Myles Rowe turned a qualifying setback into a historic Indy NXT victory at World Wide Technology Raceway, climbing from 24th on the grid to the front in the #99 Abel Motorsports car. He passed Alessandro De Tullio by 2.2081 seconds after leading the final 29 laps of the 75-lap race, and the result gave Rowe his third career win.
The comeback stood out immediately because Rowe started from last place after a mishap in qualifying. His drive also broke the series mark for the deepest starting position by a previous race winner, surpassing the old record of 18th.
A charge built on pace and patience
Rowe moved forward quickly once the race began, reaching 16th after four laps and then climbing into the top 10 by Lap 20. He kept advancing as the leaders fought through traffic, and he showed enough speed to attack for positions on both the inside and outside of Turn 1 and Turn 3.
“Yeah, it’s a chess game out there,” Rowe said. “Confidence is key,” he added, pointing to the car Abel Motorsports gave him and the plan the team executed after a difficult Saturday. His comments reflected how the race demanded timing, restraint, and clean overtakes rather than one aggressive move.
How the front of the race changed
Pole-sitter Lochie Hughes opened the race strongly and led early, while Josh Pierson moved up from fourth to second. Pierson then took the lead from Hughes on Lap 28, and Rowe soon joined the battle after moving into third.
Rowe first passed Hughes for second while the leaders worked through backmarker traffic, then closed on Pierson before taking command on Lap 48 with an outside move into Turn 1. From there, he controlled the restart sequence and kept the field behind him when the cautions reshuffled the order.
Cautions and pressure behind Rowe
The race featured several interruptions that kept the battle tight. Alexander Koreiba hit the fence after losing the rear of his car, Bryce Aron stopped with a gearbox problem, and later debris in Turn 4 brought out another caution after Rowe had already built a gap.
There was more drama on the restart with eight laps remaining, when Rowe held off Pierson’s inside challenge and then watched Taylor and Pierson fight for second. As that duel developed, De Tullio surged from fifth and became Rowe’s closest threat, but the Abel Motorsports driver stretched the margin again to take the white flag with breathing room.
Championship picture shifts again
The finishing order also altered the title fight near the front of the standings. Nikita Johnson finished sixth and reclaimed the championship lead by two points, 285-283, over Enzo Fittipaldi, while Tymek Kucharczyk remained third on 280 points after ending the race ninth.
Fittipaldi’s day became a recovery effort almost from the start after a fuel issue kept him from qualifying properly, and another problem hit before the green flag. He still worked his way back onto the lead lap and finished 13th, which salvaged valuable points despite the setbacks.
Pierson ended the race third after leading 20 laps, Niels Koolen finished fourth after a late push, and Hughes dropped to fifth after starting from pole. Rowe’s run, though, was the defining story at WWTR, with a last-to-first victory that combined recovery speed, race management, and a decisive final stretch.
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