(Photo Credit: Penske Entertainment and M2 Competition Management)
Fresh off his dominating Formula Regional Americas campaign, Callum Hedge will transition to INDY NXT by Firestone for the 2024 season in the #17 entry with HMD Motorsports. The soon-to-be 20-year-old driver from New Zealand began driving formula cars just a couple of years ago and has quickly worked his way through the ranks. Doubling up and competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia in 2023, Hedge’s two-continent race program has been highlighted by race wins, podium results, and championship honors as he now shifts his focus to INDY NXT in 2024.
“I have had a taste of the INDY NXT machinery and am ready for the challenge that 2024 will bring,” explains Hedge. “I am thankful for the opportunity to join a championship-winning program in HMD Motorsports and for my partners who continue to make my motorsports dream a reality.”
This past year, Hedge ran a packed schedule, competing in three separate series, and finding success in all of them. In FR Americas, Hedge won 13 of 18 wheel-to-wheel races and finished on the podium in all but two races on his way to claiming the Championship with a 105-point lead. Hedge also ran in the Pro Class of the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship and was leading the championship before missing the sixth round due to a clash in scheduling with FR Americas, but currently sits second overall with one event remaining. At the beginning of the year, Hedge ran the Formula Regional Oceania Championship where he earned three wins and finished second in the championship.
While Hedge ran the recent Chris Griffis Memorial Test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last month with a different program, the young talent will make his debut with HMD Motorsports in the new year when the series heads to Sebring International Raceway for a two-day test in January before crossing the country to the famed Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in early February. The 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone season will kick off at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in March.
“We have a lot of time for Callum and are confident that he will have success in INDY NXT,” adds HMD Motorsports General Manager Mike Maurini. “He is stepping into a program that has ascended rapidly and has been winning along the way. He is another piece to the growing puzzle and will be a threat for the top step of the podium all season. While the North American ovals and temporary courses will be new to him, he has a strong support system of drivers and engineers around him that will assist in making the transition seamless.”
“With his dominating performance this year in Honda-powered Formula Regional Americas competition, Callum is certainly a deserving champion and HPD scholarship winner,” said David Salters, president of Honda Performance Development. “We very much look forward to following Callum’s progress in INDY NXT in 2024, as follows in the path successfully used by previous FRA champions and now Honda-powered INDYCAR drivers Kyle Kirkwood and Linus Lundqvist.”
Hedge continues, “I am anxious to get situated with the team and get going. The first test is two months away, but you can trust I will be taking in everything I can between now and January to ensure I am up to speed and ready to go.”
For the 2024 season, Callum continues to receive substantial support from long-time New Zealand partners; The Tony Quinn Foundation, The Giltrap Group, and Tasman Motorsports Group.
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RTD Media | HMD Motorsports | Photo Credit: Penske Entertainment and M2 Competition Management
