RACE REPORT: Grand Prix of Portland
Race Notes
- The Andretti INDY NXT team faced their final road course race of the 2025 season this morning at Portland International Raceway, where rookie Dennis Hauger put on an impressive drive to take the victory, the sixth of his career. Salvador de Alba was the next Andretti finisher, crossing the line in fifth.
- Hauger’s win today allowed him to clinch the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone Rookie of the Year Award, joining current Andretti INDYCAR teammates Kyle Kirkwood and Colton Herta as a fellow ROY recipient. The last time Andretti INDY NXT won this award was in 2022 (McElrea).
- The INDY NXT by Firestone Series will take a week off before heading to The Milwaukee Mile for the penultimate round of the 2025 season, shifting focus to oval racing to round out the year.
Race Results
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 McGinley Clinic /
USF Championship Dallara
P10
| Started | P7 |
| Standings | P3 (401 points) |
- Starting from the fourth row, Lochie Hughes was unfortunately involved in the Lap 1 Turn 1 multi-car incident, damaging his front wing. After pitting for a new front wing, Hughes returned to the field before the restart on Lap 4 and worked his way up to P11.
- By Lap 20, the Aussie broke into the top 10, where he would remain until taking the checkered. This is Hughes’ 10th INDY NXT top-10 finish.
“We had an unlucky start after Bryce Aron ran out in front of me and spun, so I had nowhere to go but into him. That ruined the race from there. I had to come into pit lane to change the nose since there was a little bit of damage. There was just way too much understeer following all the cars around me, so it was hard to get good runs in. Difficult day, but we were still able to come back to finish in the top 10.”
Salvador de Alba
No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara
P5
| Started | P6 |
| Standings | P6 (321 points) |
- Making his career-best start at the Grand Prix of Portland this morning, Salvador de Alba stayed clean through the tricky Lap 1 Turn 1, despite the chaos behind him in the field. After the first restart on Lap 5, de Alba had broken into the top five.
- The Mexican driver took the checkered in fifth, marking his 12th INDY NXT career top-five finish.
“Today was a good recovery after a rough practice yesterday. It’s fun to drive this track, but it’s always a disaster in Turn 1, and it was again today. So, I’m happy that we didn’t get collected there. It was close, though. We had a very strong start and set ourselves up for a good first couple of laps. The No. 27 car feels great. There was some deg there toward the end, but we kept going. A top five gives us some good points. It’s not exactly what we were predicting or expecting, but we’ll take it and we’ll move on to Milwaukee.”
Dennis Hauger
No. 28 Nammo Dallara
P1
| Started | P3 |
| Standings | P1 (523 points) |
- After a competitive qualifying session yesterday that saw Dennis Hauger bumped from pole as the checkered flag fell, the Norwegian entered this morning’s Grand Prix of Portland ready to fight his way through the field.
- At the green flag, Hauger saw an opportunity to gain position going into Turn 1, and took the risk to push hard on the inside, which paid off as he made an impressive two-car pass to take the lead. Despite the pressure behind him, Hauger remained focused and maintained the lead for the entirety of the race, earning himself the top spot on the podium.
- Today’s victory marks Hauger’s sixth win and ninth podium of his INDY NXT career. In addition to being crowned INDY NXT Rookie of the Year Today, Hauger continues to lead the Championship fight by 54 points.
“I saw from last year’s race that it was possible to send it on the inside. It was going to depend on how the guys ahead were fighting, but it worked out in my favor there when he (Collet) broke and went a bit wide. Super awesome. Great day for the Championship and just an awesome day getting back on top. Hopefully, we can have a good weekend in Milwaukee and work toward getting the title there.”
James Roe
No. 29 Topcon Dallara
P18
| Started | P10 |
| Standings | P13 (193 points) |
- Making his third race start in Portland today, James Roe rounded out the top 10 on the grid to start this morning’s race.
- Soon after the green flag waved, Roe was involved in a multi-car incident on Lap 1 Turn 1. He was able to continue after that, but unfortunately faced contact with the No. 40 car after the Lap 4 restart, damaging the left front suspension and forcing him to pit for repairs.
- Roe rejoined the field on Lap 6 at the back of the field, where he ultimately took the checkered.
“Contact at the start from Miller (No. 40) on the outside of the car set the tone for today. That incident bent our steering arms and put us out of the race. It’s just unfortunate, but onto Milwaukee.”
Seb Murray
No. 2 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara
P16
| Started | P12 |
| Standings | P12 (197 points) |
- Seb Murray set out to make his debut at Portland International Raceway this morning from just outside of the top 10.
- As the race began, Murray unfortunately lost several positions after getting involved in the Lap 1 Turn 1 incident. After this, Murray struggled to find the pace he needed to keep up with the field and ended up taking the checkered in P16.
“It was a tricky weekend here in Portland. I had a really good launch off the line at the green flag there, but I just got tangled up in the crash in Turn 1, unfortunately. We’re not really sure of the extent of the damage, but I just didn’t really have any pace after that. I struggled throughout the race with tire deg as well. It’s a pretty unfortunate end. We were kind of innocent in Turn 1 and were forced to take the escape road. Onwards and upwards from here. We’ll see what we can do in the last two rounds.”
Michael d’Orlando
No. 3 Rising Star Racing/Priority Dallara
P7
| Started | P16 |
| Standings | P24 (26 points) |
- Back in the driver’s seat to make his 2025 INDY NXT race debut in Portland today, Michael d’Orlando took the green flag near the back of the field after recovering from an incident in Practice 2 and facing a tough qualifying session yesterday.
- At the green flag, d’Orlando was able to navigate around the Lap 1 Turn 1 multi-car incident and made an impressive nine-position jump up to P7. The New Yorker crossed the finish line in this position, taking home his sixth top-10 INDY NXT career finish and the Josten’s Biggest Mover Award.
“What an exciting race, it was absolutely crazy. It feels good to be back after not having driven this car for a full year, even though it’s been an up-and-down weekend. We had good pace on Friday, but yesterday was a bit of a struggle for us, especially with qualifying and then in practice with that wreck. So, we had a really good comeback race, and I’m happy with the performance. Thank you to the Andrett Cape team. They have been absolutely phenomenal all weekend. And I love working with these guys. I feel like we definitely had the pace to catch maybe one more car out there, but we’ll take what we can get. The Josten’s Biggest Mover Award is really exciting, too. I’m super proud of getting that award, but that also means that we needed to do a little bit better in qualifying. Big thank you to Rising Star Racing and Priority for making this happen for me – I wouldn’t be here without them. Let’s go get them at Milwaukee.”
Don Lambert
Team Manager
“Another great race by Dennis. He had an amazing start that set him up for the rest of the race. Lochie got a little damage there in the beginning, not at all his fault, but we had to fix that front wing and get him back out there to get him some solid points today. We’re all just going to keep working on it. There are only two more races to go, and the Championship isn’t over, but it’s getting closer.”
