Excitement has been building for America's top open-wheel series since FOX Sports and IndyCar announced a new media rights agreement in June, with early promises already being delivered through advertising during NFL coverage. Awareness hit a new level during the “FOX NFL Sunday” pregame show that announced Michael Strahan as the honorary pace car driver for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 in 2025, which came in a presentation showing off the Borg-Warner Trophy and a fresh livery on Will Power’s No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet.
The spotlight is certainly shining on the IndyCar Series, which in 2025 will have all 17 races aired on FOX. Indy NXT, the developmental category for North America’s main open-wheel championship, is poised to gain similar benefits as its also ready for 12 of 14 races to show on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and the other two on FOX Sports 2 (FS2). Practice and qualifying sessions for Indy NXT will also run on a combination of FS1 and FS2, with all IndyCar content also streaming live on the FOX Sports app.
“The story of the importance of FS1 and FS2 has been largely missed for good reason, and that is the conversations largely around FOX and the incredible network coverage and promotion of IndyCar itself,” Mark Miles, the president and CEO of Penske Entertainment, which owns the IndyCar Series and Indy NXT, told Motorsport.com. “So, it's entirely appropriate that people begin to think about the additional value that FOX Sports is bringing to us in the form of FS1 and FS2.”
The 2024 season in Indy NXT averaged the most starters (19.5) since 2009, a level that might surpass a record 24 full-time starters next season.
“Indy NXT has been steadily growing as quality racing,” Miles remarked. “The racing is really good and compelling for young drivers who are at that stage in their development. And since it's handled today by IndyCar, it's better preparation for somebody who may make it into IndyCar than it could have done previously in terms of the paddock experience, Race Control, so many things that are more closely comparable to IndyCar than earlier stages in the ladder series. That's all been solid and pleasant and helpful.
“Now, this coverage is a great foundation for the continued success of Indy NXT. I am not somebody, however, that wants to evaluate the success of Indy NXT by how many cars are on the track. We recognize that it has continued to expand and we'll see exactly where we finish up for 2025. But for me, if we had 20 outstanding vehicles or 22 as opposed to 24 or 25, I believe in some respects there may be advantages to most of people who participate if it were sized in a manner that increases their experience.”
Indy NXT has long been a testing ground for the stars of future. And now, thanks of the FOX Sports arrangement, the series has the capacity to become a platform for prospective partners to obtain a good return on investment while getting an exposure to open-wheel racing.
“It's just a better proximity to IndyCar for Indy NXT's ecosystem,” Miles said. “And then increasingly because a lot of the money comes from friends and family, but some of it comes from sponsors for Indy NXT teams, and so the TV exposure's got to be huge.”
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And the synergy that has been built up since Penske Entertainment formally bought the IndyCar Series, Indy NXT and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in January 2020 continues to expand.
For the longest time, only Andretti Global and Juncos Hollinger Racing were the established IndyCar teams active in Indy NXT. Andretti and JHR have continued their respective participation under Penske’s leadership, while IndyCar has also been reached by Indy NXT regulars — Abel Motorsports at the 2023 Indianapolis 500 and HMD Motorsports in a co-partnered entry with Dale Coyne Racing in 2022-23. For next season, Chip Ganassi Racing, the team that has taken four of the previous five IndyCar titles, is scheduled to return to the developing ranks for the first time in over two decades with two entries of its own.
“I think for IndyCar and Indy NXT, we're on the cusp of very significant growth,” Miles said. “We'll measure growth for different series and against different metrics, but ultimately we want really strong teams at both levels that can prosper and race from year to year to year. So, that's occurring.
“And exposure is a big part of that in this country. The quality of the experience for those at Indy NXT is incredibly crucial. Look, Indy NXT is going to be, with IndyCar, the next great thing in racing. I'm definitely looking forward to this upcoming year.”
