'She's been amazing' - Andretti on Chadwick's Indy NXT success

Jamie Chadwick’s breakthrough Indy NXT pole and victory had her team owner Michael Andretti smiling wide. Charging down to pit lane after the Briton drove into victory lane for the first time in the No. 28 Andretti Global Dallara IL15-AER, Andretti was the first to greet her and share congratulations for his newest race winner.

Chadwick, the three-time W Series champion, withstood multiple passing attempts and had to lead multiple restarts—all opportunities for other drivers to pounce—but she halted their advances and aced each return to green-flag racing. Chadwick also led every lap in a clear demonstration of her capabilities in IndyCar’s top feeder series.

“She’s been amazing,” Andretti told RACER. “She did a mega job over the winter getting stronger to drive these cars. She's been really competitive all year. The laps she did in qualifying impressed me, but what really was impressive was how she placed the car the whole race and she was schooling some of the boys. Her restarts were great. It was a complete drive.”

Chadwick was chased home by teammate Louis Foster who won last weekend’s NXT race in Detroit and holds second in the championship.

Her win also helped move her forward—after an early season that’s had some adversity—to ninth in the standings as the Andretti drivers battle against the other powerhouse teams in NXT.

“It’s a great program,” Andretti added. “That’s why we support it. That’s why we brought Jamie in, and Louis Foster is doing an awesome job. It was a great day for the points for Louis. We love being in this series.”