Chris Griffis Memorial Test set to offer glimpse of 2026 Indy NXT field

The IndyCar Series' top development category will make its annual offseason appearance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Monday.

The Chris Griffis Memorial Test, named in honor of Sam Schmidt Motorsports’ late Infiniti Pro Series/Indy Lights team manager, will feature most of the confirmed 2026 Indy NXT field and some new or unconfirmed names in a few seats.

Defending back-to-back champions Andretti Global will bring its entire roster of Lochie Hughes and Sebastian Murray who return to the team, and Josh Pierson and Max Taylor who’ve joined from HMD Motorsports.

Abel Motorsports has rookie Max Garcia, the reigning USF Pro 2000 champion, and three NXT veterans in Colin Kaminsky, Jordan Missig and Myles Rowe scheduled to drive. Chip Ganassi Racing is back with two of its drivers from 2025 in Bryce Aron and Niels Koolen as the IndyCar champions continue to sort its expansion to four NXT entries for 2026.

The rest of the announced Chris Griffis NXT entry list – and more drivers could be added – comes from HMD Motorsports and the two new co-entry programs it has created.

HMD has newcomers in Australia’s Jack Beeton and Poland’s Tymek Kucharczyk to pair with Enzo Fittipaldi, the Brazilian American Formula 2 veteran who just tested for the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team. The HMD-led AJ Foyt Racing effort will debut with recent Turn 3 Motorsport teammates in Brazilian-American Nicholas Monteiro, who did one NXT race last season, and American USF Pro 2000 race winner Alessandro de Tullio.

Cusick Morgan Motorsports, which also relies on HMD to field its program, has Ecuadorian-American Juan Manuel Correa and newly announced rookie Nicholas Stati from Australia coming together for the test. Correa, who has extensive European junior open-wheel experience, shifted to NXT starting at the third race of 2025 with HMD and is tipped to remain with the team through the Cusick Morgan affiliation.