A fourth place finish at Mid-Ohio over the weekend sees Hunter McElrea reduce the gap to Indy NXT championship leader Nolan Siegel to just 39 points with six races still to run.
McElrea qualified fourth for the race in an extremely tight session on Sunday morning as just 0.097 seconds separated the top four. Christian Rasmussen, who sits second in the championship, qualified on pole, with Formula Regional Oceania race-winner Louis Foster going second quickest ahead of Kyffin Simpson and McElrea.
Rasmussen led the first 26 laps over Foster, only for the 19-year-old Brit to pile on the pressure and force the leader into a mistake to take the lead as a slight drizzle created a slicker surface.
Rasmussen lost a further place to Simpson over the closing stages to settle for third. McElrea held off a fierce late challenge from Reece Gold to retain fourth.
Siegel could only manage 15th out of the 17 competitors having required assistance to resume after running long at Turn 10. The championship-leader was fifth at the time, behind McElrea, and lost a lap as a result of his off-track excursion.
There was also a good result for three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, who finished in the top 10 for the first time.
Foster’s victory was his first of the campaign and he becomes the sixth different winner in the seven races this season. He jumps to fourth in the championship standings, only three points off McElrea. Rasmussen’s podium moves him to within 16 points of Siegel.
Indy NXT returns on July 22 for their first oval outing of the season at Iowa Speedway.
Header Image: Andretti Autosport
