Two races, one weekend, a single championship trophy on the line.

Nikita Johnson leads Enzo Fittipaldi by three points and Tymek Kucharczyk by 29 entering the Sept. 4-5 doubleheader at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

SEE: Event Details Race 1 / Race 2

Max Taylor (-77), Alessandro de Tullio (-99) and Lochie Hughes (-103) are mathematically eligible for the championship but need plenty of help. Fifty-four maximum points are available each race, with 108 for the weekend.

Who comes out on top of the standings celebrating a championship Sunday?

Johnson’s three-point advantage is the third-closest margin entering the final two races in series history. Mix in the fact that none of the three championship front runners have raced on the Monterey road course, and this sets up to be an unpredictable and unforgettable finale.

But stats point to an advantage for HMD Motorsports rookie teammates Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk.

HMD has won three of the past five races at Laguna Seca, including Caio Collet’s sweep last year.

On the nine permanent road course races this season, Kucharczyk has the best average finish at 3.77. He won the second race of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course doubleheader.

Fittipaldi (photo, top) has the most permanent road course wins (three) and third-best average finish at 5.0. Fittipaldi won Race 1 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and swept the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course doubleheader.

Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR rookie Johnson has the second-best average finish (4.44) on permanent road courses and won Race 1 of the Barber Motorsports Park doubleheader. He finished in the top 10 in all 15 races this season.

Championship Coming Down to Final Race

It’s been since 2023 that the championship went down to the final race weekend, but even then, Christian Rasmussen led Hunter McElrea by 65 points entering the doubleheader finale. He all but clinched the title in Race 1 at Laguna Seca, by finishing runner-up to McElrea and leading by 51 entering the second leg of the doubleheader.

In 2022, Linus Lundqvist led Matthew Brabham by 103 points entering the season finale doubleheader. While not clinched, it was close with 108 points max awarded for a doubleheader weekend.

Rasmussen and Lundqvist won HMD’s two career INDY NXT titles. Fittipaldi and Kucharczyk aim to give the organization its third.

It’s been since 2021 that the championship truly came down to the finale.

Kyle Kirkwood led David Malukas by 15 points entering the season-ending doubleheader at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Kirkwood beat Malukas in Race 1, taking a 22-point lead to the final race. Malukas started on the pole but finished second in that race, allowing Kirkwood, who started and finished fifth, to win the title by 13 points.

Lochie Hughes

Andretti Playing Spoiler?

With the top three drivers points racing, that could open the door for someone else to land in victory lane in either or both races.

Andretti Global has won seven of the past 10 series races on the scenic California road course, with HMD Motorsports winning the other three. Andretti won five in a row during a span between 2021 and Race 1 of the 2023 race weekend.

Hughes (photo, above) has the fourth-best average finish on permanent road courses this season at 8.0. He won Race 1 at Road America and was runner-up at Portland International Raceway.

Taylor is sixth best at 8.77 with two runner-up finishes, each in Race 2s at Barber Motorsports Park and Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, and a third-place finish at Portland.

Max Garcia

Max Garcia's Emergence Continues

Max Garcia entered INDY NXT by Firestone as a prodigy. Garcia won the 2024 USF 2000 Championship with five wins and 10 podiums in 18 starts. He won the USF Pro 2000 Championship last year with nine wins and 13 podiums in 18 tries.

Garcia (photo, above) moved to INDY NXT by Firestone seeking three consecutive championships. The aspirations were high, but the INDYCAR development series is a challenge.

The 17-year-old from Miami entered the season as a junior in high school and finishes as a senior at Christopher Columbus High School.

Garcia earned his maiden victory last weekend at Milwaukee Mile and could end the season with momentum to propel him to a potential 2027 title. He had one top-10 finish in the opening six races with an average result of 15.33. He’s had an average finish of 7.6 over the last nine races with eight top-10 results, including three top five finishes.

The Abel Motorsports driver has four top-10 finishes in his last five permanent road course starts, including three consecutively.

Jack Beeton

Beeton Sleeper To Watch

Jack Beeton enters Laguna Seca on the heels of a third-place finish Sunday at Milwaukee Mile.

The HMD Motorsports driver (photo, above) is someone to watch this weekend as he has four top six finishes in his past five permanent road course starts, including a third- and second-place finish, respectively, in the Mid-Ohio doubleheader in July.

Beeton has a 5.42 average finish since Road America (seven races) compared to 12.75 before that point.

Weekend Schedule

Friday marks the final two practices of the season with a pair of 25-minute sessions, at 4 p.m. ET and 6:30 p.m. ET (FS2). The drivers qualify for both races at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, followed by the first of two races at 6:30 p.m. ET. Both also air on FS2.

Sunday is the final race of the season at 12:30 p.m. ET on FS1. FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls also is broadcasting all sessions.

Track Specs: 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course.

Qualifying Record: Christian Rasmussen, 1:11.7225 (112.333 mph), Sept. 9, 2023.

Push To Pass Parameters: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.