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Myles Rowe saw an opening and he went for it.
The second-year Indy NXT driver blasted around series kingpin Dennis Hauger and drove to his first victory in the series Saturday afternoon at Iowa Speedway.
It made him the first Black driver to win in the history of the series.
“I knew starting the race that being on new tires and the track naturally being pretty flat-out that it was going to come down to the last half of the race with tire wear and also messing around with traffic,” Rowe explained. “I was just being patient at first, just trying to take care of my tires. Then once we got through all the yellows and came back on traffic again, I knew that was going to be the time to get through.
“I was able to get a bit of a run and just get onto the high line and just able to do, you know, what I needed to do to get the win.”
Driving the Abel/Force Indy No. 99, Rowe triumphed in his 23rd start in the series.
“It’s thrilling,” Rowe said. “Yeah, I have such a good support system. I wouldn’t ask for it any other way from my family to my friends and to the team. Then even in the series it just has no end, which is something that I’m just super grateful for and that I use as energy every time I’m at the track. When I feel like I win, I feel like a lot of other people win, which is something great to be a part of.”
Rowe, who won the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship, hopes to race in the Indianapolis 500 in the future.
“Naturally, with Force Indy being a big part of the Abel Motorsports program and a big part of me as a driver in my development through the ladder system, with the goal of being in the Indy 500, as a teen it’s huge to finally get this win in the Indy NXT Series, the series right before IndyCar,” Rowe said. “We definitely want more. I definitely want more myself. But you know, yeah, definitely to capitalize on this and then, you know, obviously see that there’s more hope to come. It’s huge for the program.”
Rowe recognized his accomplishment as being the first Black driver to win in the series, but he was already thinking about the next race later this month at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
“Yes, it’s huge, for sure. It means a lot to me, and like I said, I just want more, honestly,” he said. “It’s great that this is the first, but you know, I’m really looking for multiple and multiple wins, then to carry that onto IndyCar, you know. I don’t like to get stuck too much in the past, and at this point my head has already gone to Laguna.”
