"Proved that we deserve to be up there" - Jamie Chadwick opens up on her historic Indy NXT win

Jamie Chadwick cemented her place in IndyCar history on June 9, 2024, by becoming the first woman since Pippa Mann in 2010 to win a race in Indy NXT, the topmost rung of the IndyCar ladder series. In a recent interview with MAVTV, the British racer shared her emotions about the path-breaking victory.

Chadwick, who was in her second season with Andretti Global, started the race weekend at Road America on the right foot by taking pole position at the 4-mile road circuit. She led all 20 laps of the race to win it by 0.8203s over teammate Louis Foster, who was otherwise dominating the season and took the 2024 Indy NXT Championship home.

In a recent interview clip posted by MAVTV on X, Jamie Chadwick explained how her mentality was to not give even the slightest edge to her rivals on that fateful day.

"Going into that race, a lot of people would have expected me to won it and held on (to pole position). The attacks I had from other drivers and stuff, I knew those were with maybe me moving out of the way in mind, and that was just never gonna happen. I think we raced really well in that race and proved that we can race up there and deserve to be up there," the 26-year-old said.

Jamie Chadwick overcame a late red flag in the race and emphatically defended her lead in the final two-lap shootout to become the first woman to win on a road circuit. The only other female winners, Pippa Mann and Ana Beatriz, had taken their victories on ovals.

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Jamie Chadwick felt her F1 dream 'got closer' after Indy NXT victory

Jeddah E-Prix - Shakedown & Practice - Source: Getty

Jamie Chadwick showed her racing caliber in 2019 by winning the inaugural season of the W Series, a female-only single-seater championship. Moreover, she exceptionally defended her title in 2021 and 2022 in the now-defunct series.

The Brit has also been part of the Williams Driver Academy since 2019, and her ultimate dream is racing in F1, which she inched closer to after winning at Road America with Andretti Global.

"Formula 1 is the pinnacle of the sport. There is a lot more I need to achieve than one race win at this point, but I think we are getting closer," Chadwick said via Sky Sports after her Indy NXT win. "I think what is great is we are seeing the effect in the sport where we are really keen to push more women into it and get more women having success at high levels."

Jamie Chadwick finished seventh in the 2024 Indy NXT standings, five positions up from her 12th-place finish in 2023. In December 2024, she joined IDEC Sport to compete in the 2025 European Le Mans Series.