What a difference a day made.

INDY NXT by Firestone rookie Alessandro de Tullio earned the pole for both races at Barber Motorsports Park in late March, but his results told two very different stories.

In Race 1, the AJ Foyt Racing driver made contact with second-place Max Taylor while battling for the lead with eight laps remaining. De Tullio led the opening 26 laps in the No. 14 entry before finishing 20th after the incident.

The previous race on the streets of Arlington followed a similar script. De Tullio started from the pole but finished 11th after an opening-lap incident with HMD Motorsports rookie Tymek Kucharczyk. The contact pushed de Tullio wide and allowed Enzo Fittipaldi to take the lead as de Tullio faded.

Race 2 on a sun-filled Alabama day was a different outcome. De Tullio left no doubt, leading all 30 laps to earn his first career victory.

“It’s a great feeling to finally get it done here,” de Tullio said. “We had some racing stuff happen in Arlington starting on pole. Same thing Saturday. It’s part of racing. It happens.

“We kept our heads cool, kept working hard. We never gave up. Hopefully we keep going like this.”

De Tullio said he and Taylor spoke after Race 1 about their incident, noting Taylor took a mature approach and apologized immediately. De Tullio appreciated the sportsmanship, which helped him reset.

The incident occurred as the leaders approached Chip Ganassi Racing teammates James Roe and Carson Etter, who were battling at the tail end of the lead lap with fewer than 10 laps remaining on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile road course.

That fight slowed de Tullio on Lap 27 and allowed Taylor to close. De Tullio dove to the inside in Turn 9, but his right-side wheels touched the dirt, scrubbing speed with Roe and Etter just ahead.

Taylor seized the opportunity, taking the lead around the outside and lapping Etter. De Tullio responded later that lap, reclaiming the lead in Turn 12 through the esses.

The race’s turning point came four turns later. Taylor looked inside in Turn 16, but his left-front wheel made contact with de Tullio’s right-rear. Both cars spun, allowing St. Petersburg winner Nikita Johnson -- who trailed by 1.8 seconds the previous lap -- to slip through and take a lead he would not relinquish.

Race control penalized Taylor for the incident.

“I told him (Taylor) it’s all right,” de Tullio said. “You have to recognize sometimes a mistake.

“I also understand. I’ve been in that position before, making an ambitious move, whether in karting or last year. It’s just stuff that happens. We shook hands and moved on.

“It’s going to happen. I hope it doesn’t, but eventually it will again. Maybe I’m the one who makes a mistake. It’s part of it.

“Keeping your head down and staying calm, especially when you have another race the next day, is super important. That’s what the team helped me with a lot. My engineer, Joe, kept me very calm. My family was here to support.

“I didn’t see (Team President) Larry (Foyt) after the race, but he sent me a message. That was nice, as well. It was about resetting, moving on and refocusing.”

Alessandro de Tullio

It still was a breakthrough weekend for de Tullio, who entered ninth in points and left fifth after leading 56 of 65 laps across the doubleheader.

He enters the May 8-9 doubleheader on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with three poles in the first four races this season, all consecutively.

The victory was the team’s first in INDY NXT since Ed Carpenter won the Freedom 100 in May 2003 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Argentinian-American de Tullio, 19, rewarded the faith shown by AJ Foyt Racing, as he was the first driver announced for its return to the INDYCAR development series in partnership with HMD Motorsports. The team hasn’t competed in the series since that 2003 season.

He joined the team after his first full season in USF Pro 2000, where he finished fourth in the standings. In 2024, he made six starts in the series and captured SKUSA Winter Series titles in both X30 Pro Senior and KA Senior. His background also includes a full season in USF Juniors.

“Obviously, representing a name like that is very special,” de Tullio said of the Foyt team. “They’ve been there from the start, supporting me and staying involved alongside the INDYCAR program.

“Being part of a team with a name like that and having their support is very meaningful.”