Hauger stays perfect in Indy NXT with Barber victory from pole

Rookie Dennis Hauger remained flawless in the Indy NXT by Firestone season, winning the Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park.

Andretti Global driver Hauger, from Norway, led all 35 laps from the pole in a repeat performance of his season-opening win from the No. 1 qualifying position March 2 at St. Petersburg. So far, Hauger has led all 79 laps of competition this season and every session except for one practice at St. Petersburg – he was second – in the IndyCar development series.

“That was a good weekend, for sure,” Hauger said. “It felt really good out there. I was trying to take care of the rear tires, especially in the beginning. After that, I was just trying to keep it consistent.

“The pace was really there. Andretti gave me a good car all weekend. I’m super happy for all of us.”

Hauger drove his No. 28 Rental Group car to a 11.0196s victory over 17-year-old Evagoras Papasavvas, who made an impressive first career start in the No. 24 HMD Motorsports car. Lochie Hughes completed the podium filled with rookie drivers, placing third in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine.

Veteran Myles Rowe finished fourth – tying his career best in the series – in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy car, while veteran Josh Pierson finished a career-best fifth in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports machine.

Two caution periods were the only speed bumps for Formula 2 veteran Hauger on Sunday on the 17-turn, 2.3-mile natural terrain road course. He was never challenged and pulled away from the field on restarts on lap 4 and lap 13.

Veteran Caio Collet, who started second, kept Hauger honest in the early going. Collet stayed within about a second of the leader until he dropped down the order when his No. 76 HMD Motorsports car developed a throttle problem during the second caution period, triggered on lap 11 when the No. 29 Grupo Indi car of Salvador de Alba and the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing machine of Bryce Aron collided in Turn 5.

Papasavvas then inherited second place. He never threatened Hauger but held off Hughes, Rowe and Pierson over the closing laps to cap a strong series debut. The gap between second-place Papasavvas and fifth-place Pierson at the finish was just 1.8332s.

The series has shifted into high gear with this event, as a doubleheader will take place this weekend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Race 1 of the Indianapolis Grand Prix is scheduled for 7:00pm ET Friday, May 9, with Race 2 at 1pm ET Saturday, May 10.

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