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Rookie de Tullio Earns First INDY NXT Victory at Barber
Andretti Global driver Max Taylor finishes second after heartbreak the day before.
Mar. 30, 2026 at 2:38am
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Rookie Alessandro de Tullio earned his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory on Sunday, driving his No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing entry to victory by 0.3635 seconds over the No. 28 Susan G. Komen car of Andretti Global driver Max Taylor. It's the first victory in the INDYCAR development series for the team owned by legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt since 2003.
Why it matters
This victory marks a significant milestone for the AJ Foyt Racing team, which is making a return to the INDY NXT series this year after a 23-year absence. The win also showcases the talent of rookie driver Alessandro de Tullio, who has been knocking on the door of his first victory in the series.
The details
De Tullio led all 30 laps of the caution-free race, but Taylor pushed him for the duration on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile Barber Motorsports Park road course. The gap between the top two ranged from five- to seven-tenths of a second for most of the race, but de Tullio never let Taylor get close enough to challenge for the lead and powered to the checkered flag.
- On March 15, de Tullio earned his first career pole at Arlington but was shoved out of the lead in Turn 1 on Lap 1 and ended up 11th.
- On March 28, de Tullio and Taylor tangled and spun out while running first and second, respectively, with eight laps to go in the first race of the Barber doubleheader, allowing Nikita Johnson to win.
- On March 29, de Tullio earned his first career INDY NXT victory.
The players
Alessandro de Tullio
A rookie driver in the INDY NXT series who earned his first career victory on Sunday driving for the AJ Foyt Racing team.
Max Taylor
An Andretti Global driver who finished second on Sunday after a heartbreaking incident the day before when he made an aggressive move for the lead that resulted in both him and de Tullio spinning out.
Nikita Johnson
The series points leader who won the first race of the Barber doubleheader on Saturday when de Tullio and Taylor tangled.
A.J. Foyt
The legendary four-time Indianapolis 500 winner whose team, AJ Foyt Racing, earned its first INDY NXT victory since 2003 with de Tullio's win.
What they’re saying
“It's incredible. I want to thank first the whole 14 crew for such a great car. We knew we could have done it two races ago in Arlington. We could have had it yesterday. But sometimes that's the way racing goes.”
— Alessandro de Tullio, Driver
“It's points. It's a long year, and I didn't realize that yesterday when I made that a bit of an aggressive move. Ale did a really good job (today), didn't make any mistakes. That's all he had to do, and I was pushing him the whole way, trying to get him to mess up. It was a good race.”
— Max Taylor, Driver
What’s next
The INDY NXT series will take a short break before returning for the second of five doubleheader weekends this season, May 8-9 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
The takeaway
This victory for rookie Alessandro de Tullio and the AJ Foyt Racing team marks a significant milestone for the storied IndyCar organization, which is making a comeback in the INDY NXT development series. The win showcases the team's ability to nurture young talent and compete at the highest levels of open-wheel racing once again.
