Yahoo Autos Indy NXT considers team entry limit
The Indy NXT series is considering a new entry structure that would limit the number of cars each team can field. In some ways, the concept follows a structure being formulated in the NTT IndyCar Series with its upcoming charter system, where expansive teams would find it favorable to downsize.
If a per-team limit were ratified, it would immediately affect HMD Motorsports — which has singlehandedly solved the series’ problem with worryingly low car counts — and possibly Andretti Global, NXT’s second-largest team.
Among NXT’s five teams, HMD started the season with 10 full-time cars. Andretti Global has four of its own and supports two more for a total of six under the Andretti Cape banner. Abel Motorsports is in with two full-time and a third on a part-time basis. Juncos Hollinger Racing has put two cars on the grid, but neither have been full-time. And NXT’s newest team, Miller Vinatieri Racing, is in with a single car for the entire year.
As recently as 2022, the year before Penske Entertainment took control of the NXT series it bought along with the NTT IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the full-season grid was at 11. In the COVID-affected 2021 season, it was down to nine, which was an improvement to 2019’s eight (the 2020 season was cancelled due to the pandemic).
On average this year, 18-21 cars have taken part in NXT races. Together, HMD and Andretti have been responsible for more than 75 percent of the NXT field this season.
“I would say our attitude is shifting where it’s not necessarily the case that more is better,” Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles told RACER. “It’s almost the other direction. How that impacts Indy NXT, and whether it’s the same issue or whether it’s just too many eggs in one basket, we’ll have to see.”
Asked if a timeline was in the works for when an entry limit might happen, Miles said it’s too soon to say.
“We’re not ready to write anything. We’re looking at it,” he added. “We’re not just going to throw down a decree. We’re having conversations to see what impact it would have.”
HMD’s 10-car contribution to NXT has been the series’ single biggest improvement under Penske’s control, but the size of the squad could also be viewed in a negative light. If team owner Henry Malukas were to shutter the program, car counts would plummet, but it’s also unclear why Penske Entertainment would want to risk running off HMD while the outfit is willing to place cars on the grid when other teams can’t or won’t.
“We haven’t been told anything, and we are continuing to move forward and prepare for 2025 the exact same way we had it in 2024. We already have some drivers in the program confirmed,” HMD general manager Mike Maurini told RACER. “We have other drivers that we’ve sent agreements to, and we’re working on filling all 10 cars for next year.”
The same concern could be applied to Andretti’s deeper six-car NXT presence with Cape.
“If we think where NXT was three or four years ago, we should all be rejoicing that we’ve got 19, 20, or 21 cars on the grids,” said Andretti Global COO Rob Edwards. “Our model is certainly different from HMD’s in that we think four is a good number for us. Our decision to align with Cape was deliberate because we felt it was for the good of the series. It’s good to have the car count. It’s good to have more teams.
“I think if the series decides to go that (entry limit) route, they need to make it an even number, not an odd number. The economics of Indy NXT mean you need to be running an even number of cars, from transporters and equipment and all that side of things to make the business model work. Everyone’s model is different, but that’s what we found works best. Whatever they decide to do, I just hope that it’s not at the expense of the health of the series, which is obviously something to be embraced at the moment.”
