INDY NXT by Firestone has a championship battle for the ages to watch entering the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend.

Nikita Johnson of Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR (photo, top) leads HMD Motorsports teammates Enzo Fittipaldi by three and 29 points, respectively, entering the Sept. 4-5 doubleheader on the California road course.

SEE: Laguna Seca Event Details Race 1 / Race 2

Max Taylor (-77), Alessandro de Tullio (-99) and Lochie Hughes (-103) also remain mathematically eligible for the championship, but each will need plenty of help.

Johnson’s three-point advantage is the third-closest margin entering the final two races in series history. Dave Simpson led Jon Beekhuis by one point in 1988, Raphael Matos led Richard Antinucci by one point in 2008, and Santi Urrutia led Ed Jones by one point in 2016. In 2013, Sage Karam led Carlos Munoz by two points entering the final two races.

The question now is simple: Who leaves Laguna Seca as the INDY NXT champion?

It has been since 2023 that the championship went down to the final race weekend. Louis Foster and Dennis Hauger each clinched the title for Andretti Global a race early in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

But in 2023, Christian Rasmussen entered the finale with a 65-point lead over Hunter McElrea. Rasmussen all but clinched the title in Race 1 at Laguna Seca, finishing runner-up to McElrea and taking a 51-point lead into the second race of the doubleheader.

In 2022, Linus Lundqvist led Matthew Brabham by 103 points entering the season finale doubleheader. The championship was not yet mathematically clinched, with 108 points available during the weekend.

Both Rasmussen and Lundqvist drove for HMD Motorsports, claiming the two championships in team history. Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk aim to give HMD its third.

Enzo Fittipaldi

There is historical precedent for either Fittipaldi (photo, above) or Kucharczyk to overhaul Johnson for the crown. Four times in series history, the points leader entering the penultimate race has failed to win the championship. So, it’s possible.

Cape Motorsports seeks its first title. The team has captured 14 USF2000 championships and built a reputation for developing young talent. This season, though, marks the strongest INDY NXT campaign in team history.

The team first competed in the series in 2007 and 2008 in partnership with RLR Anderson. Cape returned in 2010 alongside Wayne Taylor Racing before spending more than a decade focused primarily on the USF ladder and sports car competition.

Brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape always envisioned returning to INDY NXT. They relocated the team from St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2020 with that goal in mind before launching Andretti Cape in partnership with Andretti Global in 2024.

The team's alliance with ECR this season has accelerated that growth.

Now, the three championship contenders arrive at Laguna Seca with one weekend remaining to determine who will lift the championship trophy and earn the career enhancement package for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

Practice starts at 4 p.m. ET Friday, with another at 6:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying for both races takes place at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, followed by the first 35-lap race at 6:30 p.m. All Saturday sessions will be aired on FS2, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.

Sunday's 30-lap finale is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls.