Rowe on Team Penske's radar for end-of-season IndyCar test

Team Penske has Indy NXT race winner Myles Rowe on its radar for a post-season IndyCar test.

Rowe’s run-away win at the most recent NXT event at World Wide Technology Raceway made both paddocks stand up and take notice, as the Georgia native charged from the back of the field to win in dominant fashion for Abel Motorsports under the Force Indy banner.

Funded by Roger Penske, Rowe and the Force Indy program have been part of a multi-year initiative to help the USF Pro 2000 champion to reach the IndyCar Series. Team president Jonathan Diuguid, who mentors Rowe along with other Team Penske leaders, says nothing official has been decided, but Rowe’s appearance in a post-season driver evaluation test would seem fitting after he concludes his third year of NXT.

“It's something definitely we’ve talked with Myles and his team about,” Diuguid told RACER. “Obviously, all the driver eval tests happen post season, so we’ve got a little bit of a time, but the performance he put on there in St. Louis was something to watch.

"He made a statement, and so it's definitely something we're talking about, and we're focused on continuing to support Miles. And whatever the next step may or may not be (after NXT), it's something we're definitely talking about, but haven't made any decisions yet.”

As Penske and Diuguid formulate the next move for Rowe and Penske’s Race For Equality & Change initiative, the New York University graduate will continue to spend as many sessions as possible on Penske’s IndyCar and IMSA timing stands to listen and learn from drivers, engineers, and strategists alike.

“Myles loves being at the racetrack, and so he's definitely not the guy that finishes his race and blows out of there,” Diuguid said. “He's been to several IMSA events, as well. He was on the timing stand at Daytona for a good portion of that race, and Sebring, and a bunch of these other ones. So he's not just hung out on the 2 car stand where I am with Josef (Newgarden).

“When he (Myles) won, and then Josef won later that evening, my first response to him was, ‘Myles, you can't have all the fun!' But I’m happy we're having fun together. It was quite a unique thing to for him to win the NXT race like he did, and then for Josef to win similarly, so it was a good day for Team Penske in general.”

Diuguid has also enjoyed seeing Team Penske’s IndyCar drivers rally around Rowe.

“He was hanging out in the truck on Sunday when they all came in, and they all definitely told him congratulations, and his honest response was, ‘Oh, were you guys watching that?’” he said. “And all three of them said, ‘We were watching the show!’ For sure, they're paying attention.”