‘I strongly believe women are capable of getting to the highest level’ remarked Chadwick after her dominant maiden INDY NXT by Firestone victory at Road America. Having become the first female winner in the category since 2010, Chadwick has plenty more to prove in the championship that presented her with a big break.
Not since Pippa Mann in Kentucky fourteen years ago has a female driver taken the chequered flag first in Indycar’s feeder series. Chadwick was the first driver to do so in non-oval racing competition, for predecessors Ana Beatriz and Mann both won on speedways.
Chadwick has seen an upturn in her performance since the start of the year, determined to make progress after a tough year in 2023. Having arrived as a 3-time W Series champion, it took a while for her to settle into the INDY NXT by Firestone championship, but in 2024 she has found her groove.
Despite being taken out in St. Petersburg at the opening round of the season, and subsequently suffering a puncture in Detroit whilst running in the top five, her season has shown significant improvement in 2024 and offers insight into how to be patient with a driver.
After a maiden podium at Indianapolis in May, Chadwick herself admitted that she ‘was underprepared last year’. She worked tirelessly in the off season ahead of the 2024 campaign to combat the physicality of hauling a 1,400lb Dallara IL-15 around some of the most challenging circuits in North America.
The unified joy for Jamie Chadwick as she crossed the line at Road America was a terrific sight. The majority of her competitors pulled alongside her on the cool down lap to offer congratulations, and many notable figures in Indycar and beyond paid tribute to one of motorsport’s modern day pioneers.
Indy 500 champion Josef Newgarden offered congratulations online, as did Pato O’Ward among others. Will Buxton and Jennie Gow, two of the most prominent motorsport journalistic voices also made sure to commend Chadwick’s performance.
Pippa Mann chimed in at the press conference, passing on applause to the successor of her trail blaze. ‘What a fantastic race. I hope you can hear it in my voice if you can’t see my face. I am so thrilled for you. This is mega. It’s so fantastic to see.’
And yet for Jamie, the historic magnitude of her victory is not something for which she wants to be remembered. ‘I find the stat scary [that no female driver has won at this level since 2010] because there is no reason why women can’t be competing at the highest level of motorsports.’
‘I think we should have more and more young girls starting in the Indy feeder series, getting through INDY NXT.’
Andretti have shown great patience – now that persistence is paying off
After three dominant years in the W Series that saw Chadwick crowned champion in every single season, she was ready for a new challenge. She won 52% of the races in W Series, including the first five in a row in 2022.
Yet opportunities in Europe dried up for the three-time champion. W Series provided just $500,000 to its victor, about half the money required to run a full-time Formula 3 season, and barely a fraction of Formula 2’s pricey entry fee.
On December 1st, 2022, a new opportunity had been signed and sealed – a move across the pond to the USA, driving for the legendary Michael Andretti’s Andretti Autosport. The move certainly raised eyebrows, for this would be Chadwick’s first opportunity to make waves in an open-wheel series’ premier feeder championship.
The INDY NXT by Firestone championship has produced a plethora of talent that have gone on to do amazing things in Indycar and beyond – Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O’Ward have followed the likes of Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan into America’s pinnacle of open wheel racing.
For Andretti, the move to hire Chadwick was not simply a publicity stunt – he had seen enough from her to convince him that she would be a success at this level.
‘In the end, I’m still looking for the best talent to drive our cars. Jamie is showing that. I think she can be a winner in the series, and if you’re going to be a winner in the INDY NXT series, you’re going to be able to go and win in the big cars.’
‘Our goal with Jamie here is to do that. The commercial side then follows it, but we’ve still got to get the performance side out of it. It has to be a legitimate effort.’
Signed on a two year deal (confirmed by Chadwick herself to the BBC’s Top Gear), she was essentially given twelve months to get to grips with the quirks of open wheel racing in North America. She had to drive completely new tracks, understand how to perform a rolling start instead of a standing one, how to manage Firestone rubber, and even make sense of imperial measurements with regard to car set ups and engineering decisions.
This transition took time, and although those on the outside were critical of her supposed shortcomings in 2023, Charlie Kimball made his thoughts clear on commentary around the mid-point of the season. He said that by consistently being in the top 15 throughout the early part of the season she was doing a decent job, and she would eventually make progress. This was evident throughout the second half of the 2023 season.
She finished in the top 10 for the first time at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July, before then repeating the feat on the tricky bullring at Iowa Speedway three weeks later. The results would further improve as the season came to an end, peaking in Portland where she finished 6th.
In the foothills of Mount Hood, Chadwick’s result at the Portland International Raceway would soon be dwarfed by the magnitude of what she would achieve by the shores of Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin.
The result was by no means a fluke. Her performances in 2024 had improved, and although the inconsistent results on paper have marred her championship aspirations, Jamie Chadwick arrived this season with a point to prove.
