Andretti Global’s Max Taylor pulled off a dramatic late pass to claim his first-ever Indy NXT win at the Grand Prix of Arlington.

After starting fourth, Taylor snagged the race lead with less than two minutes remaining in the 30-minute timed race, crossing the finish line 1.8925s ahead of Enzo Fittipaldi in the #67 HMD Motorsports entry.

“Oh, I wanted it with every ounce of my body,” Taylor said. “I mean, I had to fight for it. That was some hard racing out there, but this track just creates such good racing.

“Absolutely incredible to drive around here and, yeah, to make some moves out there. It was a lot of fun. A lot of carnage happening, but we were able to show our pace. Missing qualifying yesterday, but we definitely didn't miss it today.”

Fittpaldi, who led the majority of what ended up being 15 laps, had mixed emotions finishing second.

“Yeah, it was hard racing,” Fittipaldi said. “I love to race hard and that's what I love about, you know, racing here in the States. It's raw racing and I really enjoy that. We had some good battles out there. Unfortunately, we came home second. I think we were leading most of the race there.

“I'm just a bit frustrated with the result, but super happy at the same time, you know, first podium of the season. And you know, we had a tough start at St. Pete with that mistake in qualifying, and I'm just happy to bounce back here and be able to be fighting at the front.”

What a move, what a WIN! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/8A73OnqL5R

— INDY NXT by Firestone (@INDYNXT) March 15, 2026

Tymek Kucharczyk, driving the #71 HMD Motorsports machine, finished third on the 2.73-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit.

Juan Manuel Correa (Cusick Morgan Motorsport) and Lochie Hughes (Andretti Global) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Race

Chaos struck right out of the gate as Jack Beeton jumped the start from fifth as the field got stacked up at the alternate start line on the backstretch, which resulted in Colin Kaminsky being forced out and punted into the outside wall.

A delayed yellow then saw pole-sitter Alessandro de Tullio hit in the right-rear by Tymek Kucharczyk, sending de Tullio off course in Turn 10 and falling to 22nd.

The caution finally came out, and upon further review Race Control deemed Beeton was penalized for jumping the start and forced to drop to the back of the field. As a result, Fittipaldi assumed the race lead.

Jack Beeton has been issued a penalty for jumping the start. pic.twitter.com/v6jeT4zdEB

— INDY NXT by Firestone (@INDYNXT) March 15, 2026

The race restarted with just over 16 minutes left, with Fittipaldi breaking away from Kucharczyk, who was under review for his earlier contact on de Tullio. Kucharczyk began to close on Fittipaldi, with third-place man Taylor holding serve 1s behind.

After an extended review, Race Control deemed no action was required on the earlier contact between Kucharczyk and de Tullio.

With 11 minutes to go, Kucharczyk began to hound Fittipalid for the race lead, popping out on the backstretch but unable to complete the pass. It became a three-horse race as Taylor joined in the battle. Kucharczyk passed Fittipaldi at the inside of Turn 9. Fittipaldi fought back and reclaimed the lead in the following corner as Taylor nearly took it three-wide.

Taylor pulled off a late dive on Kucharczyk in Turn 14 and took second. Kucharczyk then came under attack by Correa, but held serve.

Fittipaldi held a 1s lead on Taylor when the caution with six minutes remaining after Andretti Global’s Josh Pierson was stopped on course in Turn 2 after contact with HMD’s Salvador de Alba.

The restart came with roughly 3 minutes, 38 seconds left as Fittipaldi pulled away from Taylor, but there was contact in the back of the field that resulted in de Alba spinning. Fortunately, de Alba got back going and the race stayed green.

Taylor got under Fittipaldi on the exit of Turn 11 and took the lead with less than two minutes to go. Fittpaldi continued to stalk the leader, with Kucharczyk right in the thick of the fight and ready to pounce if the top two made a mistake.

With a clean race track ahead, Taylor was able to inch away from his rivals and secure the first win of this Indy NXT career, ahead of Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk.

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