When Jamie Chadwick continues her sophomore Indy NXT campaign this weekend at Laguna Seca she will enter the paddock for the first time in her Stateside career as a proven race winner. Victory at Road America, converting pole position, made her the first female winner in IndyCar's support series formerly known as Indy Lights since fellow Briton Pippa Mann at Kentucky in 2010. Never before had a female driver won on a road course.
Although this is just a tag and no driver improves abundantly overnight, getting the proverbial monkey off the back can be an incredibly freeing experience for a driver. In Chadwick’s case, this trend has been evident on her way to titles in British GT, the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 and, most notably, W Series.
In the all-female series launched in 2019, an opening day win at Hockenheim became a three-season domination, the Williams junior taking all three drivers’ crowns across the series’ short-lived history before its collapse at the end of 2022 prompted Chadwick's move to the US for 2023.
And it was the W Series that most prepared the 26-year-old to control proceedings at the picturesque Elkhart Lake track. Muscle memory kicked in once a lead had been established over the chasing pack, headed by her Andretti Global team-mate Louis Foster.
“It felt a lot more familiar to me,” Chadwick tells Autosport. “I felt a lot more comfortable at the front than I have done anywhere else all year.
“The nature of the racing in Indy NXT is pretty aggressive and especially when you’re in the thick of the fight in the mid-pack, it’s really tough. Out front, I felt a lot more comfortable.
“I’d never done a rolling start from pole before, I’d never done the restarts that they have leading from the front in America, so there were definitely a few new things to think about. But, once I got my head down, I just had to hit my marks and do my job.”
The win, just Chadwick’s second top 10 finish of the season following a third place at the Indianapolis road course in May, moved her to ninth in the drivers’ standings with eight races to go. Stating “I’d love to be able to go to IndyCar next year”, Chadwick makes no effort to hide her desire for progression but is equally quick to concede that it will take more than a single victory to secure a promotion.
“Just a bit more consistency,” she replies when asked about her next target. “We haven’t had everything go our way, but [we need to] dial in some consistency and build a bit more of a championship campaign [to] push us up the order in that sense. That has to be the focus for us right now.”
Unlike European championships in which Chadwick had predominantly raced before her move to the USA last season, which yielded a best finish of sixth at Portland, Indy NXT mimics IndyCar by staging events on both road courses and ovals. The 2024 season will culminate in four ovals from the last five rounds, taking in visits to Iowa, St Louis, Milwaukee and Nashville, and it's an area Chadwick is aware there is room for improvement.
"It was only a year ago that [Michael Andretti] was leaning into the cockpit, trying to help me with my cockpit position because I was struggling with the wheel, and now we’re winning"
Jamie Chadwick
“It seems to be the case [that I’m better on road courses],” she reflects. “Ovals I have less experience of, but I’m excited for that this year. Coming back for the second year, I think I know what I have coming a bit more. The rest of the year, we want to keep going for some big results.”
Should Chadwick achieve the improvement desired, then one other ace card may prove helpful – a strong relationship with team owner Michael Andretti, who currently fields full-season IndyCar entries for Colton Herta, Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson.
Giving praise to the 1991 IndyCar champion and five-time series runner-up, Chadwick said: “Michael is awesome. He sits on the pitwall with me just before I get in the car giving advice and words of wisdom. He’s a super-talented driver but a great team boss as well in that sense. I’m very lucky to have that support.
“It’s funny because, he didn’t say it directly to me, but he was saying to the mechanics that it was only a year ago that he was leaning into the cockpit, trying to help me with my cockpit position because I was struggling with the wheel, and now we’re winning races.”
Chadwick’s rise through the ranks has coincided with a push to promote female driving talent and show the next generation that motorsport isn't only for boys. Although Giovanna Amati's fruitless efforts for Brabham in 1992 remain the most recent attempt by a woman to qualify for a grand prix, numerous schemes including F1 Academy and sportscar racing outfit Iron Dames have successfully highlighted that there are plenty of talented women out there.
As pressing as continuing to progress her career is for Chadwick, it's evident that ensuring this equality push continues is just as important. To this end, Chadwick partnered with karting company Daytona Motorsport earlier this year to create a scheme that celebrated International Women's Day by offering free karting to young girls.
Asked how her success would aid this initiative, she said: “A bit more visibility at the high level is great. But the initiative for me is just about getting as many young girls involved in the sport as possible and to give it a go. Regardless of how high they aim, just give the sport a go and see what you can do. That’s the first starting point and my main target with it.”
