2026 Indy NXT Indy GP | Practice results

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The Month of May is officially shifting into gear for Indy NXT by Firestone, with the field set for its only practice session Friday morning on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Practice 1 begins at 8:00 a.m. ET, opening a packed day that also includes qualifying and Race 1 of the IMS doubleheader.

The weekend arrives with Nikita Johnson leading the championship after two wins in the first four races, Max Taylor chasing from second, and 2025 IMS race 1 winner Lochie Hughes looking to turn his strong road course history into another standout result.

Max Taylor was the first driver on track and the first to take a quick trip through the grass. Ten minutes into the session, he also sat fastest overall.

Lochie Hughes was the first driver to break into the 1:16s, setting the benchmark with a 1:16.804.

Turn 1 proved tricky throughout the session, with several drivers taking to the runoff. Myles Rowe had a big lockup at the corner, with the No. 99 appearing to struggle with rear brake bias issues. Seb Murray had a similar moment minutes later, while Taylor, Hughes and Josh Pierson also had moments at Turn 1 as the session continued.

With 25 minutes remaining, the top five was Enzo Fittipaldi, Hughes, Bryce Aron, Matteo Nannini and Pierson. They were the only drivers to break into the 1:16s.

Thirty minutes into the session, Tymek Kucharczyk led Fittipaldi, Taylor, Hughes and Max Garcia.

Alessandro de Tullio climbed out of the AJ Foyt No. 14 after completing just six laps before encountering issues.

Red flag

With 11 minutes remaining, a computer issue for Niels Coolen brought out a red flag. It was a short stoppage, as a power cycle fixed the issue.

New tyres sparked a flurry of fast laps in the final five minutes. Taylor was the first driver to break into the 1:15s, setting a 1:15.996.

Kucharczyk ultimately led the way with a 1:15.2585, followed by Taylor, Nikita Johnson, Pierson and Nannini. The top nine drivers all dipped into the 1:15s.

The session ended with the top four drivers within 0.06 seconds.