The long-rumored union between Andretti Global and Cape Motorsports has been confirmed and gives Andretti’s Indy NXT program two additional entries for the upcoming season through its relationship with the Cape brothers.
Mexico’s rapid Salvador de Alba is the first driver to be confirmed in the new Andretti Cape arrangement, which comes on the heels of a strong run to third in last year’s USF Pro 2000 championship where he earned one win and four podiums, and competed in a number of other series.
“Joining Andretti Cape is the biggest step in my career so far, and I’m excited to be part of this team,” de Alba said. “Last year was great for me across NASCAR, Super Copa and USF Pro 2000, so I’m eager to start competing in Indy NXT for the first time. With the help of my sponsors, Michel Jourdain and the Andretti Cape team, we’re pleased to make the jump to Indy NXT, and I plan to work hard to make the most out of this season.”
The two-year deal includes a move to the main Andretti NXT effort in 2025, and sees de Alba paired with a new race engineer in Trevor Green-Smith, who served as an assistant IndyCar race engineer at Dale Coyne Racing, at Andretti Autosport with former driver Alexander Rossi, and more recently, as a performance engineer with the Haas F1 team before the Californian returned to the U.S. and was hired to run de Alba.
“Bringing Salvador onto the Andretti Cape Indy NXT roster this year is an excellent move for us,” said Andretti Global president JF Thormann, the architect of the team’s junior open-wheel programs. “He has a strong resume in a variety of series and recently walked out of 2023 with two driver’s championships, which is an impressive feat that hasn’t gone unnoticed. We think that Salvador’s experience and eagerness will make him a great asset to the Andretti Cape IndyCar NXT team, and we’re looking forward to helping to develop his career and watching him grow through 2025.”