Hauger Bounces Back, Wins Third INDY NXT Race
(Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)
By Dennis Krause
INDY NXT by Firestone championship leader Dennis Hauger made up for his uncharacteristic eighth-place finish in Friday’s Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 1 by winning Race 2 in dominant fashion on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.
Starting second, Hauger took the lead from his pole-sitting Andretti Global teammate, and Friday race winner, Lochie Hughes on a lap 6 restart and never looked back, winning by 4.7739 seconds in his No. 28 Rental Group entry.
While the win may have looked easy, Hauger maintained it wasn’t.
“Yesterday was a tough day. I think we didn't have the best pace out there, to be honest, yesterday, but I think we sorted some things out for today and were able to fix the mistakes we did and get on with it.
“It's a good bounce back from yesterday and shows we're not going to be put down so easily. I'm really happy we made those steps as a team and were able to bounce back like that.
“Yeah, it was a good Saturday.”
Hauger says he learned from Friday’s race and made changes that led to his win on Saturday.
“I think mainly the balance we had through the race yesterday was not ideal, and I think the track changed a bit for today, as well, which we tried to predict a bit, and I think we did a good job with that.
“Just brake a bit later for Turn 1, as well, instead of being caught up in something in that first lap. Putting some things together I think was a key point today, and we maximized it, so happy about that.”
(Photo by Matt Fraver/Penske Entertainment
Although Hughes was disappointed with second place, the driver of the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car, he admitted it was a good weekend overall.
“Yeah, it was a good weekend. Just in that race, got a good start initially and felt comfortable and then just got stuffed with the safety car really. Going into Turn 1 leading on the restart is pretty difficult here, especially at the start of the race when everyone has got tires and everything.
"Did the best I could, tried to give Dennis as little room as possible. He's a teammate, as well, so had to be a little bit smart at this point in the season.
“Then after that I put as much pressure on Dennis as I could, and I think, honestly, I was following too closely and pushing too hard behind him, had some lock-ups, using the tire up a bit too much.
"Some of the changes we made, a bit like Dennis, to predict the weather, we kind of made those changes thinking we're going to have clear air, so yeah, following Dennis was a bit difficult and didn't really have anything at the end.”
(Photo by Matt Fraver/Penske Entertainment)
Myles Rowe repeated his podium performance from Friday after starting from fifth on the grid. The driver of the No. 99 Force Indy/Abel Motorsports car made up a position on the start and again on the race’s lone restart.
“Yeah, it was a pretty good start for us. Once we got through Turn 4 we got a little held up just by all the cars fanning out in front of us going into 1. So actually fell back to sixth but was able to capitalize to get into fourth coming out of 2 going into 4, which worked out really well, and then on the restart, just took an opportunity going into 1 on P3, and that worked out pretty well, pretty clean. Nothing too fancy there.
“Then it was just about following these two Andretti cars here, which was working out for a little bit. I thought we would have some pace in the end, but our tires actually fell off quite severe in the end. So yeah, at the end I was just making sure I managed and got to the finish line. Happy to be here for sure.”
(Photo by Chris Jones/Penske Entertainment)
Even though he saw his two-race winning streak come to an end Friday, Hauger says he learned some valuable lessons he might not have racing at the front of the field.
“Definitely. Just being for the first time in these cars in dirty air, actually having to use the Push-to-Pass strategically, coming from the back, going up was definitely a good experience. I hope I didn't have to experience it, to be honest, because we lost some points in the championship with that. That's not what you want.
“But I think it's a good experience to bring forward. Everything is new this year with Push-to-Pass, tires, tracks and cars. It's all about just gaining experience every weekend, and definitely this was one of the weekends we can take with us into the next one. Yeah, not an optimal weekend points-wise, but a lot learned.”
With his win, Hauger became the first driver to win three of the first four INDY NXT by Firestone races of the season since current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Pato O’Ward achieved the feat in 2018.
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.