Nikita Johnson was born on May 25, 2008, the same day as the Indy 500. One of his dreams, he said, is to win the Indy 500 on his birthday.
Photo courtesy of INDYCAR
By Skye Smith and Julia Birdsall
Standing in first place on the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg’s podium, 17-year-old Gulfport resident and Indy NXT driver Nikita Johnson did not expect to be here.
Johnson’s mother, in fact, intended for him to be ice skating.
He was named after Nikita Kucherov — a well-known hockey player who has been part of the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2013.
Johnson took skating lessons for a few years, but a chance encounter with his mother’s car mechanic inspired him to begin karting.
“I hopped in a go-kart at a T4 complex, which used to be Anderson Race Park. And I was pretty hooked after that,” he told The Crow’s Nest. “So, unfortunately, I didn’t skate or do any more hockey, but I fell in love with racing and went that way ever since.”
It was the speed, Johnson said, that made him fall in love with racing.
“I think ever since a young age, I really loved the speed of racing and then the precision,” he said. “I don’t think any sport has this amount of precision in it. So, it’s pretty cool to be in something that’s crazy.”
Johnson made a switch to formula car racing in 2022 with USF Juniors, an open wheel racing series in North America and the first step in the USF Pro Championship.
He finished third overall in the USF Juniors championship, earning three wins and five podiums.
After completing USF Juniors, Johnson progressed to the USF 2000 Championship in 2023. As the vice champion of the season, he secured one win and eight podium finishes.
In 2024, he competed in the USF Pro Championship and finished runner up, securing another vice champion position, after eight wins and 10 podiums.
Johnson wrapped up his USF 2000 career and turned his focus to Europe.
In 2024 he entered the GB3 Championship, a United Kingdom premier single seater racing series. Although he finished 11th overall, he still managed to secure two wins and two podiums.
The GB3 is known as a great feeder program for drivers looking to further their career in hopes of joining Formula 1.
However, Johnson has his sights set on Indy NTT.
“My ultimate goal is IndyCar. I think everybody has a dream of being in F1. But when you get older, I think you realize that the racing is pretty unmatched in IndyCar,” Johnson said. “With the spec series, the spec car, every car is very similar. There’s so much talent in IndyCar, so it’s really a driver’s championship.”
2025 led Johnson to New Zealand for the Formula Regional Oceania Championship, which he placed third in.
Following this, he participated in half of the Indy NXT season, his final stop before joining full time for the 2026 season.
He is now driving for Cape Motorsports powered by ECR.
Johnson performed well in Practice 1 and 2 securing 10th position. Qualifying is where he really impressed the crowd, performing best in Group 1 and earning 2nd position for the start of the race on March 1.
After overtaking Max Taylor in Lap 1, Johnson was able to maintain his lead throughout the race, resulting in his first-ever win in Indy NXT at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Not only was it Johnson’s first win, but it was also Cape Motorsports first-ever career win.
“Everything that we’ve done together, it’s paid off and I just can’t wait to get to Arlington and see what happens, but can’t thank the Cape boys enough and ECR,” Johnson said to The Crow’s Nest post-race. “It’s [an] amazing feeling to get their first win and get my first win in Indy NXT as well.”
Before winning the race, Johnson said that he felt that being in his hometown was also a great motivator.
“It’s pretty incredible to just have actual fans now, not just my friends and family, but it’s very big,” Johnson said. “It gives me a lot of motivation and it’s just really good to kick off the year in my hometown.”
