Nikita Johnson was quite literally born to race.

He was born May 25, 2008, the same day Scott Dixon won the Indianapolis 500. Johnson has always felt a connection to the six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion because of that coincidence. One day, he strives to join Dixon on the INDYCAR SERIES grid.

That day could be getting closer.

Johnson, an 18-year-old rookie in 2026 for Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR, is being mentioned as a candidate for some of the open 2027 NTT INDYCAR SERIES rides. He also made his intentions clear after winning the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone championship.

“I’ve heard people saying that I should just come back to INDY NXT for a second year or go do IMSA for a year and then come in, but I’m ready for INDYCAR SERIES,” Johnson said.

He even grew a beard during the final month of the season to make his point that he’s older than his years. Johnson, though, shaved the beard immediately following his championship, letting the title-winning hardware do the talking.

He won twice in 17 starts, taking the season-opening race on the streets of his hometown, St. Petersburg, and Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park. He added nine podium finishes and finished in the top 10 in every race, with an eighth at Portland as his worst result. Johnson also completed all 656 laps of the season, the only driver in the field to do so.

His consistency delivered a championship and made Johnson the youngest INDY NXT champion in series history at 18 years, 3 months and 12 days old. He broke a record previously held by A.J. Foyt IV, who was 18 years, 3 months and 20 days old when he won the 2002 title.

Johnson crossed the finish line second in the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to secure the title, but there was no wild celebration when he climbed from his car. That reaction was fitting for a driver who has built his season around controlling his emotions and minimizing mistakes.

“I’m a pretty chill person,” Johnson said. “I’m really good at keeping my emotions regular and down. All season long, no matter what happened, I knew we would get it the next race, no matter what.”

Cape Motorsports owner Nicholas Cape has seen that maturity.

“He drives beyond his years,” Cape said. “He’s level-headed. He brings the car home every time. It’s hard to call him young. He’s got a lot of experience.”

Johnson’s path to the championship started well before INDY NXT. His family enjoyed racing, but competition in motorsports was not always the plan. Growing up in St. Petersburg, Johnson took skating lessons and dreamed of playing hockey for the hometown Tampa Bay Lightning. Even his name has a hockey connection. Tampa Bay defenseman Nikita Alexeyev was his mother’s favorite player.

Eventually, Johnson traded the ice for a kart and found his sport.

“If I was playing hockey, I'd probably still kick ass, honestly,” Johnson said. “I'd be short, but I'd get it done. I'd just go straight between their legs with the puck and score. I sometimes think about it, but not really. I'm happy with the sport I chose. I think it suits me.”

Nikita Johnson

Johnson (photo, above) has won races in every one of his professional seasons. He earned three USF Juniors victories in 2022, followed by one USF2000 win and two USF Pro 2000 victories in 2023. After moving to USF Pro 2000 late that season, he won at Circuit of The Americas at age 15, becoming the youngest race winner in series history.

He finished runner-up in the USF2000 championship that year and was second in the 2024 USF Pro 2000 championship, when he won eight races. He also added two victories in the GB3 Championship that season and won a race in Formula Regional Oceania in 2025.

Johnson made three INDY NXT starts with HMD Motorsports in 2025 before taking on a full season with Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR this year. His approach has remained consistent throughout that progression -- maximize the result without sacrificing the bigger picture.

“Consistency is where it’s at,” Johnson said. “That’s what wins championships.”

Johnson learned that lesson after narrowly missing the USF Pro 2000 title in 2024, finishing second by 40 points to Lochie Hughes. Johnson won eight times compared to Hughes’ five but lost the title because of crashes and penalties.

“If the car is fifth, I’m going to go put it fifth,” Johnson said. “If the car is a first-place car, I’m going to try to go for first. I always try to get the max out of the car, but I’m not going to try to overachieve and throw off a good points day.”

That mindset became particularly valuable during the championship battle. Johnson understood when a risky pass was worth attempting and when bringing the car home mattered more.

“To try to go make a pass for seventh on the last lap when you know it’s not there, take yourself out, instead of gaining two points, you lose whatever it was, 19, 20 points or more,” he said. “I knew as long as I was finishing, I'd be getting good points. Others would either have bad luck or drive themselves into a mistake and have a crash. I knew if I could just keep it on track and get the points, we'd be pretty set.”