QUALIFYING REPORT: INDY NXT Detroit Grand Prix

No. 26 McGinley Clinic /

USF Championship Dallara

• Following a strong practice this morning that saw Lochie Hughes running consistently in the top-five fastest lap times of the session, the Aussie took to the track in Group 1 for his Detroit Grand Prix Qualifying debut.
• Coming out strong in Group 2, Hughes fought for the top spot on the leaderboard despite being impeded by a competitor. The competitor ultimately received a penalty, losing his fastest lap, locking in the P1 spot for Hughes in his group and second overall.

“It was a decent quali for us. I was impeded for a lot of laps there, so I couldn’t get a lot of laps in a row, but we were so close. I just missed out by half a tenth on pole. That’s just the way it goes. We’ll be starting P2 and will see how the race goes tomorrow.”

Salvador de Alba

No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara

• Salvador de Alba maintained consistent performances in Practices 1 and 2 this weekend, rounding out the top five in both sessions. That consistency transferred into his qualifying performance as de Alba ran near the top of the leaderboard in Group 2, ultimately taking P3 in his group and P5 overall to start tomorrow’s race.
• Today’s result is a significant improvement from last year’s Detroit qualifying result for de Alba, who qualified P18 last year on the downtown street circuit.
• This is the Mexican driver’s best INDY NXT career qualifying result on a street course.

“Qualifying went as we expected with a couple of red flags here and there. Congrats to Dennis on the pole. The No. 27 Grupo Indi car is very good and got us up there today. We finished third in my group and fifth overall, so we’re happy. We’re definitely getting better every time we take the car out, and I want to thank my engineer, Ron, for pushing me to the limit. Definitely a better qualifying compared to last year. We still have some work to do for tomorrow, but we’re looking forward to it.”

No. 28 Rental Group Dallara

• Following dominating performances in Practices 1 and 2 this weekend, Dennis Hauger made his qualifying debut on the Streets of Detroit, where he continued delivering chart-topping results as he scored his third pole position of the season.
• Not only did Hauger’s fast lap time earn him the pole position for tomorrow, but it also made him the new INDY NXT track record holder for fastest lap time on the Streets of Detroit. The record was previously set by former Andretti INDY NXT driver Louis Foster in 2024.
• In his INDY NXT career, Hauger has never qualified lower than second.

“It was just so nerve-racking. Tire temps weren’t there on the first two laps, but they came on the last one. I was just fighting for it. I hit the wall on the second-to-last lap, and I almost crashed in Turn 1 on the last lap. It was so messy, but I pushed the limits and got the pole. That was intense.”

No. 29 Topcon Dallara

• Following an on-track incident in Practice 1 yesterday, James Roe struggled to find pace in Practice 2 this morning. Unfortunately, Roe’s bad luck continued into qualifying as he made contact with the wall in Turn 1, causing a red flag and ending his qualifying effort early.
• Due to causing the red flag, Roe received a penalty and was forced to give up his two fastest lap times, putting him near the back of the field to start tomorrow’s race.

“Not sure right now what happened. It was one too many mistakes, and this place bites. I just feel sorry for the crew with the work they have to do now. We’ll be back tomorrow.”

No. 2 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara

• Rookie Seb Murray made his qualifying debut this morning on the Streets of Detroit in Group 1 with teammate Hughes. While running just outside of the top five, Murray went into the runoff in Turn 8, causing a local yellow that interfered with another driver’s run. This resulted in a penalty being issued to Murray to lose his best lap up to that point.
• Thankfully, the Scottish driver was able to get some final laps in before the session ended, and finished up in P6 in his group and 12th overall.
• Murray’s qualifying result is the best street course qualifying position in his INDY NXT career.

“That’s quali done in Detroit. It was a bit of a messy session, just with traffic and I made a little mistake myself, which didn’t help. I think we came across the line in P6 in my group, which isn’t too bad, but we would like to be further up. We know the pace is there, so I think it is a matter of just getting the lap in, but hopefully we can make our way up in the race. We know it is hard to overtake around here, but we’ll see what we can do.”

No. 3 Frank’s RedHot Dallara

• Following a tough finish to this morning’s practice session that saw Ricardo Escotto make contact with the wall at the checkered flag, the No. 3 Frank’s RedHot unfortunately suffered severe damage.
• As a result, the car was not able to be repaired in the tight turnaround between Practice 2 and Qualifying, forcing Escotto to forfeit participating in the qualifying session this morning. The car is on track to be repaired in time for tomorrow’s race.

“I’m very disappointed with myself. I misjudged the corner and made contact with the wall in practice. It’s very frustrating not being able to qualify, especially with the pace that we’ve shown in practices. But these things happen in racing, and we can just learn from today, look forward to tomorrow and hope for a miracle.”

“Very solid qualifying effort by Lochie, Dennis and Salvador. It’s unfortunate what happened there with James, but the crew will do everything they can to make sure that the car is ready for tomorrow. Overall, it’s a very good day for us in Andretti INDY NXT. Dennis just pulled one out right at the very end. He is just amazing sometimes. I can’t wait to see the race tomorrow”