IndyNXT driver Lindsay Brewer attends the Mercedes-AMG "Speed City” event on November 14, 2023 in ... [+]
Any driver knows that the first race of the season after jumping to the next higher tier is nothing less than a trial by fire. No one knows this better than Indy NXT newcomer Lindsay Brewer.
Brewer started Indy NXT’s season kickoff race in St. Petersburg, Florida in 21st position in the starting grid. At the conclusion of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Brewer ended up finishing the race in a better sport, at 15th place.
“Reflecting on my first Indy NXT weekend, I can say I had such a great experience,” Brewer said. “The car was amazing to drive, and it's evident that our journey is just beginning.”
The 26-year-old driver of Juncos Hollinger Racing’s No. 76 Dallara IL-15 picked up two points for the 2024 season of Indy NXT, the American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar.
"I knew going into my first weekend in this new series it would be a challenge,” Brewer said after the Grand Prix.
Brewer admitted that “the weekend was off to a rough start,” with the initial practice round cut short because of a mechanical issue. “But our team worked relentlessly to fix this and get me going for the next day.”
Brewer added that she was proud that she “was able to make up six positions in the race and keep it clean on one of the toughest street courses on the calendar.
The Indy NXT series, founded in 2002, initially as the Infiniti Pro Series, was established to introduce new talent to IndyCar.
The 2024 series consists of 14 open-wheel races, the next of which takes place on April 28 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
Other scheduled IndyNext stops will take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500, in May, as well as Road America in Wisconsin and Monterey, California.
Brewer’s Dallara IL-15 custom model draws up to nearly 500 horsepower and weighs 1400 lbs., which is light for an open-wheel racer. Most of the drivers in last month’s Grand Prix and on each IndyNXT grid have several years of open-wheel experience. Prior to 2024, Brewer mostly raced touring cars, such as the No. 29 Honda TC Type R, a model custom-built by Honda Performance.
Driver and entrepreneur
To prepare for her professional driving career, Brewer trained at the famous Skip Barber Racing School, the racing academy founded and run by retired American race car driver John "Skip" Barber III. The Barber School is known for producing some of the world’s most talented alumni. Brewer also cut her racing teeth at Circuit of the Americas in Texas and stock car test racing at Irwindale in California.
She currently maintains sponsorships with Skip Barber, Gtechniq automotive paints, and C4 Energy, an Austin, Texas-based performance beverage brand. But in the mix, Brewer and her business manager Chris Young, have spent the last few years cultivating relationships with newer sponsors and partners.
“We’ve supported the cost of racing by making conscious efforts to approach multiple verticals for sponsors,” Young explained, describing Brewer’s newer sponsors as “supportive and synergistic to motorsports both in the B2B and B2C areas.”
Among them are automotive concerns as well as financial service companies and newer entities in the crypto and payments sectors, namely Corpay, Surge Trader, Mastermine, Crypto.com, and Rally Coin.
Brewers’ social media sponsorships and engagements have included big names such as Pirelli, Alfa Romeo, MGM Grand, Evian, Lamborghini, Draft Kings, and GoPuff. Related directly to racing, she’s partnered with Motor Trend Magazine, Formula 1 in its F1 Vegas and F1 Austin Experiences, Pennzoil, Phil Giebler Karting, and VRS Simulators, among others.
Brewer certainly caught the eye of social media mavens even before the concept of the “social media influencer” gained footing as a business strategy. Brewer has always maintained that her first love of racing comes before any interest in fame, either on or off the track.
Lindsey Brewer prior to a practice session.
Young emphasized the continued importance of Brewer’s social media presence, citing her impressive 2.7 million Instagram followers as an integral part of a successful marketing plan for 2024.
“From the beginning of 2020 when we started working together as business partners we made the joint decision to slowly curate her content in a manner that would attract high quality brands.”
There’s also the glamor aspect to Brewer’s image and brand. And it’s way lifestyle brands such as Ray-Ban, Revolve Clothing, NordicTrack, and Liquid IV have been quick to jump on board.
Brewer’s gift for entrepreneurship aside, racing is her focus. She notes that every racing event of the Indy NXT series presents its own new challenge.
‘I felt like I learned a lot and was able to move in a positive direction towards where I want to be as a driver,” Brewer said. “My goal this season is to learn, continue to improve, and be as competitive as possible with this field of very quick drivers.”
