Dennis Hauger Wins WWTR Pole in Oval Debut
If anyone thought Dennis Hauger might struggle to find speed in the first oval race of his life, think again.
INDY NXT by Firestone championship leader Hauger won the pole Saturday for his oval racing debut, taking the top spot for the INDYCAR development series race at World Wide Technology with a two-lap average speed of 166.162 mph in the No. 26 Nammo car fielded by Andretti Global. Hauger's run to his fourth pole of the season was a track record, breaking the previous two-lap average mark of 164.242 set last year by series champion Louis Foster.
SEE: Qualifying Results
The pole performance for rookie Hauger, who has won four of the first five races this season, came after he looked mortal for nearly the first time this season in the opening practice earlier today on the 1.25-mile oval. He was fifth in that session, more than 1.6 mph slower than leader Caio Collet, as he learned the intricacies of this unique, egg-shaped oval.
'First time on an oval, and we got the pole,' Hauger said. 'Super happy about that. Didn't really know what to expect, but we got up to speed in practice, and we really made improvements for qualifying.
'Looking forward to seeing how we get on tomorrow. It's going to be a bit of a different game.'
The 75-lap race starts at 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). It's the first oval race of the season.
2024 series Rookie of the Year Collet qualified second at 165.735 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car. His second lap of 166.341 is the one-lap record for INDY NXT at WWTR.
Salvador de Alba will start third after his qualifying performance of 165.223 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine of Andretti Global, joined in Row 2 by fellow veteran Myles Rowe, who qualified fourth at 165.082 in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car.
Rookie Lochie Hughes, the only race winner this season besides Hauger, qualified fifth at 164.350 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car of Andretti Global. Josh Pierson will fill out Row 3 after qualifying sixth at 163.993 in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports car.
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