She ran in the top 10 in St. Petersburg and Detroit before losing those results through no fault of her own, and although a late race mistake at Barber Motorsports park saw valuable points slip away, something had clicked under the visor of the 28 car.
After 12 months of learning under the wing of Andretti Autosport, it was time to repay the faith they had shown in her. In a results business, loyalty is at a premium, and Chadwick responded in the third race of the season with a podium at Indianapolis.
And yet Chadwick wanted more: ‘I’ve approached this year differently,’ she said after the race at IMS. ‘I’ve approached this year just wanting to get results, and not seeing results I’ve not looked so much for consistency over the championship, and I managed to not finish the first two races.’
‘I think there’s still improvement to make. I want to be ultimately where Jacob [Abel] is at some point [in victory lane], and there’s still a step to that, but at the same time I’m very happy with the progress and just the validation that you say, that it’s all starting to pay off.’
A season’s best qualifying of 4th in Detroit was marred by a puncture at a restart, resigning her to 12th, but on arrival in Wisconsin, Chadwick was optimistic about her chances at the ‘European’ style 4.0 mile road course.
She secured a stunning pole position by 0.021 seconds over Louis Foster, who had won the two previous rounds in Detroit and at Indianapolis. By winning the pole, she became the first women to do so on a road or street course, and yet this achievement was insignificant to Chadwick, whose mind had shifted to the job at hand on Sunday.
‘[The] focus is on tomorrow. I like being out front, I like to have the opportunity to now be racing at the front and we’ve been up there this year.’
When the green flag flew for 20 laps of Road America on Sunday, Chadwick fended off an aggressive move from teammate Foster, before disappearing into the afternoon sunshine.
Despite multiple cautions evaporating the gap that she had built over Abel and Foster behind, the toughest test came when the red flag came out with 2 laps to go.
After a dominant display, it seemed cruel that her efforts might be seemingly in vain, but she once again perfected the restart procedure, and won the race in style. She led all 20 laps, and in doing so repaid Michael Andretti’s faith in her by silencing her critics and taking the chequered flag first.
She said post-race ‘I just had my eyes forward. We had a really good car today.’
‘I think we’ll keep pushing. I appreciate how tough this championship is, as well. Just respecting the level. Coming at it this year with the speed we’ve had, I’m just super happy.’
‘Even last year, it was only the first half of the year we really struggled, then we got going. I felt like we’ve been, yeah, coming at it stronger race by race. This year, yeah, we definitely made a big step. But it’s where I feel like we should be now.’
A history maker on the track, an inspiration off it – what Chadwick’s victory can do for others
Jamie Chadwick took a leap of faith by parking her Formula 1 dreams to take up racing on the Road to Indy ladder. Her deal with Andretti has offered her stability, the opportunity to progress at her own rate and then the machinery to deliver strong results.
In December 2022, she mentioned that Formula 1 was still the ultimate objective, but racing in the NTT Indycar Series would also be a life goal and an excellent place to fulfil her passion for racing. ‘There’s a lot on the bucket list’ remarked Chadwick.
And yet Chadwick’s victory will do far more than just fuel her future ambitions. It will hopefully inspire many thousands of girls to take racing seriously, and believe that they too have what it takes to be successful.
‘We have an amazing young generation coming through. There’s so many great women in the sport. We just need more. Hopefully it inspires more and that’s all I care about.’
‘I think we should have more and more young girls starting in the Indy feeder series, getting through INDY NXT.’
Road America never does release its attendance figures, but its family orientated vibe and packed out grassy banks proved that many tens of thousands will have been spectators to an incredibly special moment.
Jamie Chadwick took the fight to some of the fastest young men in North America, and beat them all in a drive of mesmerising skill and cool headedness behind the wheel.
Chadwick beat teammate Louis Foster, who many have tipped to be a superstar of the future. She also outduelled the vastly more experienced Jacob Abel, who is running in his 3rd season of INDY NXT by Firestone. Talented rookie and former multiple time F3 race winner Caio Collet had no answers to her pace.
This was no fluke against mediocre competition. This was domination against some of the premier open-wheel stars of the future, at America’s fastest road course.
We must by no means get carried away with this victory. Chadwick now has the opportunity to take this form into the oval dominated half of the season, in the knowledge that she can beat every single one of her competitors in a straight fight.
Andretti have shown the faith. She has had the determination, drive and skill to make this happen. Now her incredible feat must become credible. Jamie Chadwick has arrived in the USA, and her performances now can power her to great things.
From the shores of Elkhart Lake to the foothills of Mount Hood, Jamie Chadwick has climbed many mountains and powered across treacherous roads to become an INDY NXT race winner. This victory was so much more than just another race win. It can inspire a generation. Now Chadwick must prove that she can do it again…
Single Seater Space 