Four 2026 Indy NXT drivers — Enzo Fittipaldi, Tymek Kucharczyk, Juan Manuel Correa and Jack Beeton — spoke in exclusive interviews with Pit Debrief about trying to learn the art of oval racing following their moves over from the European ladder.
Correa was the first of the four to move to the series in 2025, signing with Cusick Morgan Motorsports for a full campaign in 2026. The Brazilian, Pole and Australian all joined HMD Motorsports as rookies this year. The two teams have a technical alliance.
Alongside permanent and street circuits like you see in F3, F2 and F1, IndyCar and Indy NXT also features oval racing: short ovals and superspeedways.
While oval racing features only four corners — all left-handed — mastering this discipline is not easy and a big factor in whether a driver can compete for championships in both Indy NXT and IndyCar, as well as trying to win the Indy 500 at some point.
Drivers face plenty of factors when racing on ovals, both defensively and offensively.
- The driver in front changing their corner entries to try and give the car behind dirty air in the corners
- The car behind not getting too close in the corner and trying to get clean air by going low or high to get a run for the next straight
- When to absolutely nail the timing of getting out of the slipstream and try to go low or high to complete a pass
- The ability to clear lapped traffic whilst potentially racing one or two other cars side-by-side at the same time
- Nailing restarts with the power of the tow on ovals and avoiding losing multiple positions
Very strong results for Correa and Beeton
At Milwaukee last weekend, Correa and Beeton bagged their first oval podiums in Indy NXT as they finished 2nd and 3rd with very strong drives behind race winner Max Garcia. The Australian has oval specialist Conor Daly as his driver coach.
Kucharczyk had qualified on the front row before dropping off in the race. The Pole has a best result of 9th (Gateway) across the oval races in Indy NXT this year. Fittipaldi bagged his oval personal best of 7th at Milwaukee last weekend.
Throughout the course of the year, Pit Debrief spoke to all four drivers in exclusive interviews as they explained the challenge of getting to grips with oval racing in Indy NXT.
Tymek Kucharczyk
“I was a bit of sceptical going into this season about ovals because it’s such a new experience for me. But I really liked it. I especially liked the racing, driving side-by-side to other drivers was really cool.
“You know, it’s not easy for a rookie to come and be comfortable with high speeds, with driving different lines, with having cars so close to you. But actually, I really enjoyed it. I think it was a lot of fun.
“For me, it was more about like playing chess rather than standard racing. You really have to be creative on ovals. You have to force other drivers to choose the lines you want them to choose. And you drive, obviously, basically the opposite lines, because that clean air is so important.”
Juan Manuel Correa
“Yeah, it is [like a game of chess].
“The [Nashville] test was really interesting for me because it was the first time that I ran in dirty air for a prolonged period of time. So we did a few runs with the HMD boys, Foyt and us at Cusick, running in a train of eight cars.
“And it truly was the first time ever that I got to play around a little bit. I think that’s my weakest area, to be honest. It’s the running in dirty air, using the high lines, getting the clean runs. I need to improve on that massively.
“I’ve been watching race replays, like non-stop. I’ve been watching onboards. It’s so impressive to watch some of the IndyCar onboards because when you look at them and you haven’t done it, it looks easy. It’s not easy.
“I mean, like, some of these guys are masters at ovals, so I’m learning a lot from that.
“I feel like the raw speed in the oval is there. Even last year, it wasn’t bad. Like, Gateway I finished 8th, I think I qualified 7th.
“Then we went to the Milwaukee test, and I ended up, I think I was the fastest of the whole Milwaukee test.
“So, like, the speed is there. It’s just about how we manage the actual races.”
Enzo Fittipaldi
“It’s very tricky.
“Oval racing is a whole other world. And I remember when I did my first test I was getting up to speed gradually, and I got there.
“It is tricky. It’s very different to what I was used to before, basically racing road course my whole life.
“And then open wheel on the oval, you need to be very brave. You need to have a lot of confidence in your equipment as well with this.
“You need to feel good with the set-up you have because when you’re going at those speeds and you lose the rear or something, it’s gonna be day over. You’re gonna go straight into the wall and have a pretty big one.
“You need to make sure that the set-up is exactly how you want it. You need to be comfortable at running the car quite loose.
“It’s tough, it’s very technical, very different to what I’m used to, but I adapted really well to it. And I think I’m gonna do a good job.
“I love oval racing. I really enjoyed the tests I did and then the the traffic running was like they [Tymek and Juan] said, it’s like a chess game. You need to think ahead, think in the future when you’re in oval racing. Prepare your corners, prepare your corner exits, set up your passes.
“Basically you don’t want to come up too close to the next car on the entry and then wash on mid to exit [of the corner]. So maybe you start lifting quite a lot earlier to give them a bit of a gap to then get a run on them.
“It is very very difficult. A lot more difficult than I expected which is is nice. I really like a challenge, and I’ve really enjoyed my time on ovals.”
Jack Beeton
“I think we had our first oval race in Gateway, and that one was tough; I went to the weekend with no practice because I missed the test (due to injury). I was missing a lot of experience just doing laps, which is really important.
“You’d think, ‘okay, it’s four corners,’ but when it is four corners on the oval, every little thing can make a massive difference. The margins are so, so close.
“I was honestly guessing, but then having the Milwaukee test to look at it and think, ‘okay, this is how you’re doing it. This is how you’ve got to be fast.’
“Gateway, I was sort of surviving, like didn’t really know exactly what I was doing, but using my experience from the past to do my best.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a high-speed corner, right? I’ve been driving my whole career. It’s nothing different. I just don’t have to turn right, so it should be even easier.
“But yeah, I think I like the analogy of a game of chess. It’s important to put your car in the right positions in the race, being in a slipstream, going out in the corners for clean air.
“There’s a lot to think about. But at the end of the day, I think the best drivers on oval are the ones that can simplify it the best, from what I’ve seen so far.
“Maybe in a year or two years, when I have a bit more experience, I’ll say something completely different, but that’s where I’m at right now.”
