Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR left Nashville Superspeedway on July 19 with more than its first one-two finish in INDY NXT by Firestone competition.

It left with the championship lead.

Matteo Nannini earned his third career victory and second of the season while teammate Nikita Johnson finished second, delivering the organization its biggest day since joining INDY NXT and vaulting Johnson back atop the standings.

With four races remaining, Johnson leads HMD Motorsports driver Enzo Fittipaldi by one point and holds a 25-point advantage over Fittipaldi's teammate, Tymek Kucharczyk.

"The Cape boys gave us a really good car, Matteo and us," Johnson said. "The team has been working extremely hard. I know it means a lot to them getting first and second. Just proud of everyone and a great weekend."

The result completed a remarkable turnaround.

Johnson led the championship for much of the season before the July 4-5 doubleheader at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where Fittipaldi produced one of the most dominant weekends in series history. He swept both poles and races, set the fastest lap in each event and led every lap while Johnson finished seventh and third.

Combined with Kucharczyk's runner-up finish in Race 1, Johnson fell to third in the standings, 20 points behind Fittipaldi entering Nashville.

One race later, he is back in front.

The title fight resumes Aug. 9 at Portland International Raceway before moving to the season's final oval Aug. 30 at Milwaukee Mile and concluding with a doubleheader Sept. 5-6 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Johnson believes the remaining schedule plays to his strengths.

Among drivers in championship contention, Kucharczyk owns the best average finish on permanent road and street courses at 3.75, highlighted by a victory in Race 2 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and seven top-five finishes. Johnson is close behind with a 4.0 average finish, including a Barber Motorsports Park victory and five podiums in eight starts.

Fittipaldi has a series-leading three wins on permanent road courses but carries a 4.75 average finish after a 22nd-place result in Race 1 at Road America. He finished fourth or better in the other seven races.

The Milwaukee oval could provide Johnson another opportunity to extend his advantage. He finished seventh at World Wide Technology Raceway and second at Nashville, while Fittipaldi placed 13th and 11th on the two ovals. Kucharczyk finished ninth and 18th.

"I'm really comfortable on ovals – always (have) been, even from testing," Johnson said. "I think it showed pretty well in practice.

"I think being able to be confident and comfortable on these ovals is going to make the difference. I think this is where we're going to get our points at Milwaukee. All the tracks left on the calendar I think I'll be really fast at."

Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR has emerged as one of the season's biggest surprises.

Andretti Global and HMD Motorsports have combined to win the last seven INDY NXT championships. Yet entering the final four races, Cape sits atop the standings with Johnson leading two HMD Motorsports drivers and two Andretti Global drivers.

Matteo Nannini and Nikita Johnson

The organization has won four of the season's 13 races, with Johnson and Nannini each earning two victories.

While Cape Motorsports has captured 14 USF2000 championships and built a reputation for developing young talent, this is its strongest INDY NXT season.

The team first competed in the series in 2007 and 2008 in partnership with RLR Anderson, earning one victory with JR Hildebrand at Kansas Speedway in 2008. It returned in 2010 alongside Wayne Taylor Racing before spending more than a decade focused primarily on the USF ladder and sports car competition.

Brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape always envisioned returning to INDY NXT. They relocated the team from St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2020 with that goal in mind before launching Andretti Cape in partnership with Andretti Global in 2024. This season's alliance with ECR has accelerated that growth.

Together with Jay Howard Driver Development, the partnership now provides a development ladder from USF Juniors through the USF Pro Championships, INDY NXT and ultimately the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

"Cape is a small but mighty team," Johnson said. "We're going against all the big teams. So far, we're kind of surprising people with how well we've done as underdogs.

"I'm so thankful to be back on a smaller team again. Matteo and the team have done an amazing job. I think this is Cape's first year of having two really good drivers to fine tune the car and the setup.

"Everybody has a really good bond and understanding of what our roles are and how to get better. The attention to detail is like no other race team I've been in."

Johnson has won races in every professional season of his career, including the 2026 opener on the streets of his hometown, St. Petersburg and again at Arlington. He has seven podiums in 13 starts this season, with no finish worse than seventh.

Johnson, who turned 18 the day after the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, knows an INDY NXT championship could open the door to an Indianapolis 500 opportunity as soon as next season.

For now, his focus remains simple.

"I just focus on getting results," Johnson said. "My dad and Michael Moroney, my agent, are figuring that out.

"Just go racing and try to maximize each weekend, beat my competitors. This weekend was a big swing and showed that I can run ovals. I'll focus on maximizing results, let my team do their work, and whatever happens, happens."