INDIANAPOLIS — Dennis Hauger earned his third victory in four INDY NXT by Firestone races this season.
Hauger passed Andretti Global teammate Lochie Hughes early and powered to victory in the second race of the Indianapolis Grand Prix doubleheader Saturday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Hauger drove his No. 28 Rental Group car to a 4.7739-second victory over the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine of polesitter Hughes, who earned his first career victory in the IndyCar development series Friday evening in Race 1.
Myles Rowe finished a career-best third for the second consecutive race in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy entry.
“It’s been a great start to the season,” Hauger said. “Yesterday wasn’t great, but we were able to come back and get a win today. Super-happy about that, and in a place like this, it’s awesome.”
Salvador de Alba climbed one spot from his Friday finish to place fourth in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car as the third Andretti Global entry to finish in the top four today on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile circuit. Caio Collet rounded out the top five in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car.
Norwegian driver 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.
Hauger’s path to victory was created when he survived the first turn of the 35-lap race without contact, unlike Race 1. He was bumped off track in Turn 1 on the first lap Friday, falling to last in the 21-car field before recovering to finish eighth.
Hughes once again led into Turn 1, this time with fellow rookie teammate Hauger in pursuit. Hughes built a gap of 1.7 seconds by Lap 3 when the only caution period of the race was triggered when Jack William Miller in the No. 40 Abel/Miller/Vinatieri Motorsports car and Nolan Allaer in the No. 11 HMD Motorsports machine made side-by-side contact in Turn 1, forcing both cars to a stop in the grass.
On the restart at the end of Lap 5, Hughes and Hauger raced side by side toward Turn 1, with Hauger on the left and Hughes on the right at the start of Lap 6. Hauger edged ahead approaching Turn 2, with his left wheels on the dirt adjacent to the asphalt, and completed the pass for the lead in that corner.
Hauger never trailed thereafter, but Hughes stayed close for a while. Hauger’s lead stayed around one second until about 10 laps to go, when he started to pull away. He padded his gap to 2.6718 seconds by Lap 29 and continued to drive away until the checkered flag.
“Yesterday was tough,” Hauger said. “I think we really didn’t have the balance, either, going through the field. But today we really nailed it. It was a warm day, and you had to judge it nicely with the rear tires.
“We managed well, and we had really good pace today. That’s a good way to bounce back.”
