NEW Zealand’s next IndyCar hope is racing the clock to avoid heading into his Indy NXT debut without any pre-season testing.
Callum Hedge signed with HMD Motorsports to race in the 2024 IndyCar feeder series, after an initial taste of the relevant American open-wheel machinery late last year.
It came amid a productive 2023 for the Kiwi, who won titles in both the Formula Regional Americas Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup Australia.
But it’s been a bumpier start to the new year, with Hedge’s scheduled first test with HMD in mid-January called off due to a bout of appendicitis.
Hospitalised and needing surgery to remove his appendix, the 20-year-old remains on the mend and is no certainty to make it out for the next test day at Laguna Seca in early February.
If he misses that date, Hedge would be set to go straight into Round 1 at St. Petersburg on March 10.
This year’s Indy NXT field includes the likes of three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick and teen prodigy Josh Pierson, who in 2022 became the youngest driver ever to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
