Here is a young driver who simply refuses to slow down. Fresh off capturing the 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone championship, 18-year-old Nikita Johnson finally got what he had been chasing for years: his very first run in an NTT IndyCar SERIES machine.
On Oct. 26, the St. Petersburg native hopped into a Dale Coyne Racing entry at Barber Motorsports Park. He shared the car with FIA Formula 2 standout Alex Dunne, who handled the morning duties on the 2.3-mile Alabama road course before handing the keys over to Johnson for the afternoon. For a kid who grew up watching the series from the outside, the step up was nothing short of breathtaking.
I knew I was going to be young, I just didn't realize it was going to be this soon.
"It was faster, more downforce. It was surreal," Johnson said. "I watched this forever. To finally be here was so special. It's just everything I hoped for. More horsepower, more physical, more of everything. It's just amazing."
Getting this run was part of the prize package that came with his title-winning INDY NXT campaign, where he dominated by scoring two wins, eight podium finishes, and 10 top-five results. Remarkably, he didn't miss a single beat all year, finishing in the top 10 in all 17 races and completing every single lap—the only driver in the entire field to pull off that feat. Naturally, waiting around all morning for his afternoon turn brought a fresh batch of nerves. But once he was strapped in, those jitters quickly turned to awe.
Barber was a particularly fitting backdrop for this milestone. Johnson already had four previous starts at the venue under his belt, including a third and fifth in USF Juniors back in 2022, alongside a victory and another third-place finish during his championship INDY NXT season. Still, wrestling an IndyCar beast requires a recalibration of your instincts—especially when you touch the pedal. While junior categories rely on steel brakes, the carbon setup on the IndyCar machine demands a totally different kind of respect.
"Only little things I need to work on is the braking. I've got to get used to that stopping power," Johnson noted after logging his laps.
If you look at his résumé, rapid adaptation is practically his specialty. He collected three USF Juniors victories in 2022, added a USF2000 win and two USF Pro 2000 wins in 2023, and became the youngest race winner in USF Pro 2000 history by winning at Circuit of The Americas at just 15 years old. By 2024, he was runner-up in USF2000 and finished second in USF Pro 2000 with eight wins, while also grabbing two victories in the GB3 Championship—becoming the youngest winner there too by taking a victory at Zandvoort at age 16. He added a Formula Regional Oceania win in 2025 before becoming the youngest INDY NXT champion at 18 years, 3 months and 12 days old, and the second-youngest race winner in series history with a St. Petersburg victory at 17 years, 9 months.
Now, all eyes turn to what comes next. If he makes his series debut on the streets of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 7, he would hit the track at 18 years, 9 months and 13 days old. That would place him in an elite club of teenagers to start an IndyCar race, a list led by Nelson Philippe (who debuted at 17 years, 8 months and 25 days old at Long Beach in 2004) and Graham Rahal, alongside Andrew Ranger, Colton Herta, and A.J. Foyt IV. Only Herta, Rahal, and Marco Andretti have ever won a series race as teenagers.
"We always had the goal to be the youngest at everything," Johnson admitted. "I knew I was going to be young, I just didn't realize it was going to be this soon."
