Andretti Global's Louis Foster made a late pass to win a wild Indy NXT race at Iowa Speedway.
The 20-year-old Briton began second and trailed team-mate James Roe until he made the winning move on the surface with five laps remaining after a late caution forced him to slow to the finish line on the 0.894-mile oval.
“We talked before the race about saving the tyres throughout the race,” said Foster. “I didn’t challenge James at first, I just let him get ahead to save lots of my tyres.
“And then towards the end I had enough laps left that I knew if I ruined the tires it wouldn't be a big deal, I just passed him on the outside and he got up. He gave me some really good space to race and the car was really good.”
Foster and Roe were joined on the rostrum by his Andretti Cape teammate Salvador de Alba Jr., who moved up from tenth on the grid to 3rd.
Rookie Callum Hedge finished fourth within the No. 17 HMD Motorsports automotive, followed by team-mates Christian Brooks and Christian Bogle.
Despite ranging from third and searching like he can be fighting for a podium finish towards the top, Jamie Chadwick ultimately finished seventh, ahead of his Andretti team-mate Bryce Aron, who finished eighth.
Jonathan Browne and Yuven Sundaramoorthy finished ninth and tenth respectively.
Foster currently holds a 77-point lead in the general standings over rival Jacob Abel, who suffered a flat tire in the course of the race and finished fifteenth.
Race
Tyre issues after Friday practice reduced the race distance from 75 to 55 laps, and a stoppage was called after 15 laps. The drivers accomplished about 10 laps under the US flag before restarting.
The initial start was under a yellow flag because the No. 99 HMD Motorsports Force Indy of Myles Rowe, who qualified thirteenth, was hit from behind and spun around, ending up behind the 18-car field because the green flag officially flew on lap 2.
Roe got off to a powerful start when the green flag finally waved with Foster in second.
Andretti Global, with Cape driver Salvador de Alba Jr., got off to a flying start right after the race, moving from tenth to fifth in the primary 10 laps.
Rowe was also making an early move from the back of the pack after his early problem and climbed as much as tenth. However, Rowe's charge ended abruptly when he found himself battling with team rookie Caio Collet for ninth.
Entering Turn 1 on lap 14, Collett's rear end spun while running in the center lane, leaving Rowe, who was a lane higher and a automotive length behind, with no method to go. The two collided and spun into the wall.
The wreckage left behind by the accident required the AMR safety team to do some extensive clean-up work, prompting a caution period for several laps.
The race resumed on lap 40 with Roe well ahead of Foster, with De Alba pushing Chadwick for fourth as they ran side by side, but at this stage championship contender Abel, who was running eighth, had contact which resulted in a puncture and he needed to pit, dropping to sixteenth and losing several laps.
Chadwick pressured Bogle for third with 11 laps to go, attempting to make an inside move while de Alba toyed with an inside move three wide, but Bogle managed to carry on.
Rookie Christian Brooks then joined the competition and moved as much as fourth with eight laps to go, ahead of de Alba and Chadwick on the surface.
Foster’s ability to trace Roe paid off – with five laps to go he moved to the surface of the track and took the lead. Despite Roe’s attempts to react, Foster quickly pulled away and had a lead of over 2 seconds with two laps to go.
De Alba was capable of make an aggressive move on Bogle to achieve third, giving Hedge and others the advantage. But the caution was brought out moments later when Jack William Miller hit the wall at Turn 3, with replays showing serious blistering on his right rear tyre.
Foster easily claimed his fifth victory of the season and strengthened his position as the general championship leader.
| 1 |
L. Foster Global |
26 | 55 | |||
| 2 |
J. Roe Global |
29 | 55 | 0.487 | ||
| 3 |
S. De Cape Andretti INDY NXT |
2 | 55 | 1,434 | ||
| 4 |
C. Hedge HMD Motorsports |
17 | 55 | 1.226 | ||
| 5 |
C. Brooks HMD Motorsports |
39 | 55 | 4.439 | ||
| 6 |  C. Bogle HMD Motorsports |
7 | 55 | 1,603 | ||
| 7 |  J. Chadwick Global |
28 | 55 | 3,539 | ||
| 8 |
B. To Global |
27 | 55 | 0.843 | ||
| 9 |
J.Browne HMD Motorsports |
23 | 55 | 1.193 | ||
| 10 |
Y. Sundaramoort Abel Motorsports |
22 | 55 | 0.389 | ||
| 11 | J. Pierson HMD Motorsports |
14 | 55 | 0.688 | ||
| 12 |
R. Gold HMD Motorsports |
10 | 55 | 1,398 | ||
| 13 |
N. Koolen HMD Motorsports |
33 | 55 | 0.603 | ||
| 14 |
J. William Miller Vinatieri Motorsports |
40 | 52 | |||
| 15 |
J.Abel Abel Motorsports |
51 | 52 | |||
| 16 |
T. Ferns Abel Motorsports |
55 | 48 | |||
| 17 |
M. Rowe HMD Motorsports |
99 | 12 | |||
| 18 |  C. Collar HMD Motorsports |
18 | 12 |
