Experience Helps Salvador de Alba Smooth Rough Edges

Updated Mar. 21, 2025 7:18 p.m. ET

INDYCAR

Salvador de Alba Jr. continued his ascension from the second half of the 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone season in the 2025 season opener March 2 in St. Petersburg. The Andretti Global second-year driver climbed from seventh to finish fifth in the 44-lap race.

The solid start contrasts significantly with his struggles during the early stages of his rookie season with Andretti Cape INDY NXT, where his average finish was 11.1 through the first seven races. His average finish of 6.8 over the final seven races was a notable jump, helping him move from 12th in the standings to finish fifth.

The standout performances, including podium finishes at Iowa Speedway and Milwaukee Mile, set the stage for a strong start for the Mexican in 2025.

“The end of the year was pretty good, especially the ovals,” he said. “We know what we need to work on to put the puzzle together. It’s good to carry the momentum and of course, try to finish up on some podiums, to be up top in the championship standings.”

De Alba’s focus is improving as an all-around driver after his strong St. Petersburg result. His comfort on ovals, backed by his solid record in the NASCAR Mexico Series, has clearly played a role in his success. With four of his five top-five finishes last season coming on circle tracks, it’s evident his experience in NASCAR-style racing has translated to INDY NXT oval events.

His impressive NASCAR Peak Mexico Series career – from 2017 to 2021 – speaks to his consistency and talent on ovals, with 10 wins, 21 podium finishes and a 2021 championship.

That level of experience gives him a strong foundation to build on, especially as he continues to focus on areas where he can grow, like road courses or street circuits, to become a more versatile driver in INDY NXT.

“I don't just want to be good at the ovals,” he said. “I want to be up top in street course and road course, as well. Really working on it and, of course, want to be better even on the ovals.”

The best way to extract speed on road and street courses is maximizing the Firestone Firehawk tires. Racing on ovals is about maintaining tire life, especially in a series that doesn’t feature pit stops.

That’s priority number one.

“New tires is a thing I need to work on, and I was better at saving, but for sure, it needs to be better,” he said.

Having an idea of where he needs improvement is something he credits as an advantage. There are several rookies competing in the series, and being a first-year driver last season, de Alba knows they won’t yet have a full understanding of what they need.

“I think obviously being a second year in whatever car you're driving is something positive, especially knowing more the tires and just the tracks again, because I'm not from the U.S.,” he said.

Another positive aspect is driving for Andretti Global. Last season, Andretti Cape INDY NXT was a technical alliance team with Andretti Global. De Alba has noticed some improvements after changing teams.

“A couple things I've noticed on the car, but more than the car, the working space, just being in a room with the four engineers, and hearing and talking about the car and what changes are they're going to be, that's a big advantage compared to last year, as there was one car, sometimes just me in the in the Cape car, but now everyone together in the room, just for five, six engineers with the Capes, will be something to learn from it,” he said.