Jamie Chadwick could very well be Britain’s best hope of having a full-time presence on the IndyCar Series grid in 2025.
Consider the fates of Callum Ilott, Jack Harvey, Katherine Legge, Toby Sowery and Tom Blomqvist, all of whom have raced in the series this season but are either uncertain to be competing there next year or definitely won’t be on the 2025 grid. Over the past decade, the torch for the United Kingdom has been held by drivers such as Max Chilton, Jack Hawksworth, James Jakes, the late Justin Wilson and brother Stefan, Mike Conway, Ben Hanley, Jay Howard, Pippa Mann and Martin Plowman.
The last UK native to capture a title was Scot Dario Franchitti, who claimed the final of his four championships in 2011. Franchitti also delivered three of the nation’s eight wins in the Indianapolis 500, with the late Dan Wheldon the last to find glory with his second victory in the 2011 edition.
Chadwick’s determination, focus and preparation have laid a strong foundation for her hopes of joining the list of British racers to compete – and hopefully taste success – on the IndyCar stage. Once the season comes to an end, she will get her first taste of IndyCar machinery with Andretti Global, the same organisation she drives for in Indy NXT, on 30 September at Barber Motorsports Park. She will become the first female Indy NXT race winner since Mann in 2011 to receive an IndyCar test.
“At the moment, it’s just one test, which obviously is a big, big opportunity,” she explains. “And then [it’s about] trying to really work out after that what next year looks like and what we need to do to try and prepare as best as possible.”
With that, though, Chadwick is already thinking of converting it into something bigger for next year: a step up to IndyCar. The behind-the-scenes work towards that goal has already begun – she has bolstered her strength in the gym to prepare as much as possible for the physical nature of an IndyCar, which operates its over 750bhp with no power steering. Additionally, the sponsorship aspect has been another element to the equation that’s required attention.
“I feel like the higher I aim, the higher I hopefully fall; that’s kind of what we’re aiming for,” she says. “There are so many things that need to fall into place. We’ve got some people working around me to try and help me on it all as well. Putting these programmes together – Indy NXT, IndyCar – isn’t easy for anyone. It’s a huge amount of money that needs to be raised. It’s a huge amount of work that needs to go in. I’m preparing as much as I can to try and go to IndyCar next year.”
A three-time W Series champion, Chadwick made the transition to American open-wheel racing in 2023, joining Andretti’s Indy NXT team and scoring five top-10 finishes over 14 races during her rookie campaign. She has demonstrated a significant leap forward this year, securing a podium on the Indianapolis road course in May, then going flag-to-flag from pole en route to victory at Road America. That put her name in the record books: she is the first female to win in Indy NXT (and its predecessors) on a road or street circuit.
While “in a way” the road to an IndyCar run has felt like a two-year plan, the 26-year-old Chadwick was simply taking it one step at a time and gauging her own progress. She admits “to get the opportunity to test is something I really wished for, but you never expect. It just feels like that’s one step closer now to the main series.” And she is very aware of what she wants to see out of herself in order to feel ready to make a push to IndyCar next year.
“Whilst I think Indy NXT is a great preparer for IndyCar, there are a lot of differences,” she states. “There are a lot of new things. And I want to leave that test knowing, ‘OK, in the next few months I can really get on top of this and I think I could be in a good place’ or, ‘No, I need to re-evaluate and think what other options there might be for next year’. But I say that as if it’s easy and it’s all lined up. There’s so much demand going into IndyCar next year. There are no guarantees at all, especially with potentially only 27 seats available.”
"As a woman in the sport, you do have added pressure and especially social pressure. You come in, you’re expected to perform, and if not, then you get sort of written off quite quickly" Jamie Chadwick
In the best-case scenario, Chadwick shines at the test and builds momentum towards an IndyCar seat for 2025. But she may need to be “creative” in terms of her “environment”. Andretti Global is already set with a roster that features Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood and 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, with no signs of adding a fourth entry, in large part due to the charter system looming.
The team aspect has been crucial to her development, which is part of why she is “exploring other ways we can be creative. There’s a lot of opportunity I think I can have still within Andretti, especially to learn and be in an environment, whatever that looks like next year. They have the Indy NXT programme, they have many other programmes. The Andretti family is one that I’m very happy in. We are exploring all options, but I feel like that’s an environment that I can thrive in, for sure.”
