QUALIFYING REPORT: Music City Grand Prix

No. 26 McGinley Clinic /

USF Championship Dallara

• Lochie Hughes made his qualifying attempt this afternoon at Nashville Superspeedway after a strong practice this morning saw the Australian driver finish third.
• Taking what he learned from practice, Hughes put together a run that locked allowed him to lock in a top-five spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

“Qualifying was decent for us. The car felt strong, and with a bit more straight-line speed, we could have been further up. I’m confident we’ll have what we need for the race.”

Salvador de Alba

No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara

• Coming off his career-first INDY NXT win last weekend at The Milwaukee Mile, Salvador de Alba was able to build off the positive momentum he’s had this week to secure his firstt INDY NXT pole position at Nashville Superspeedway.
• The Mexican driver came out of the gate with impressive speed, putting together a two-lap average four-tenths quicker than P2.

“It feels amazing to get my first pole here at the last race. I’m just super happy. We had a very good car in qualifying today. I think we dialed the car in to be good at the race last weekend, and now it was good at quali as well. I’m just focused on the race tomorrow and want to end the year strong.”

No. 28 Nammo Dallara

• Newly crowned 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone Champion Dennis Hauger was the last driver in the INDY NXT field to make his qualifying attempt this afternoon.
• Although he wasn’t able to repeat last weekend’s pole performance at The Milwaukee Mile, the Norwegian locked in a strong result for his Nashville Superspeedway race debut tomorrow in the second row.

“We’re in the top three, which sounds good for the race tomorrow. Big congrats to Salvador on the pole. He had a really good qualifying and maximized it, and I think we did a good job as well, and set ourselves up in a good spot for the race. Having the Championship title does take a little bit of weight off my shoulders points-wise, but we still want to go out there and try to get that oval win. It doesn’t change your approach or the mindset for the weekend. I’m just soaking it all in and enjoying the weekend.”

No. 29 Topcon Dallara

• James Roe set out to lock in his starting spot in tomorrow’s race at Nashville Superspeedway this afternoon after recording a fast-lap time inside the top 10 during the morning’s practice session.
• Roe’s top-10 speed easily translated in the afternoon’s qualifying session, earning him a spot on the outside of the third row for tomorrow’s race, an improvement from his Nashville Superspeedway start last year, which saw him take the green flag from the fifth row. 
• This is Roe’s season-best INDY NXT qualifying result.

“It was a strong qualifying run for the team. We would have liked a little more speed, but we were flat for every lap and came away with P6. The good news is we’ve got a strong car for tomorrow, and I’m excited to see what we can do.”

No. 2 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara

• After struggling to find pace in today’s practice, Seb Murray was the sixth driver to make his qualifying attempt this afternoon at Nashville Superspeedway with the goal of improving upon his performance this morning.
• The Scot was able to make up enough speed from practice to secure himself a starting position just outside of the top 10 for tomorrow’s 65-lap race to close out the season.

“It was a solid qualifying effort for the last round here in Nashville. We’ll start P11 tomorrow, and I can’t thank the No. 2 crew enough for the hard work to get us here. I feel good about the car that we have for the race and I’m looking forward to going after some strong results tomorrow.”

No. 3 Rising Star Raceing / Priority Dallara

• After leading this morning’s practice session, Michael d’Orlando aimed to bring that same pace into qualifying this afternoon, making his attempt fourth out of the field.
• D’Orlando topped the charts with his qualifying run, which he maintained until the 14th run, when teammate de Alba bumped him from pole contention. 
• The No. 3 driver will take the green flag from his  career-best INDY NXT starting position in the second row for tomorrow’s race.

“I’m pretty confident with where the car was in practice, and now, after qualifying, we’re starting P5 in the race, and I think we can move up from there. I’m pretty proud of that run, and I think that we got a good car with good pace. The No. 3 Rising Star Racing and Priority machine looks absolutely amazing out there. So hopefully we can bring home a good result here this weekend.!”

“It was another great day of qualifying for Andretti INDY NXT in Nashville. The guys did a great job, and Salvador has really come into his own on the ovals. It’s been a strong way to close the season, and with five of our cars starting in the top six, we’ve got a great chance to pull off another win tomorrow.”