INDY NXT learning curve continues for Cape Motorsports

Enaam Ahmed and Jagger Jones continue to progress in their rookie season

INDIANAPOLIS (Date) – Cape Motorsports knew that 2023 would be a learning season for the team, returning to the INDY NXT series for the first time in over a decade. The pair continues to improve, taking plenty of positives from the weekend – with the series’ race just ahead of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ GMR Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Enaam Ahmed and Jagger Jones worked hard through practice, qualifying and Saturday’s race to come to grips (literally) with their Dallara race cars, battling traction issues and an increasingly slippery racetrack. Despite their struggles, the rookie team made significant gains on the weekend, both on track and in the learning curve.

“As always it is fantastic to race at Indianapolis,” said Nicholas and Dominic Cape. “It was a bit of a struggle for us – we improved the cars in each session but came up a little bit short. However, we learned a lot. The crew worked their butts off getting all the changes done, a big thanks to all of them. Going forward as a group we have to get better in every phase of the game if we want to compete at the sharp end of the stick, so we are working as hard as we can to get there.”

Both Jones and Ahmed have a great deal of experience on the Indy road course in the junior open wheel series. Jones, from Scottsdale, Ariz. swept all three pole positions in the USF2000 series last year, earning two podium finishes, while British-Pakistani Ahmed captured three top-fives in five USF Pro 2000 races over the past two years. But the Tatuus and the Dallara chassis are very different race cars and would require a significant adjustment for both drivers – and with only one practice and one qualifying session ahead of Sunday’s 35-lap race.

In Friday morning practice, warm and humid conditions (ambient temps of 78F and track temps at 108) greeted the competitors as the 18-car field took to the 2.439-mile, 14-turn circuit, with fresh Firestone rubber just laid down by the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field.  The heat and the humidity combined to create slippery conditions, as both drivers struggled to find balance and traction (with Jones fighting corner entry understeer) through the 50-minute session. The team made considerable changes during the session, with more adjustments ahead of qualifying.

The INDY NXT series once again directly followed INDYCAR as they headed out to qualify, with only eight minutes (within a 15-minute window) to set a quick time. Ahmed and Jones were nose to tail as they began their first timed lap, slipstreaming each other while looking for more speed. They continued the search for the balance of speed and traction, and at the checkered flag, Ahmed had set the 11th quickest time with Jones 17th.

Starter Aaron Likens waved off the initial start, deemed too slow by race control. The second attempt was also waved off as the field was not in formation. The green finally flew on lap three, with Ahmed immediately jumping into the mix, sliding through turns three and four and moving into P12. Jones also launched at the green flag, making a move on Christian Bogle and Jamie Chadwick to take 16th at the start.

Both drivers began making their way forward, with Ahmed passing Daniel Frost to get into the top 10, while Jones moved up to 15th. Jones got past Reece Gold on lap 15 to take 14th, but as the race progressed, the field separated too far apart for either driver to make a further move. At the checkered flag, Ahmed had scored a 10th place finish, with Jones 14th.

“We were a lot better today than we were last month at Barber,” said Ahmed. “The team is learning all the time – we picked up some key advantages with our car that enabled me to pass, which I’m not going to talk about! I was able to get around two HMD cars, including the championship-winning car, and I feel that we had a better car. But the field is so competitive that once it gets strung out, it’s hard to pass and there’s so much dirty air. We settled for 10th, as we need the points, but I was ahead of the people I needed to be in front of. I know we’re going to get it together.”

“It was a lot hotter and the track was a lot slicker than anyone anticipated,” said Jones. “We struggled with rear grip through the whole race, pretty much everywhere. I made some good passes at the start, trying to capitalize on what I had early but the speed wasn’t great after that – but everyone was struggling, you could see that. But it was good to get a finish, we’ve had some bad luck this season so far. It gives us something to build upon.”

Next up for Cape Motorsports will be the INDY NXT by Firestone doubleheader as part of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix June 2-4. Practice and qualifying sessions will be broadcast on INDYCAR LIVE and INDYCAR Radio, with both races live on Peacock. 

RECAP

ENAAM AHMED – No. 47 Surgery Center Development Company Dallara

Start – 11th / Finish – 10th

Championship standing:  12th

JAGGER JONES – No. 98 Total Sim/Mecum Auctions Dallara

Start – 17th / Finish – 14th

Championship standing:  17th