We are on the verge of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season, but along with IndyCar comes the start of the Road to Indy series as many young drivers continue their journeys to the top division of American open-wheel racing.
There are a few slight changes from past seasons. New tracks for IndyCar means new races for the junior series as well. However, not everyone is starting together in St. Petersburg. There are also a few different season finale weekends.
Indy Lights
There will be 17 races in the 2026 Indy Lights season, starting at St. Petersburg. Two weeks later, Indy Lights will also partake in the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington on March 15. Two weeks after that, Indy Lights has its first of five doubleheader weekends. This one will be at Barber Motorsports Park.
Indy Lights will have a little more than a month off before a doubleheader on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 8-9. The seventh race of the season will be on the streets of Detroit on May 31. One week later will be the first oval race of the season from Gateway.
The season hits the halfway point during a doubleheader at Road America over June 20-21. Independence Day weekend will feature another doubleheader at Mid-Ohio. Indy Lights will race against the World Cup final on July 19 from Nashville.
Portland kicks off the final quarter of the season on August 9 before the final oval race from Milwaukee on August 30. The season ends with a doubleheader from Laguna Seca on September 5-6.
Teams:
Andretti Global
Lochie Hughes: #26 The McGinley Clinic Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Third in the Indy Lights championship with 466 points and a pair of victories, but Hughes did not win in the final eight races thought he had eight podium finishes and ten top five finishes.
What to expect in 2026: Hughes will have higher expectations as he is the top returning driver from last year's championship, and there will be an expectation that he will take the title now that Dennis Hauger is gone. Hughes should be more of a threat. He should win a few more races.
Seb Murray: #27 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara
What did he do in 2025: 13th in Indy Lights with 230 points and one top five finish.
What to expect in 2026: It should get better. Murray is now fully in the Andretti camp after racing for Andretti Cape last year. However, this grid is rather competitive. It will be a challenge to break into the top ten.
Max Taylor: #28 Susan G. Komen/Simplify Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Taylor made six starts in Indy Lights with his best finish being fourth and he had four top ten finishes. Taylor also ran the full USF Pro 2000 season and was sixth in the championship with one victory and four podium finishes.
What to expect in 2026: Taylor did well in USF Pro 2000 but not great. With his focus only on Indy Lights, he should be competitive and possibly could win a race, but fighting for the championship top five will be a good year.
Josh Pierson: #29 The Crypto Companies Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Sixth in Indy Lights on 378 points with a pair of podium finishes and six top five finishes.
What to expect in 2026: Pierson has been developing and this is about to be his fourth year in Indy Lights, but he is still only 20 years old. The time has come to at least win a race. If he is the second-best Andretti driver behind Hughes it will be a good season.
HMD Motorsports
Salvador de Alba: #17 Grupo Indi Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Fifth in Indy Lights on 418 points with a victory at Milwaukee, three podium finishes and nine top five finishes.
What to expect in 2026: De Alba should be a championship contender, but with the grid growing and a number of IndyCar teams entering, HMD is not as well positioned as it once was in this series. De Alba should be competing for race victories. At worst, he will be somewhere in the championship top ten.
Jack Beeton: #45 Tailored Investment Solutions Dallara
What did he do in 2025: 13th in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship and 13th in the Formula Regional European Championship. Beeton won the FRMEC season finale at Lusail International Circuit in Qatar. In 19 FREC starts, he had eight finishes in the points with his best finish being sixth.
What to expect in 2026: Not much. Barely competitive in the Formula Regional divisions. Indy Lights is much tougher. This is a much larger grid than past seasons. Top fifteen finishes could be good days.
Enzo Fittipaldi: #67 HMD Motorsports Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Sixth in the European Le Mans Series LMP2 class with CLX Motorsport. His best finish was third at Circuit Paul Ricard.
What to expect in 2026: Prior to last season, Fittipaldi had spent the better part of four seasons in Formula Two. Results were good as he was eighth in the championship in 2022 and seventh in 2023. His struggle was with consistency, and with Fittipaldi adjusting to ovals it could cost him. He should be in the championship top ten, but it is hard to envision him higher than about seventh.
Tymek Kucharczyk: #71 Mubi Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Euroformula Open champion on 392 points with six victories in 24 starts.
What to expect in 2026: Euroformula Open is not a deep championship. This is a big jump to Indy Lights. He and Beeton are in a similar boat.
Abel Motorsports with Force Indy
Myles Rowe: #99 Force Indy Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Fourth in Indy Lights on 458 points with two victories, six podium finishes and ten top five finishes.
What to expect in 2026: Rowe made a big leap in 2025. He should be a championship contender alongside the likes of Lochie Hughes. Finishing in the top five of the championship is the bare minimum for this season, and it would be good if he could win a road or street course race. It isn't out of the question, but it will be tougher.
Abel Motorsports
Max Garcia: #12 USF Pro Championships Dallara
What did he do in 2025: The USF Pro 2000 champion on 495 points with nine victories, 13 podium finishes and 17 top five finishes in 18 starts.
What to expect in 2026: Abel can produce quality cars, and Garcia was rather stellar in 2025. The grid is packed, but I think results will start to turn in Garcia's favor as the season goes along. A few podium results would be a good year.
