The INDY NXT by Firestone championship picture changed two weeks ago at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The battle now shifts to one of the season's biggest wild cards.

SEE: Event Details

Enzo Fittipaldi (photo, top) arrives at Nashville Superspeedway carrying a 17-point lead over HMD Motorsports teammate Tymek Kucharczyk with just five races remaining after sweeping the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course doubleheader. Fittipaldi entered that weekend 27 points behind the championship lead. He left on top of the standings after outscoring the field by 44 points.

Former points leader Nikita Johnson slipped to third after finishes of seventh and third at Mid-Ohio and trails Fittipaldi by 20 points. No other driver is within 100 points of the championship lead.

Sunday's 65-lap race on the 1.33-mile concrete oval could reshape the title fight again. Fittipaldi finished just 13th in the season's only other oval race at World Wide Technology Raceway while Kucharczyk came home ninth and Johnson finished seventh.

The race also represents a must-win opportunity for two of the series' best oval racers. Defending Nashville winner Myles Rowe captured the World Wide Technology Raceway race in June after charging from 24th on the grid in the longest climb to Victory Lane in series history, but the Abel Motorsports with Force Indy driver sits seventh in points, 131 behind Fittipaldi. He climbed from ninth to win last year’s thrilling race that featured 147 on track passes, 81 of such for position, 56 in the top 10 and 26 in the top five – all race records.

Andretti Global’s Lochie Hughes won the pole at WWTR before fading to sixth and enters Nashville fifth in points, 112 back.

If either driver hopes to remain in championship contention, Sunday is the time to capitalize. It’s almost a must-win for both.

The race action begins at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

Myles Rowe

Testing Matters

Spring testing has been a good indicator of oval success in INDY NXT.

Last year's April 1 test at Nashville Superspeedway saw eventual series champion Dennis Hauger top the charts ahead of Rowe (photo, above), Hughes, Salvador de Alba and Caio Collet. When the series returned for the Aug. 31 season finale, Rowe won over de Alba, Hauger, Collet and Hughes. Bryce Aron also translated test speed into race pace, finishing sixth in both the test and the race.

A similar trend emerged at World Wide Technology Raceway earlier this season. Rowe led the April 22 test ahead of Hughes, Alessandro de Tullio, Kucharczyk and de Alba before charging from 24th to victory on Race Day. Hughes converted his pace into the pole position before finishing sixth.

Will the same pattern continue at Nashville?

Rowe paced the April 2 Nashville test at 184.682 mph. Andretti Global’s Max Taylor was second, followed by Hughes, Josh Pierson and Matteo Nannini. Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Aron and Niels Koolen finished sixth and seventh in the test, the same positions they recorded in last year's race.

Andretti Global Looks for Late-Season Surge

Andretti Global has won just twice through 12 races, but Nashville could provide the spark it needs entering the season's final stretch.

Taylor earned his first career victory in the second race of the season on the streets of Arlington, while Hughes captured Race 1 of the Road America doubleheader.

The team showed speed during April's Nashville test, placing three cars among the top four. Taylor, who’s fourth in points, led the session before finishing fifth at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Hughes ranked third in the Nashville test and placed fifth in last year's race.

Pierson was fourth quickest in the test and finished third at WWTR. He also owns finishes of ninth and 10th in two previous Nashville starts, both with HMD Motorsports.

If Andretti Global is going to build momentum entering the closing stretch of the championship, Nashville is an ideal place to start.

Could This Be De Alba's Weekend?

Salvador de Alba enters Nashville 14th in points after an up-and-down first season with HMD Motorsports.

But few drivers boast a stronger oval résumé.

De Alba finished fifth at Nashville in 2024 with Andretti Cape before improving to second in last year's race for Andretti Global. His lone INDY NXT victory also came on an oval, last season at Milwaukee Mile.

He also arrives with momentum after qualifying second and finishing fourth in the opening race of the Mid-Ohio doubleheader.

Before moving to INDY NXT, de Alba built an impressive oval pedigree in the NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series, earning 11 victories and the 2021 championship. He later added three USF Pro 2000 wins, including two on ovals.

In his 2024 rookie season, four of his five top-five finishes came on ovals. Last year, he developed into a more complete driver with five top-five finishes on road and street circuits, but oval racing remains his specialty.

In nine career INDY NXT oval starts, de Alba has finished worse than fifth only once — a 22nd-place finish earlier this season at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Niels Koolen

Keep an Eye on Koolen

Niels Koolen seeks his first INDY NXT victory, and Nashville could present one of his best opportunities.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver (photo, above) finished seventh in last year's race, was seventh in April's Nashville test and placed fourth in the season's only oval race at World Wide Technology Raceway. He also turned the second-fastest lap during the test June 23 at Milwaukee Mile.

Chip Ganassi Racing also has never won an INDY NXT race.

Weekend Schedule

The weekend opens Saturday with the lone practice session at 11:30 a.m. ET on FS1. Single-car qualifying follows at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS2.

The 65-lap race starts at 1 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

Track: 1.33-mile concrete oval

Qualifying Record (One Lap): Thiago Medeiros, 25.6508 seconds (182.386 mph), July 16, 2004

Qualifying Record (Two Laps): James Davison, 51.8844 seconds (180.401 mph), July 12, 2008. From 2002-07, the starting lineup was set by each driver's fastest lap during a two-lap qualifying attempt.