IndyAutomobile and Indy NXT at the moment are within the highlight as each series reach latest heights in 2025

Since FOX Sports and IndyAutomobile announced a brand new media rights deal in June, excitement for America's hottest open-wheel series has intensified, with previous guarantees already being fulfilled in the shape of promotions during NFL broadcasts. Awareness reached latest heights through the “FOX NFL Sunday” pregame show, where it was announced that Michael Strahan will likely be the honorary pace automobile driver for the 109th Indianapolis 500 in 2025, which got here amid a presentation featuring the Borg-Warner Trophy and fresh colours Will Power's No. 12 Penske Chevrolet team.

The highlight is on the IndyAutomobile Series, with all 17 races televised on FOX in 2025. Indy NXT, the event category of North America's premier open-wheel championship, will likely profit similarly as it’s also set to air 12 of the 14 races on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and the remaining two on FOX Sports 2 (FS2). . Indy NXT practice and qualifying sessions may even air on a mixture of FS1 and FS2, and all IndyAutomobile programming may even be streamed continue to exist the FOX Sports app.

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“The story about the importance of FS1 and FS2 has been largely overlooked for good reason, and that's mainly around FOX and the incredible network coverage and promotion of IndyCar itself,” Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment, which owns the IndyAutomobile Series and Indy NXT, Motorsport.com said. “So it's absolutely right that people have started thinking about the additional value that FOX Sports brings to us with FS1 and FS2.”

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The 2024 season saw Indy NXT average essentially the most starters (19.5) since 2009, and that number could reach a record 24 full-time starters next season.

“Indy NXT continues to grow in terms of quality of racing,” Miles said. “The racing is absolutely good and attractive for young drivers who’re at this stage of their development. And because it's now run by IndyAutomobile, it's higher preparation for somebody to get into IndyAutomobile than was the case before by way of the paddock experience, race control, and a whole lot of things which are more IndyAutomobile-like than other stages in a series of ladders. It was all solid, positive and helpful.

“Now this relationship provides a great foundation for the continued success of Indy NXT. However, I'm not one to measure the success of Indy NXT by the number of cars on track. We understand that this number is constantly growing and we will see exactly where we are in 2025. But for me, if we had 20 or 22 great cars instead of 24 or 25, I think in some respects it could benefit most of the participants if it was designed in a way that enhances their experience.”

Indy NXT has long been a proving ground for future stars. And now, due to a cope with FOX Sports, the series can change into a platform for potential partners to get the appropriate return on their investment while also learning about open-wheel racing.

“It's just better proximity to IndyCar for the Indy NXT ecosystem,” Miles said. “And then more and more because a lot of the money comes from friends and family, but some of it comes from Indy NXT team sponsors, so TV exposure has to be huge.”

The synergies which have been created since Penske Entertainment officially acquired the IndyAutomobile Series, Indy NXT and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in January 2020 proceed to grow.

For an extended time, only Andretti Global and Juncos Hollinger Racing were recognized IndyAutomobile teams competing in Indy NXT. Andretti and JHR continued their presence under Penske, and IndyAutomobile also welcomed Indy NXT regulars Abel Motorsports for the 2023 Indianapolis 500 and HMD Motorsports in partnership with Dale Coyne Racing in 2022-2023. In the upcoming season, Chip Ganassi Racing, the organization that has won 4 of the last five IndyAutomobile titles, will return to the event rankings for the primary time in nearly 20 years with two entries of its own.

“I think we're on the cusp of very significant growth for IndyCar and Indy NXT,” Miles said. “We will measure development across different series and against different metrics, but ultimately we would like really strong teams at each levels that may thrive and race 12 months after 12 months. It's happening.

“And exposure is a big part of that in this country. The quality of the Indy NXT attendee experience is really important. Look, Indy NXT will be, along with IndyCar, the next big thing in motorsports. I'm really looking forward to next year.”