Hauger Stays Unbeaten With Perfect Barber Indy NXT Drive

Dennis Hauger (28) leads Caio Collett Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park. (Paul Hurley/Penske Entertainment photo)

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With two Indy NXT by Firestone races in the books, it’s clear that past FIA Formula 3 champion Dennis Hauger has found his footing in the United States.

Hauger maintained his undefeated record Sunday with a perfect drive in the Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park, leading all 35 laps from the pole and taking the twin checkers a whopping 11.0196 seconds clear of runner-up Evagoras Papasavvas.

It marked Hauger’s second victory in as many Indy NXT starts to begin the year.

Despite two restarts, one on lap four and the other on lap 14, Hauger never faltered and pulled out to a comfortable gap almost instantly both times.

He then lengthened his advantage lap after lap, including setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 33 of 35 at one minute, 12.8419 seconds around the 17-turn, 2.3-mile natural road course.

“This was a good weekend, for sure,” said Hauger in victory lane. “This was the first time all weekend we had some track time with IndyCar rubber [on the track] in dry conditions, so that was really good and we were able to learn a lot.

“I was trying to take care of the rear tires, especially in the beginning, and after that just tried to keep it consistent,” he added. “The pace is really there for us and Andretti (Global) gave me a great car all weekend, so I’m super happy for the No. 28 team for how we’ve started this year.”

The budding superstar from Norway has led every on-track session since 2025 began – including winter testing – apart from the second practice on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., back in March.

That’s a level of utter dominance that even the 22-year-old Hauger didn’t expect to have when he came to America.

Dennis Hauger (right) celebrates with a crew member in victory lane at Barber Motorsports Park. (James Black/Penske Entertainment photo)

“It’s an awesome feeling,” he said. “I didn’t expect our speed would be this much. All the tracks are new for me this year, and it’s a new car as well. There are a lot of different factors as a rookie, but I’m super happy we’re making this progress and on top of things right now.

“There are a lot of races left though, so we’ll see how it goes from here and keep working hard.”

The two incidents that slowed the pace were on lap one, when Callum Hedge beached his No. 76 in the gravel, and a lap-12 skirmish between Salvador de Alba and new Chip Ganassi Racing driver Bryce Aron.

Once racing resumed on the 14th circuit, the final 22 laps ran uninterrupted.

The fight for second compressed into a four-car duel in the closing stages, with HMD Motorsports’ Papasavvas having to withstand continued pressure from Hauger’s Andretti teammate Lochie Hughes.

In the end, however, Papasavvas hung on to finish second in his Indy NXT debut. It was a statement moment for the 17-year-old Cyprus-American, who grew up in Kirkland, Wash., and graduated up from the USF2000 Championship.

Hughes completed the podium for his second top-three finish in as many races. He was followed by Abel Motorsports’ Myles Rowe and another HMD driver in Josh Pierson.

Another 17-year-old debutant, Connecticut’s Max Taylor, rallied from 17th after a late incident in qualifying to finish seventh.

The race’s hard charger, though, was Jack William Miller. He started last on the 20-car grid and found his way to eighth at the checkered flag in the No. 40 Abel with Miller-Vinatieri Motorsports entry.

Outside front-row starter Caio Collett battled throttle issues after running second to Hauger in the early going. It eventually forced Collett to retire short of the finish, leaving him with a 19th-place finish.

The next Indy NXT by Firestone event is Friday, May 10 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, part of a doubleheader weekend at the Racing Capital of the World for the NTT IndyCar Series’ top feeder division.

Broadcast coverage from IMS kicks off at 7 p.m. ET, live on FS1 and the IndyCar Radio Network.