Abbi Pulling arrived Sept. 21 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a championship already on her résumé and a potential new chapter of her racing career in front of her.

The 23-year-old English driver (photo, top), who won the 2024 F1 Academy championship, took part in a one-day evaluation test in the No. 29 Andretti Global INDY NXT by Firestone entry. The test offered Pulling her first opportunity to experience INDY NXT machinery and an early look at what racing in America could hold.

“Really fun,” Pulling said. “It’s definitely different than what I’m used to. I didn’t quite get the max out of it, but I think the process of learning the team was great. It helped me along really well throughout the day. Really enjoyable day. It’s fun to be out here in the States.”

Pulling’s racing career began in karting at age 9. She went on to win karting championships in 2017 and 2018 before making her way through the European junior formula ranks.

In 2022, she joined the Alpine F1 Team’s academy program. Before that year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Pulling and Aseel Al-Hamad became the first women to drive a Formula One car in Saudi Arabia.

Pulling became a full-time member of the Alpine Academy in 2023 and competed in the inaugural F1 Academy season with Rodin Carlin, finishing fifth in the championship standings for the all-female series that competes in Formula 4 machinery. A year later, she captured the F1 Academy title.

She has spent the past two seasons competing in Formula 3 cars in the GB3 championship and enters the final two weekends of the 2026 season eighth in the championship. Her lone victory this season came at Spa, where she won the fourth race of the year.

Now, Pulling’s attention is turning toward the United States.

The last full-season female driver in the series was Jamie Chadwick, who in June 2024 at Road America, became the first woman to win an INDY NXT race since Pippa Mann in 2010. Chadwick competed in the 2023 and 2024 seasons with Andretti Global.

Abbi Pulling

Rather than spending another season focused solely on racing in Europe, Pulling (photo, above) is exploring the possibility of making the move across the Atlantic and pursuing a seat in INDY NXT. The evaluation at IMS represented an important first step.

The New Driver Evaluation is designed specifically for drivers who have never competed in an INDY NXT car but have completed a full season in one of the world’s approved feeder championships. The test gives accomplished young drivers their first experience with INDY NXT machinery while allowing teams to evaluate potential candidates for future full-season rides.

This year’s evaluation took place on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

The test has become an important part of the INDY NXT offseason calendar, bringing drivers from premier development series around the world into the series’ environment. Last year’s evaluation at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois, featured four FIA Formula 2 veterans, along with champions and race winners from several top junior formula championships. Six of the 12 drivers who participated ultimately secured full-season seats for the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone season.

The evaluation also provides teams with an early opportunity to identify potential talent before the official offseason testing program begins.

Pulling acknowledged she wouldn’t have made the trip to Indianapolis if she wasn’t seriously considering America as a potential next step. Still, she said there is plenty she needs to learn before determining where her career goes from here.

“The program they have out here is really exciting,” she said. “A great place to learn. You learn quite a lot out here. The car is very different. That makes it all a bit more aggressive on the early laps, which makes it as a driver not to be so restrictive. It’s just a different perspective.”