Jordan Missig: #48 GR1P Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Ninth in the Indy Lights championship on 273 points with his best finish being sixth in the opening are of the season from St. Petersburg.
What to expect in 2026: A step back from 2025. This grid is more talented and Missig wasn't that threatening last season. I do not expect a big change.
Colin Kaminsky: #57 Slick Locks Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Nothing. Kaminsky sat on the sideline. He last competed in 2024 in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America championship, Kaminsky made eight Indy Lights starts in 2023 where his best finish was sixth at Barber Motorsports Park.
What to expect in 2026: We saw bursts for Kaminsky in the Road to Indy, but nothing has quite stuck. I expect the same. A few top ten finishes but not much more than that.
Chip Ganassi Racing
James Roe, Jr.: #8 TopCon Dallara
What did he do in 2025: 12th in Indy Lights on 235 points, and Roe, Jr.'s best finish was seventh.
What to expect in 2026: Roe, Jr. has yo-yoed all over the Indy Lights championship in his first four seasons. He looked like a possible race winner at Andretti Global until last season. I don't see Chip Ganassi Racing being much better. He could be in the championship top ten or he could be 12th again.
Bryce Aron: #9 Jaguar Land Rover Chesterfield Dallara
What did he do in 2025: 11th in Indy Lights on 260 points with one top five finish.
What to expect in 2026: There was a slight regression last year for Aron. Results could improve in 2026, but they will likely be around where he was in 2024, which was ninth in the championship.
Niels Koolen: #10 Super B Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Eighth in Indy Lights on 288 points with one top five finish.
What to expect in 2026: With a deeper grid, I think Koolen takes a step back and likely finishes outside the top ten in the championship.
Carson Etter: #11 Evisions Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Etter was 17th in the USF Pro 2000 championship on 117 points. He was the worst driver in the championship among those that started every race, and his best finish all season was sixth in the final race of the season from Portland. Prior to that, his best result of the year was 12th.
What to expect in 2026: Etter is making a big leap into Indy Lights. I don't know how he ended up at Chip Ganassi Racing (Money is the answer, I know that, but on principle, how?). He should be the bottom of the fourth Ganassi drivers. It will put him at the bottom of the championship as well.
Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR
Matteo Nannini: #20 ENVE Motorsports Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Nothing. Nannini has not competed in any series since he made seven Indy Lights starts in 2023 where he won in the wet on the IMS road course, but he had an average finish of 14.667 in the other six races.
What to expect in 2026: Your guess is as good as mine. It has been nearly three years since Nannini last competed. Results will be better than some, but it is unlikely he will be a regular challenger and turn some heads.
Nikita Johnson: #21 Java House Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Johnson made three Indy Lights starts and his best finish was seventh on the IMS road course. Johnson made 12 starts in the GB3 Championship and he started eight races in Formula Three with his best finish being 13th in the Monza sprint race.
What to expect in 2026: Johnson was a rising start a few years ago. A brief spell in Europe has slowed his development in the American junior system. However, he is back and focused. He could be a sleeper this season. Do not be surprised if he winds up on a few podiums and could challenge for a victory or two. A championship run is slim but not impossible.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
Alexander Koreiba: #75 Juncos Hollinger Racing Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Nothing. Koreiba was the 2024 HSR Prototype Challenge champion. Prior to that, he ran one IMSA round in the LMP3 class in 2023 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was second in the 2022 IMSA Prototype Challenge championship with Memo Gidley as his co-driver.
What to expect in 2026: Nothing brilliant. I am not sure how so many drivers who have done nothing for years are ending up in Indy Lights.
Ricardo Escotto: #76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Dallara
What did he do in 2025: 19th in Indy Lights after only contesting the first nine races with top ten finishes in his first two starts.
What to expect in 2026: Things were not going great in the first half of last season. I don't think Escotto is going to be a top ten challenger.
Cusick Morgan Motorsports
Nicolas Stati: #15 The Track Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Competed in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship and Formula Regional Americas Championship. His best finish in FRAC was third on the IMS road course and he contested only 12 of 22 races.
What to expect in 2026: Stati is a complete unknown and all these circuits are new. This is essentially a new team. He is going to be toward the bottom of the results every race.
Juan Manuel Correa: #68 Cusick Morgan Motorsports Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Correa made nine starts in Indy Lights and was third in Detroit with four top ten finishes. He was 17th in the championship on 176 points.
What to expect in 2026: There were brief sparks of promise last season for Correa. This is a new operation. That could be a hinderance considering some of the drivers he is racing against. He should have enough to crack the championship top ten.
A.J. Foyt Racing
Nicholas Monteiro: #4 EQR Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Tenth in the USF Pro 2000 Championship on 185 points and his best finish was sixth. Monteiro made his Indy Lights debut at Portland and finished 14th.
What to expect in 2026: Monteiro has not been that impressive in his Road to Indy career. He never finished in the top five in 52 USF Pro 2000 starts. That is not going to change now. Any top ten results will be good days.
