Cape’s Winding Road Back to INDY NXT Leads to Championship

Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR emerged as one of the INDY NXT by Firestone season’s biggest surprises.

It has the championship hardware to prove it.

Nikita Johnson beat Enzo Fittipaldi by 29 points to give the team its first championship in the INDYCAR development series Sunday, Sept. 6 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The accomplishment was even more significant considering Andretti Global and HMD Motorsports had combined to win the previous seven INDY NXT championships.

“Just been an incredible year,” Johnson said. “We’ve been one of the fastest everywhere we’ve gone to, by far the most consistent out of everyone, in my opinion.

“Even if we weren’t the fastest in practice, we always got there by qualifying, no matter what. We never let a bad first day dictate our weekend. We always came back from wherever we unloaded in FP1. I think that’s what made us so strong.

“I just can’t thank the Cape boys enough. They’ve always worked so hard all year. Busted their butt all year to go and win this championship.”

Cape Motorsports won four of the season’s 17 races, with Johnson and teammate Matteo Nannini each earning two victories.

The championship marked the latest achievement for an organization that had already established itself as a powerhouse in the junior open-wheel ranks, winning 14 USF2000 championships while building a reputation for developing young talent.

But in the top development series leading into the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Cape Motorsports had struggled to find its footing.

The team first competed in the series in 2007 and 2008 in partnership with RLR Anderson Racing, earning one victory with JR Hildebrand in 2008 at Kansas Speedway. It returned in 2010 alongside Wayne Taylor Racing before spending more than a decade focused primarily on the USF championships and sports car competition.

Despite the success in lower categories and sports cars, brothers Dominic (photo, top, right) and Nicholas Cape (photo, top, left) always envisioned a return 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 deal lasted through 2025, and the team entered a new alliance with ECR of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES for the 2026 season.

The decision to leave an established INDY NXT and INDYCAR SERIES team in Andretti Global for ECR was a tough call but one that accelerated the team’s growth.

“For us, we’re a bit different,” Nicholas Cape said. “We made a very difficult decision. We didn’t know what is on the other end of it, obviously.

“It was a scary proposition, but we were open to it, wanted to do it. We knew we had to do it for ourselves, be us, because we are a bit naughty. Look where we are now.”

The Cape brothers already had made another important decision before the one to partner with ECR. They recruited Johnson without any commitment to an alliance with another organization due to his raw speed and talent.

Johnson had won at least one race in every professional season before joining Cape Motorsports. The Florida native earned three USF Juniors victories in 2022, one USF2000 victory and two USF Pro 2000 victories in 2023, eight USF Pro 2000 victories and two GB3 Championship victories in 2024 and a Formula Regional Oceania victory last season.

“I think people come into your life at certain points,” Nicholas Cape said. “Nikita came at the right time for us. We’ve been working hard for these four years, unbelievably tough times. Nikita came at the right time. He was ready, we were ready. He’s from a lovely family, lovely lad. Everyone got behind him. He drew everybody on the team to him.”

Johnson’s commitment to Cape Motorsports also helped elevate the relationship with ECR.

“When Nikita came, he committed to us not knowing anything, just knowing that we were going to do it ourselves,” Nicholas Cape said. “He came 100% committed just to want to be with us. That speaks volumes, right?

“When you got somebody with his talent that wants to be with you, and we’re starting a new venture, then Ed (Carpenter) and Jay Howard, as well, were involved.”

The partnership, which also includes Jay Howard Driver Development, now provides a development ladder from USF Juniors through the USF Pro Championships, INDY NXT and ultimately the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

That environment was exactly what Johnson wanted.

“Cape is a small but mighty team,” Johnson said. “We’re going against all the big teams. So far, we’re kind of surprising people with how well we’ve done as underdogs.

“I’m so thankful to be back on a smaller team again. Everybody has a really good bond and understanding of what our roles are and how to get better. The attention to detail is like no other race team I’ve been in.”

That attention to detail produced remarkable consistency.

Johnson, 18, finished in the top 10 in all 17 races and was the only driver to complete all 656 laps this season. He became the youngest champion in series history, but his age was just a number.

“I don’t think he’s young,” Nicholas Cape said with a smile. “Look at him, he’s got a beard. He drives beyond his years. He’s levelheaded. He brings the car home every time. It’s hard to call him young, you know what I mean? He’s got a lot of experience.

“His dad did a fantastic job putting him into places where he needed to learn to build up his data driving. Absolutely magnificent job. Beyond his years. When you say he’s young, it’s only an age, not his mentality.”