Matteo Nannini never stopped believing he would get another opportunity.

After stepping away from full-time racing midseason in 2023 to launch ENVE Motorsports, Nannini wasn't sure if he would ever return to the INDY NXT by Firestone grid. His focus had shifted to building a team in USF2000, an open-wheel development series, rather than continuing his own driving career.

Then the phone rang at the end of the summer in 2025.

Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR needed a driver for the upcoming 2026 INDY NXT season. Nannini, 23-year-old from Italy, didn't hesitate.

"I think we made the deal up pretty late in the season," Nannini said. "I wasn't even thinking about racing. I was focused on our USF2000 team.

"When the opportunity shows up, you take it because then you might regret it at the end. I'm still not too old to do it. I was out of the game for a couple years.

"At the end this is the reason why I moved to the U.S. and the reason why I did so many sacrifices. When the opportunity came, I definitely took it."

That decision is paying off.

Nannini earned his third career INDY NXT victory last Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway, adding to his breakthrough rookie win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2023 and a victory awarded after post-race inspection at Road America in June.

He placed second on track in the second race of the Road America doubleheader last month but was awarded the victory after a procedural violation in post-race inspection with the car of Alessandro de Tullio of AJ Foyt Racing, which crossed the finish line first.

Nannini has three wins in 20 career INDY NXT starts and has rebuilt the momentum that once made him one of Europe's rising prospects.

Matteo Nannini

At just 16 years old, Nannini (photo, above) captured the 2019 Formula 4 UAE Championship with seven victories. He advanced to FIA Formula 3, winning at the Hungaroring in 2021 before bringing his career to the U.S., where he competed in the ARCA Menards Series in 2022.

Nannini’s first INDY NXT opportunity came in 2023 with Juncos Hollinger Racing. While he celebrated a victory at IMS, the partnership ended midway through the season, leaving his future uncertain.

Instead of waiting for another opportunity, Nannini created one.

He launched ENVE Motorsports, fielding a car in the final USF2000 race of last season while remaining hopeful another chance behind the wheel would eventually come.

This season has rewarded that patience.

Nannini opened the year with a 15.6 average finish through the first five races before he and Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR began finding consistent speed. Since the second race of the IMS road course doubleheader, he has produced four top-10 finishes in eight races, including two victories, while lowering his average finish to 8.87 over that span.

"I think definitely the hardest part (of rejoining the series) is race craft," Nannini said. "You don't really lose the raw speed. It's more like riding a bike. You can find the details and the speed.

"We had a few test days before St. Pete (the 2026 season opener). Obviously, the more races I do, the better I get. With the team we find whatever setup works best for me to have more confidence and push as much as I can every single lap.

"We started kind of rough, but we're getting better and better."

Nashville was another step forward.

"Our season so far has been a lot of ups and downs," Nannini said. "The team gave us a fast car every single race. Sometimes weekends don't go as clean. I’m super happy to be here. It's another boost in my confidence for races coming up.

"My car has been the fastest, or one of the fastest, at every single racetrack we've been to. We could maximize every chance.

"Confidence has always been there. It's just about maximizing weekends."

The momentum arrives with three race weekends remaining: Portland International Raceway on Aug. 9, Milwaukee Mile on Aug. 30 and the season-ending doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 5-6.

Nannini is ninth in the point standings.

Beyond that, Nannini believes his return has reminded people why he came to America in the first place.

"From a driver’s perspective, you know that you have a path after this. It gives you a little bit more extra motivation to keep driving forward," Nannini said. "Unfortunately, racing is so tough. Even if you win, there might be other factors that don't make you take the bigger step.

"The only thing I can do right now is drive to the best of my abilities. I'm lucky enough to have a group of people that I'm sure will find me a good spot for next year."