The top rungs of INDY NXT by Firestone are empty entering the 2026 season after 2025 champion Dennis Hauger and runner-up Caio Collet both landed rides in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

But no clear favorite has emerged for those top two spots after three major offseason tests for the INDYCAR development series, as a different driver led each test.

The latest preparation for the 2026 season, which starts March 1 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, took place with a group test Jan. 20-21 at Sebring (Florida) International Raceway. Twenty-four drivers turned laps on the 1.67-mile version of the notoriously bumpy road course in central Florida.

While times and speeds are not officially released from group tests, various media reports and social media feeds have given an opportunity to try to make some itemized deductions:

Enzo Fittipaldi

Fittipaldi Steps Forward

Enzo Fittipaldi apparently is bringing more than his famous last name to INDY NXT by Firestone this season – he’s also carrying ample speed.

Fittipaldi (photo, above and top), grandson of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi, was quickest overall in the two-day test session at Sebring in the No. 67 HMD Motorsports car. His gap was slightly less than a tenth of a second over Max Taylor of Andretti Global.

Brazilian-American Fittipaldi, 24, brings plenty of international experience to INDY NXT. A former Italian F4 champion and FRECA runner-up with the Ferrari Driver Academy, he later advanced to Formula 3 and Formula 2, earning two victories and 13 podiums in F2 as part of the Red Bull Junior Team, with which he remains affiliated as a Red Bull athlete.

In 2025, Fittipaldi broadened his experience, racing in the European Le Mans Series with CLX Motorsport and taking part in NTT INDYCAR SERIES tests with McLaren and Formula E sessions with Jaguar, showcasing his adaptability across multiple disciplines.

Hauger brought a similar pedigree to the series last season from Europe and powered to the championship, earning six victories in 14 starts and clinching the title with a race to spare.

Max Taylor

Taylor Continues To Show Speed

While a different driver has led each of the three major offseason tests this winter, there is one common thread among all sessions – Max Taylor is quick.

Taylor (photo, above) was second quickest overall at Sebring in the No. 28 Andretti Global entry that Hauger drove to the championship last season. That comes in the exhaust of leading the test in early November at Barber Motorsports Park and ending up second behind teammate Sebastian Murray in the Chris Griffis Memorial Test in late October on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

New Jersey resident Taylor, 18, competed full time in the USF Pro 2000 Championship and made six INDY NXT by Firestone starts in 2025. He completed his rookie USF Pro 2000 season with one win, four podium finishes, nine top-five finishes and 13 top-10 finishes in 18 races. In INDY NXT, he collected one top-five finish and four top-10 finishes with HMD Motorsports.

Most recently, Taylor competed in the Donington Park Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the 2025 GB3 Championship, where he scored top-10 finishes in every race of the tripleheader weekend.

Form Sheet Ripped Up?

Many assumed after the 2025 INDY NXT season that Lochie Hughes, Myles Rowe and Salvador de Alba would be the leading contenders in the championship race in 2026.

After all, Hughes finished third, Rowe fourth and de Alba fifth in the championship last season as the three leading returnees this year. Each also won at least one race in 2025, with Hughes and Rowe taking two checkered flags each and de Alba winning once.

But the Sebring test showed an influx of new talent into the series this season could disrupt those plans. None of the top five drivers in the overall results from the two-day test were full timers last season in INDY NXT.

Rookies Alessandro de Tullio and Max Garcia followed Fittipaldi and Taylor, respectively, on the time sheets, with 2025 part-timer Juan Manuel Correa fifth.

Rowe was the quickest of the 2025 full-time drivers, sixth overall in the No. 99 ABEL Motorsports/Force Indy entry and more than four-tenths behind Fittipaldi. De Alba was ninth overall in the No. 17 HMD Motorsports car while Hughes was 14th in the No. 26 Andretti Global entry.

Bumper Crop of Drivers

INDY NXT by Firestone could see its biggest fields in a generation this season, as 24 drivers turned laps at Sebring.

Car counts for last year’s season of growth ranged from 19 to 21 at most events.