"It would have been really nice to show that and get a good result, but it just didn't happen" - Jamie Chadwick's weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway was off to a spectacular start, with impressive pace in practice and a front-row effort in qualifying - her best on an oval to date. However, her race ended prematurely when she was taken out early, leaving her with no reward for the speed shown in the latest round.
Jamie Chadwick delivered another impressive qualifying performance at World Wide Technology Raceway, securing a front-row start in her best-ever effort on an oval.
Unfortunately, her race was cut short by contact from another driver in the early stages.
Indy NXT returned for its eleventh round of the season, visiting the second oval of the year after the previous race at Iowa Speedway. Chadwick had shown strong pace at Iowa, despite encountering difficulties in traffic in the closing stages but still securing her fifth consecutive top-ten finish - and was aiming for an even better result at Gateway.
Now in her second year of Indy NXT and racing in the US, the Andretti Autosport driver continued to demonstrate her speed during a pre-event test at Nashville Superspeedway, where she set the second-fastest time, just behind championship leader Louis Foster. This momentum carried into World Wide Technology Raceway, where Chadwick quickly established herself as a contender for a top position, beginning with practice.
In the practice session, Chadwick's progress on ovals was evident as she led the timesheets with ten minutes remaining. Though she eventually settled in fifth, the session was a clear indication of her development.
The second oval race also marked the return of another female driver, Taylor Ferns of Abel Motorsport, who is contesting a partial campaign while competing alongside her successful USAC career and making her first steps in single-seaters.
During qualifying, Taylor Ferns was the first to set a lap time, recording a two-lap average of 152.153 mph, showing improvement from practice. Ten cars later, it was Chadwick’s turn. She set the provisional pole with a strong 163.505 mph average, which held until the final driver, Louis Foster, surpassed her to take pole position. Chadwick secured her second front-row start of the season and her best-ever qualifying result on an oval.
“I’m pretty happy to be on the front row for tomorrow", Chadwick commented. "We just got bumped at the end, but I think we have a really good car for the race. I’m looking forward to starting at the front and fighting for strong results.”
The race started with drama even before the green flag, as Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Racing) damaged his front wing during the formation laps, following a practice fire that had already forced him to miss qualifying. He managed to reach the pits but was unable to rejoin the race.
As the race went green, Myles Rowe spun on the first lap but avoided being hit by other cars. However, he also could not continue.
Chadwick held second place early on, closely followed by Caio Collet (HMD Motorsports) in third, as race leader Foster pulled away. Collet then attempted to pass Chadwick on the start/finish straight, but as he moved toward her, the two made contact, sending both drivers into the wall and ending their races.
Chadwick reflected on the incident: “It all happened so quickly. We race so close, and the margins for error are so small. Unfortunately, it was just too close this time, and we made contact."
"From my perspective, I didn’t move - I stayed in the middle of the track. He was on the outside and seemed to come over. I’m really gutted because we had a fast car today. It would have been nice to show that and get a good result, but it just didn’t happen.”
Louis Foster went on to dominate the race, taking a flawless victory ahead of Jacob Abel and Yuven Sundaramoorthy (both Abel Motorsports).
Chadwick will have three more opportunities to showcase her potential this season, starting next weekend at Portland, the final road course on the calendar.
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