Alessandro de Tullio claims redemption with first INDY NXT win in Grand Prix of Alabama
- Jeffrey Hrunka
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor
Redemption. After getting spun from the lead by Max Taylor in the first race of INDY NXT’s doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park, Alessandro de Tullio gets his redemption, leading 30 laps for his first INDY NXT victory on Sunday. Max Taylor and Nikita Johnson rounded out the podium.
“It's a great feeling to finally get it done here. We had some racing stuff happen in Arlington, starting on pole. Same thing [happened] yesterday. It's part of racing, it happens,” De Tullio said. “We kept our heads cool. Kept working hard. We never gave up. Hopefully, we keep going like this.”
The victory marked the first for A.J. Foyt Racing in their first-year back in the series INDY NXT SERIES, since earning their last win in 2002. For Alessandro de Tullio, driver of the No.14, it ends a series of heartbreaks after failing to convert his last two poles to wins because of contact at Arlington and by Max Taylor, driver of the Andretti Global No.28, in Saturday’s, March 28, edition of the Alabama Grand Prix
"Yesterday was tough. As I said before, it's part of racing. It's going to happen. I hope it doesn't happen, but eventually it will happen again,” De Tullio said. “Keeping your head down and staying calm, especially when you have another race the next day, is super important. That's what the team helped me with a lot.”
De Tullio dominated the race off the jump, taking advantage of a slow restart by Taylor in which he traded second-place with Nikita Johnson, driver of the Cape Motorsports No.21, throughout the first lap. Taylor remained within one second of his de Tullio for the entire race, but never was able to make the pass.
The duo's pace later dropped, allowing the rest of the top-5 to catch.
“I think we definitely had a race-winning car out there,” Taylor said. “Andretti put together a really good package for this weekend. We came up just shy of the win. Didn't get the pole in qualifying just 'cause I think I was in the first group, which is a bit unfortunate.”
Johnson made his presence known late, as he made a lunge at Taylor with five laps to go into turn 5. However, increased pressure from Enzo Fittipaldi, driver of the HMD Motorsports No.67, behind forced Johnson to focus on defense and he had to settle for third. Fittipaldi crossed the line fourth.
“I really shifted my focus from pressuring Max to worrying about Enzo behind me. The last lap, two laps, I was defending him, trying to keep third. It was a little bit of defense and going on the offense,” Johnson said. “It was a little bit of defense and going on the offense.”
Rookie Tymek Kucharczyk continued his hot streak with a fifth-place finish, cementing himself as the only driver to have a top-5 finish in every event this season.
Although the race went caution-free, it didn't go without incident. On the opening lap of the race, Myles Rowe, driver of Abel Motorsports No. 99, hit the turn 12 curb, sending him into teammate rookie Max Garcia in turn 13. Neither driver completed the race, retiring 23rd and 24th, respectively.
INDY NXT SERIES Firestone Grand Prix of Alabama Results (Race 2):
Alessandro de Tullio #14 - (WINNER)
Max Taylor #28 -0.364s
Nikita Johnson #21 (R) -1.477s
Enzo Fittipaldi #67 (R) -2.096s
Tymek Kucharczyk #71 (R) -2.62s
Jordan Missig #48 -3.155s
Bryce Aron #9 -4.124s
JM Correa #68 -4.737s
Jack Beeton #45 -16.801s
Seb Murray #27 -17.29s
Salvador de Alba #17 -22.476s
James Roe #8 -23.826s
Matteo Nannini #20 -25.988s
Josh Pierson #29 -29.726s
Matteo Nannini #15 -30.245s
Lochie Hughes #26 -30.376s
Ricardo Escotto #76 -31.567s
Salvador de Alba #57 -31.927s
Max Taylor #4 -33.475s
Alessandro de Tullio #10 -33.945s
Carson Etter #11 -47.699s
Seb Murray #75 -48.499s
Myles Rowe #99 -9 laps down (DNF)
Max Garcia #12 (R) -17 laps down (DNF)
The INDY NXT SERIES will take a month hiatus, as it returns to action for another doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 8-9 on FS1.
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