Alessandro de Tullio: #14 AstroaPay Dallara
What did he do in 2025: Fourth in the USF Pro 2000 Championship on 342 points with four victories and seven podium finishes.
What to expect in 2026: After starting strong last year, de Tullio was a surprise but the results could not remain that high for the entire season. He looked good in testing, and a few good results could follow this season. It does feel like he will fall short of the championship top five.
USF Pro 2000
USF Pro 2000 will have an 18-race season, but it will not start until the Grand Prix of Arlington with a doubleheader. The series will then have a near-two month break before running two races on the IMS road course. The first oval race will be at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Memorial Day weekend.
After a month off, USF Pro 2000 returns with a doubleheader from Road America. The first of two triple-header weekends will be at Mid-Ohio. There will be another month off before a Portland doubleheader. USF Pro 2000 is scheduled to join IndyCar for the inaugural Markham weekend.
Milwaukee will be the final oval event, but the season will end after the IndyCar season. Road America will host a triple-header over September 24-26 to close out the USF Pro 2000 season.
Who should we keep an eye on?
The top four from the 2025 U.S. F2000 championship are moving up to USF Pro 2000 for 2026. Jack Jeffers took the title with six victories and 13 podium finishes. Jeffers will be with Exclusive Autosport, the same team he won the U.S. F2000 championship with.
Teddy Musella wound up 67 points behind Jeffers, but he had a pair of victories and nine podium finishes. Musella will drive for VRD Racing. Thomas Schrage won three times and was only a point behind Musella in the championship. Schrage is set to drive for TJ Speed Motorsports. G3 Argyros was a distant fourth, 81 points behind Schrage. Argyros did not win a race but had four podium finishes, all third-place results. He will drive for Pabst Racing.
The top returning driver from the 2025 USF Pro 2000 championship is Jacob Douglas, who will be Argyros' teammate at Pabst Racing. Douglas was fifth in the championship last year, and he did win a race while having eight podium finishes.
Michael Costello is also back after finishing seventh in the championship last year. Costello had a pair of podium finishes, but he finished outside the top ten in seven races. He will drive for Turn 3 Motorsport.
Who could be a surprise?
Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) powered by ECR had stunning pace out of the gate at the preseason Homestead test with both drivers JT Hoskins and Andrés Cárdenas. Cardenas is coming over from Eurocup-3, a Formula Regional equivalent series in Europe, and he did win the final race of the season. Hoskins is leaping from USF Juniors to USF Pro 2000. Hoskins was 11th in the USF Juniors in 2025. That testing pace could be too good to be true.
Christian Cameron was the fastest at the Homestead test with TJ Speed Motorsports. Cameron was 11th in U.S. F2000 last year with his best finish being fourth. He is the cousin of five-time IMSA championship Dane Cameron.
Who needs a good season?
Frankie Mossman is about to enter his third full season in USF Pro 2000, and he has yet to win a race. Mossman was quick in testing at Homestead driving for VRD Racing. He has never finished better than eighth in the championship at this level.
U.S. F2000
The season begins with a doubleheader from St. Petersburg, but there will be over two months until the next U.S. F2000 round, and it will be a triple-header held over the Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend. Like USF Pro 2000, U.S. F2000 will have a race at Indianapolis Raceway Park over Memorial Day weekend.
The second triple-header of the season will be at Road America before a doubleheader at Mid-Ohio. One month later, U.S. F2000 returns to competition at Portland, and U.S. F2000 will also race at Markham. U.S. F2000 concludes its season with a triple-header from Road America over September 24-26.
Who should we keep an eye on?
Sebastián Garzón was blisteringly quick in Homestead testing for DEForce Racing, and he is back for his second season in U.S. F2000. Garzón ended last season on a high note with three consecutive top five finishes.
Liam Loiacono was the next fastest driver at the Homestead test with JHDD powered by ECR, and Lolacono was second in USF Juniors last season. VRD Racing had a trio of quick drivers with João Vergara, Ryan Giannetta and Colin Aitken. Naim Salih was another JHDD driver to keep an eye on.
Leonardo Escorpioni was the 2025 USF Juniors champion, and he will run full-time in U.S. F2000 for Zanella Racing, but Escorpioni spent the entire Homestead test running in USF Pro 2000. Escorpioni had six victories, 14 podium finishes and was in the top four in 15 of 16 races last year in USF Juniors.
Who could be a surprise?
Evan Cooley is the top returning driver from last year's championship. Cooley was sixth and he only had two podium finishes and five top five results. Like Escorpioni, Cooley tested at Homestead in USF Pro 2000. It is tough to judge how he stacks up entering this season.
Who needs a good season?
Anthony Martella did win a race last year with the Canadian finishing first at Indianapolis Raceway Park. However, it was one of only two top five finishers he had all season as he was seventh in the championship, three points ahead of Garzón.
Indy Lights will open the season this weekend in St. Petersburg with a 45-lap race on Sunday March 1 at 10:00 a.m. ET. The first U.S. F2000 race of the weekend will be on Friday February 27 at 11:30 a.m. The second race of the weekend will not be until 3:00 p.m. on Sunday March 1. Bot races will be 20 laps or 40 minutes.
