Photo credit: Matt Fraver | Penske Entertainment

As of right now, there are ten rookies which have been announced to compete in at least one round in the upcoming Indy NXT season out of the field of 23 drivers.

Out of those ten, their backgrounds can not be much more diverse, ranging from drivers with sportscar experience to drivers who have raced in NASCAR to those who have spent the past years climbing up the open-wheel ladder in America.

As part of Indy NXT’s content days, most of these rookies got to sit down and discuss the various challenges they all are facing adapting to the next challenge of their careers.

For drivers who have experienced racing in America on the tracks they’ll compete in during Indy NXT, there is a sense of familiarity that they will carry. 

Lochie Hughes especially can feel that. The Andretti driver has not just raced at the first track of the season on the Streets of St. Petersburg, he has effectively dominated there throughout his junior career. Across four races in the USF Pro Championships, Hughes has won twice at the track and has never finished off the podium.

“It’s definitely my favorite place to start the championship at,” Hughes said. “We leave the cold in Indy and go somewhere warm which I love, and it’s a fun track as well, getting close to the walls.”

Hughes carries open-wheel experience in America which is a luxury that most of the series rookies do not carry. Those with open-wheel experience often have to adapt to new types of circuits. 

For example, 17-year-old British rookie Sebastian Murray driving for Andretti Cape has a different outlook on the opening race. While Hughes has made street circuits his domain, Murray didn’t race on any at all throughout the championships he contested overseas in 2024.

“With limited testing, we need to do as much prep on the sim and the laptop as we can,” Murray said. “I’m really looking forward to it and it will be a case of improving as much as I can every session.”

Murray is one of multiple drivers who are coming over from Europe to compete in Indy NXT in 2025. While he has competed nationally at a high level in the GB3 Championship where he finished 18th in 2024, other rookies have competed internationally such as Sophia Floersch and Tommy Smith, who both come to the series from Formula 3.

While those drivers got the chance to compete on street circuits, what all international rookies will have in common is the need to adjust to a truly American style of racing — competing on an oval.

Ovals make up four of the fourteen races on the 2025 Indy NXT calendar with three of them being part of the last five races of the season: Iowa, Milwaukee and Nashville.

“Oval racing (is something) I am excited about, but I’m also just nervous about it,” Floersch said. “It’s something completely new.”

For drivers who have significant oval racing experience entering the series, such as NASCAR driver Hailie Deegan, there is a much less steep learning curve.

Last year, former NASCAR Mexico Series champion Salvador de Alba was in the same spot as Deegan transitioning from stock cars to racing in Indy NXT. While de Alba experienced some growing pains on other types of circuits, he had his highest average finishing position on ovals, not ending a single race outside of the top five.

Deegan said ovals will be where she best has the chance to prove herself against the competition, but at the same time, she still admitted the challenges of other tracks such as street circuits.

“It’s gonna be different at St. Pete,” Deegan said. “I’ve never been on a street course before like that, so it’s gonna be a big change for me.”

To watch the Indy NXT rookies take on the Streets of St. Petersburg in the first race, tune in on March 2nd at 10 a.m. eastern time on FOX Sports 1.