INDIANAPOLIS — Hunter McElrea held off teammate James Rowe Jr. to win his first Indy NXT race of the season.
The Indy NXT series, formerly known as Indy Lights, moved one of it's two scheduled races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to the Brickyard weekend to help bolster the weekend's racing card.
In a thrilling race that featured hard battles between McElrea and several other drivers, McElrea managed to defend against his own teammate to score his first victory since last year at Iowa.
McElrea's win marked a 1-2 finish for Andretti Autosport. It could have been a 1-2-3 finish had McElrea and Louis Foster didn't make contact in the chicane.
"That was the hardest race of my life," said McElrea to NBC Sports after the race. "I think it was a bit self-inflicted, but [the car] was a handful."
Jamie Chadwick, the fourth driver for Andretti Autosport, scored her third top-10 finish of the season, one spot behind Kiko Porto who was making his Indy NXT debut.
Christian Rasmussen now holds a 33-point lead over McElrea in the championship fight. McElrea moved from third to second in points following the win.
