Jamie Chadwick makes female racing history after first Indy NXT victory

The British driver claimed her first win in the feeder series to IndyCar and was ‘emotional’ afterwards

Kieran Jackson
Monday 10 June 2024 12:14 BST
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Jamie Chadwick has claimed her first victory in Indy NXT
Jamie Chadwick has claimed her first victory in Indy NXT (Getty Images)

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Jamie Chadwick has made history after claiming her first win in Indy NXT on Sunday – becoming the first woman to win to taste victory on a road course in the US series.

The 26-year-old British driver, who won the last three seasons of W Series before crossing the Atlantic to compete in the feeder series for IndyCar last year, started on pole at Road America in Wisconsin.

Chadwick was in control before a late red flag forced a two-lap shootout before the chequered flag, but the Brit fended off compatriot Louis Foster in second to claim her first win for Andretti Global.

"Oh man, I have no words," said Chadwick. "Honestly, [I’m] a bit emotional I think.

“We’ve had an unbelievable car this year and just haven’t been able to really do anything about it so I’m just so happy we held on there.

"With the red flag at the end, I was like ‘oh, come on’, we started to lose the tyres a little bit. Louis had a look and I just knew I had to be aggressive.

“I know they have a championship to worry about and I just had to get my head down. I really wanted to win today."

Chadwick, who grew up on the Isle of Man, already made history last month when she became the first woman to stand on the podium in Indy NXT with a third-place finish in Indianapolis.

Alongside her duties in the United States, Chadwick is also a member of Williams’ F1 driver academy and is mentoring the team’s F1 Academy driver Lia Block this season.

Chadwick is now ninth in the Indy NXT drivers’ standings, 115 points behind American driver Jacob Abel in first, with eight races left this season.

She is next in action at a double-header on 22-23 June in Monterey, California.

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