While a return for a third season in Indy NXT isn’t out of the question, neither is finding a new home if it means landing an IndyCar seat, provided she feels growth is possible. “Environment is everything,” she stresses. “If I have an option that doesn’t look as appealing environment-wise, I really have to consider it because I know how much I demand of the team to learn from them.
“Also, as a woman in the sport, you do have added pressure and especially social pressure. You come in, you’re expected to perform, and if not, then you get sort of written off quite quickly. It doesn’t seem to go as under the radar as [with] others. I want to make the most of the opportunity I have, whatever it is. Putting myself with the best team and the best environment is the absolute priority.”
Is Foster the next man up?
Louis Foster has been an absolute livewire with Andretti Global in Indy NXT during the past two seasons. He’s scored seven wins, seven poles and a total of 14 podiums from 24 starts on the final rung of the ladder to IndyCar.
Inconsistency meant that the 2022 Indy Pro 2000 champion placed fourth in last year’s standings, behind Christian Rasmussen, Hunter McElrea and Nolan Siegel – all of whom have gone on to make IndyCar Series starts during 2024.
Foster’s worst finish of this season, however, has been seventh at the Indianapolis road course, when he went a lap down after being forced to pit for a new nose. And the 21-year-old from Hampshire bounced back to win the next day. Going into the final four races, the two-time Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Award finalist leads closest rival Jacob Abel by 77 points, having claimed his first oval victory at Iowa Speedway last time out.
“Obviously for my situation, for me to move up to IndyCar next year, it will be very, very beneficial to win the championship,” he considers. “I’m still going to do the same thing I’ve always done. We’re still going to try to put it on pole every weekend and win every race; the mentality is going to stay the same. But when we get to Nashville [the final race], maybe the last two rounds, seeing where things are, different decisions will be made.”
At stake for Foster, son of former British Touring Car racer Nick, is a champion’s prize fund north of a million dollars, provided he spends it on IndyCar racing: “Obviously it’s a big sum of money. It would be lovely to have, but we’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing.” He’s also got the advantage of already having an IndyCar test under his belt, after getting a day’s running with Andretti at Road America in September last year.
“I honestly felt very comfortable with the jump,” he reckons. “It felt very natural to drive, and I felt very comfortable from the get-go. We’ve been in contact with quite a few teams about next year. Again, I need to win the championship. I need that money, so… I’m not going to know anything until September, October. Our full focus is on winning this championship. If I can do that, hopefully that will be enough.”
Can Sowery grab his big chance?
Toby Sowery has taken a circuitous route to IndyCar, but his response to getting the opportunity this year has been to “jump in the car and just get on with it!”
After taking 10 wins from 14 races in the 2014 MSV F3 Cup in the UK, Sowery bounced around all kinds of series across the world before settling in Indy Lights (now NXT) in 2019. He finished third in the points – and scored his sole win in the series at Portland – behind Oliver Askew and Rinus VeeKay, who both went on to race IndyCars. Since then, without the funds to run full-time, he’s added four podiums in the series.
Sowery has been jobbing hard in sportscars too, winning the final round of this season’s Asian Le Mans Series with Algarve Pro Racing, and finishing second in the LMP2 class of the Daytona 24 Hours with CrowdStrike by APR.
"You’ve got big dogs that have been here for a long time, they’re almost celebrity-like. For me, it was about proving that I’m not an idiot in a car; I’m good enough to be with these guys" Toby Sowery
In July, he made his IndyCar Series debut with Dale Coyne Racing at Mid-Ohio, bouncing back from a technical issue in qualifying to surge from 24th to 13th. “Obviously, a good result is the best way to get another drive,” he says. “There was a lot of pressure – if I spun, if I crashed, that’s my one chance gone.”
Sowery’s reward was a return in Toronto, starting 21st and finishing 15th. He was caught up in the multi-car wreck near the end of the race, but repairs under the red flag allowed him to restart at the back for another stout finish. “It’s no easy task jumping in,” he adds. “Honestly, the biggest thing is proving to myself that I fit in this paddock, within this talented pool of drivers. You’ve got big dogs that have been here for a long time, they’re almost celebrity-like. For me, it was about proving that I’m not an idiot in a car; I’m good enough to be with these guys.”
Sowery, 28, is back in the car for the final road-course race at Portland and hopes for another strong result to prove his worth to sponsors: “It’s about being marketable and being fast because they’re the two things that racing is about. Look at Linus [Lundqvist] – he did two great races [with Meyer Shank Racing], and now he’s at Ganassi.”
