Hughes Takes INDY NXT Race 1 at Road America
Photo: Travis Hinkle/Penske Entertainment
By Dennis Krause
Lochie Hughes passed pole-sitter Alessandro de Tullio going into turn 1 on a lap 9 restart and led the final 12 laps to score his first win of the season in Saturday’s INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix Race 1 at Elkhart Lake’s Road America.
The top returning driver to the INDYCAR development series this season, it’s been a frustrating one for Hughes, a two-race winner for Andretti Global last season. Hughes was happy to finally flip the script.
“I knew the win was just a matter of putting it together. It was just a matter of it's going to come. We just struggled to kind of put all the pieces together.
“But I'd say, yeah, like the worst start of my career since I was in go-karts,” Hughes acknowledged. “Every year I've been in the U.S., every category I've won and finished top three in the championship.
“This year has been a bit different. Honestly, some of the stuff I learnt last year didn't really translate to the way the car is this year. So I just kind of had to unlearn some things and then I lost some confidence in myself, kind of went down that spiral.
“No, this is good to kind of be back where we belong. All of us really need to be getting good, solid points finishes. I think it was a good day for all three of us, to be honest.”
Hughes Andretti Global teammate Josh Pierson finished second by 0.7827 of a second after passing de Tullio at Canada Corner on the final lap of the race.
In addition to getting himself back in championship contention, now fifth in the standings, 55 points behind leader Nikita Johnson, Hughes’ win also represented the 100th victory for Andretti Global in INDY NXT.
“Yeah, it's awesome,” the 24-year-old Australian said. “It shows the success they've had over Indy Lights, then into INDY NXT timeline. It's a pretty amazing accomplishment. I'm sure if they all stick around, there will probably be another hundred.”
18 lap Race 2 is scheduled for 11 (CDT) Sunday morning.
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.