’s losses, with six of the 18 cars failing to finish.
Simpson was awarded a drive-through for the collision, but radio communications meant the promising 18-year-old wasn’t aware, failing to serve the penalty and ultimately getting disqualified from the race.
Christian Rasmussen ended up winning with a lights-to-flag victory off pole, holding firm through two Safety Car interventions and withstanding a lengthy red flag intervention.
The first of the Safety Cars came just before the mid-point of the race, with Matteo Nanninni and Jacob Abel coming together, having run side-by-side for several corners, both sustained damage and forced to retire.
Foster was the next one to retire, a frightening incident caused by a stuck throttle seeing him plough into the Turn 8 barriers and trigger the second Safety Car. That caution was eventually upgraded to a red flag when the recovery vehicle became stuck in the mud from overnight rain.
Jagger Jones wasn’t able to get his car restarted in pit lane following the interruption, with the #98 forced to retire. With fewer than five laps remaining, Jones held on for 12th, with McElrea some way off the pace but still running.
Rasmussen eased clear of Nolan Siegel off the restart, with Toby Sowery clinging to the latter’s tail to take third for a podium sweep for HMD Motorsport.
Indy NXT returns on May 13 on the Indianapolis Road Course, with McElrea now seventh in the standings and 39 points off championship leader Rasmussen.
Header Image: Karl Zemlin
