Myles Rowe makes history, going from last to first for INDY NXT win at St. Louis
- Jeffrey Hrunka
- Jun 7
- 3 min read
Jeffrey Hrunka - INDYCAR Contributor
Myles Rowe rewrote history at World Wide Technology Raceway, going from last to first to win his third career INDY NXT victory. He became the first driver to win an INDY NXT race after starting in the rear. Alessandro de Tullio and Josh Pierson rounded out the podium places in second and third, respectively.
“I knew just the pace of the car, I knew with the right technique and just execution and patience that it could happen,” Rowe said. “I knew there was enough laps to do that.”
Even though Rowe started at the back, he led 29 laps and took the fastest lap, a 28.328s, on the final lap. His dominance at ovals isn’t unprecedented, as all three of his career wins have been on speedways, with Rowe posting a 2.2 average finish on ovals over the last two years.
“I knew just the pace of the car, I knew with the right technique and just execution and patience that it could happen,” Rowe said. “I knew there was enough laps to do that.”
Rowe was sent to the back of the field for running an additional timed lap in qualifying on Saturday. Without the penalty, he would have claimed pole position by over a mile per hour compared to eventual pole-sitter Lochie Hughes, driver of the Andretti Global No. 26. Hughes finished sixth after being passed early in the race by Josh Pierson, driver of the Andretti Global No. 29.
"It was hard for me to accept honestly yesterday. It's funny to smile about it today,” Rowe said. “I was even sketching some things this morning thinking of alternate ways to approach it, especially in one and two. It's really hard to make it work in one and two sometimes… found that it worked extremely well.”
While Rowe drove from last to first in the record books, he was aided by other teams having issues before the race. Points leader Enzo Fittipaldi, driver of the HMD Motorsports No. 67, and Matteo Nannini, driver of the Cape Motorsports No. 20, started the race from the pit lane to finish 13th and 20th, respectively.
Pierson showed the most speed out of any driver who started inside the top 10. He took the lead after an aggressive battle with teammate Hughes, who saw him pass him around the outside of turn 2 on lap 27. However, by that point, Rowe was up to ninth, chasing down the leader.
Rowe eventually caught Pierson, and the two took part in a multi-lap side-by-side battle before Rowe finally passed him on lap 46. Once Rowe took the lead, he didn’t look back, leading 29 laps through two late restarts for his first victory of the season.
Pierson continued to battle aggressively, holding onto second place before rookie Alessandro De Tuillo, driver of the A.J. Foyt Racing No.14, eventually passed him with two to go.
"This series is super competitive. Everybody is so close,” Pierson said. ‘When you run at these speeds side by side, it definitely takes a lot of trust, not only in yourself, but the people around you.”
While Rowe prefaced his focus to this year’s INDY NXT championship, he hopes this performance puts him on the map as the next NTT INDYCAR SERIES talent.
“No doubt it's a good feeling to make that achievement, most passes or just coming from the back in general,” Rowe said. “I think it's clear that I have the skill to run in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.”
INDY NXT By Firestone at World Wide Technology Raceway Results:
Myles Rowe #99 - (WINNER)
Alessandro De Tullio #14 (R) -2.208s
Josh Pierson #29 -2.598s
Niels Koolen #10 -2.906s
Max Taylor #28 -3.201s
Lochie Hughes #26 -3.642s
Nikita Johnson #21 (R) -3.985s
Max Garcia #12 (R) -5.039s
Tymek Kucharcyzk #71 (R) -5.322s
Jordan Missig #48 -5.952s
Jack Beeton #45 (R) -7.08s
Seb Murray #27 -7.429s
Enzo Fittipaldi #67 (R) -7.984s
JM Correa #68 -8.785s
Nicholas Monteiro #4 (R) -8.991s
Carson Etter #11 (R) -9.416s
Colin Kaminsky #57 -10.242s
James Roe #8 -1 lap down
Ricardo Escotto #76 -6 laps down
Matteo Nannini #20 -13 laps down
Yuven Sundaramoorthy #15 -14 laps down
Salvador de Alba #17 -21 laps down
Bryce Aron #9 -69 laps down
Alexander Koreiba #75 (R) -70 laps down
INDY NXT returns to action at Road America for the series’ third doubleheader weekend of the season on June 20 and 21. Fans can tune into the action on FS1 or the FOX One app.
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