Detroit — Grosse Pointe Woods native Nolan Allaer will be competing in his backyard at this weekend’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix. But whether learning a new track, Fowling in the pit lane, or rubbing shoulders with IndyCar superstars at the Renaissance Center media luncheon, it all feels new.

The Indy NXT rookie is juggling his racing career with a college career at Miami University in Ohio. On track and in the classroom, it’s been a learning year for the 22-year-old junior as he pursues his dream to be an IndyCar racer and mechanical engineer.

“It was very busy during finals week as were competing at Indianapolis,” Allaer said of the Firestone Grand Prix that took place on Indy’s infield road course May 13. “I start a summer course for mechanical engineering on July 1 so I have a little break until then to focus on racing.”

Three-time SCCA national champion Allaer has had his work cut out for him on the track where he graduated from Formula Ford-class racecars to the Indy NXT class. It’s a big jump from the 160-horsepower, low-downforce Formula Ford waterbugs he last raced in the U.S. and England to the 420-horsepower, winged, high-downforce Indy NXT cyborgs.

The FF cars can reach two G-loads in a corner — twice that of a production sports car. The NXT racers? Up to a neck-straining four G-loads.

Since his debut at St. Petersburg March 10, Aller has completed all four Indy NXT races for his HMD Motorsports team while amassing 58 points for 16th place among 23 drivers in the standings. Like Triple-A baseball, Indy NXT is the stepping stone to IndyCar racing. Graduates include last year’s Indy NXT champ, Christian Rasmussen, Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden, and Scott Dixon.

“It’s going really well. It’s hard to look at results, I’m not used to running below the top 10,” said Allaer, one of only four American drivers to win England’s famed Brands Hatch FF race. “But every time I get in the car I feel more comfortable. Having nine (HMD Motorsport teammates) on the grid really helps when I can look at all their data and video. It really makes the learning curve easier.”

Among his teammates are veteran open-wheel racers Nolan Siegel and Myles Rowe — second and fifth in the championship respectively.

“It’s surreal being on this grid,” Allaer said of a weekend that includes elite drivers from IndyCar, IMSA SportsCar, and Indy NXT. “I have teammates like Myles Rowe, who I have watched developed in his career. He’s one of my heroes, and being around the IndyCar and IMSA guys, it means so much to me.”

Allaer’s rise in racing has been meteoric after playing completive hockey as a teen from 2011-20. He jump-started his racing career in online sims. After gaining his racing license, he amassed three SCCA titles in Formula Ford/Formula Continental class by 2023 and two wins in the national F1600 series. That success got him noticed in England, where he raced for one year before returning to the U.S. with a shot at Indy NXT.

“This is the most capable car I’ve ever driven,” said Allaer of his Dallara-made Indy NXT ride. “It’s a huge step up from what I’ve done before. I’m enjoying every time I go out in the car. It’s a very approachable speed and I think we’re learning quickly. I’m excited to see what it can do on the streets of Detroit.”

In addition to learning a new course, Allaer has also flown his team’s flag in the busy media week that precedes the Detroit GP. He participated in Thursday’s Renaissance Center media luncheon with other drivers — and in a Media Day Fowling event on Wednesday where he teamed with British IndyCar ace Jack Harvey to knock down pins with a football in the Detroit GP’s unique dual pit lane.

Like Allaer, Harvey used Indy NXT (formerly called Indy Lights) as his stepping stone to IndyCar in 2014-15. Unlike Allaer, Harvey came from Europe’s comparable, high-horsepower Formula 3 class.

“It’s a huge jump to go to Indy NXT from F1600. You’re learning a new car, new tracks,” said Harvey, 31, who is currently 23rd in the IndyCar standings. “It all happens really fast and it takes time to absorb it all. You just have to make progress every weekend, you can’t force it.”

Harvey says that advances in simulator technology have helped drivers come to grips with new circuits. But the Detroit GP is unusual as a street course that is not readily available for sims like bespoke road courses and ovals.

“Simulator racing is the reason I’m here today. Without sims I wouldn’t be in a race car,” said Allaer. “So, of course, I use the sim and it goes everywhere I go. I have one at school. Detroit is a hard one, I know Belle Isle like the back of my hand, but (the street course) is not on many sims and I haven’t been able to find it.

“My first laps will be in real life.”

Unlike the billiard-smooth race courses of Barber in Alabama and Indianapolis, Detroit is rough with little chance to make his Dallara’s aerodynamics work. He expects his experience on the streets of St. Petersburg to be the guide.

“I imagine it will be very similar to St. Pete. We’ll use a relatively low downforce setup because there is the one good straight there where you want to max out on top speed,” said Allaer, looking toward the long Jefferson Avenue straightaway where speeds can top 180 mph. “Its very low grip a no-prep street course. So it’s not like Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course) where we have a proper racing surface. You have to make a mental note every time you go out — walls are closer.”

Both Allaer and Harvey enjoy the Indy circuit and its unique demand on drivers who must conquer street courses, road courses, and oval tracks to succeed. After Detroit, Indy NXT’s 14-race season will take Allaer to road courses like Road America (Wisconsin) and Mid-Ohio, as well ovals in Iowa and Milwaukee.

But the Detroit GP is special.

“St. Pete was important as I lived (in Florida) for so long, that was a home race for me,” said Aller, who grew up in both Grosse Pointe and Florida before shipping off to Miami (Ohio). “But Detroit is my current home. I want it really bad. This one means more.”

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne