Before he left the track June 6, Myles Rowe made a prediction.
Despite a qualifying penalty that sent him to the back of the field for the INDY NXT race at World Wide Technology Raceway, he told his father he was still going to win.
He did.
Rowe charged from 24th to first, setting the record for the longest climb in IndyCar’s official development series.
“I’m gonna be honest,” Rowe told IndyStar. “I did know.”
Rowe had posted the fastest qualifying time that Saturday but a radio miscommunication changed everything. In INDY NXT oval qualifying, drivers are permitted only two flying laps before they must pit. Expecting his team to call him in, Rowe instead heard silence over the radio, completed a third lap and was penalized for the infraction — erasing what would have been a pole-winning run.
“It was really disappointing,” the Georgia native said. “The whole radio communication just made everything very confusing.”
Rather than adjusting their expectations, Rowe and Abel Motorsports mapped out a plan to win. If he could pass four cars every 10 laps, he’d reach the front around Lap 60.
He got there 13 laps sooner.
“I knew I could do it,” Rowe said. “It was just a matter of whether it could happen in the way I thought.”
The comeback wasn’t simply a product of speed. In a spec series where every driver races with the same chassis and engine, Rowe believed the difference came from finding an advantage others weren’t using.
“It wasn’t that things were very easy,” he said. “There was a way of attacking the high line that a lot of people weren’t using.”
Just as important was the confidence surrounding him. Rather than dwelling on the penalty, everyone at Abel Motorsports continued to believe he could drive back to the front — a belief that allowed Rowe to put qualifying behind him and focus solely on Sunday’s race.
“It was such an interesting feeling because everyone had full support behind me even though we had that penalty,” Rowe said. “Everyone on the team knew that I could go back to the front.”
FOX Sports broadcaster Will Buxton discussed the race on “Speed with Harvick and Buxton” and called it “one of the single best open-wheel performances I’ve seen in a very, very long time,” adding, “We have to get that kid in the Indy 500.”
Rowe couldn’t agree more. Getting a seat at Indianapolis requires more than speed, and he hopes his performance — and recognition from figures like Buxton — puts his name in front of the people making those decisions.
“I’m working on a campaign and I’m trying my best to bring on the right support system financially to make sure that we can depend on that,” Rowe said.
In the meantime, his focus stays on the INDY NXT championship — and on landing with the right team to pursue it. With his contract expiring after the season, the opportunity matters as much as the destination.
“I’m fully set on winning the INDY NXT championship,” Rowe said. “It is my contract year, and so I need to be with the best team that’s willing to give me the best resources to basically enable me to shine as hard as I can.”
For now, he’s still processing what he did.
“It’s still sinking in,” Rowe said. “As a driver, as a performer, you always think of yourself as the best. It just feels like I’m back where I’m supposed to be.”
Jessica Garcete is an IndyStar sports reporter. Get IndyStar’s motor sports coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Motor Sports newsletter. Subscribe to theYouTube channel IndyStar TV: IndyCar for a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar and expert analysis.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Myles Rowe knew he could win from last. Then he made INDY NXT history
Reporting by Jessica Garcete, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jessica Garcete, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
