QUALIFYING REPORT: Grand Prix at Road America

No. 26 McGinley Clinic /

USF Championship Dallara

• Following practice this morning, which saw rookie Lochie Hughes end the session still searching for a bit more pace, the Australian driver took on qualifying in Group 2.
• Hughes started his qualifying effort strong, immediately jumping up into the top three fastest times in his group. He ended the session as the second fastest in his group and will start tomorrow’s race in the second row.

“Decent qualifying. Not really sure what’s going on at the moment. I’m just trying to get the balance right, then struggling with the car this weekend. We just haven’t quite got it in the window. But we’re making steps every session, so hopefully we’ll tune up tonight and have a good race tomorrow.”

Salvador de Alba

No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara

• Wrapping up practice in P5 this morning, Salvador de Alba joined teammate Hughes in Group 2 for today’s qualifying session.
• Keeping a strong pace in his group, de Alba was on track for a top-six start for tomorrow’s race. Unfortunately, near the end of the session, the Mexican driver lost control of the car and made contact with the barrier in Turn 12, causing the sole red flag of the session. He was able to drive the car back to pit lane, but the contact put an early end to de Alba’s day.
• Due to causing a red flag during qualifying, de Alba was issued a penalty, losing his two fastest lap times. De Alba ultimately finished the day, locking in a top-10 start for tomorrow’s race.

“I’m disappointed with how we ended up in qualifying with a spin there in the last couple of minutes. We were P3 before that happened, but now we’re fourth, which means P8 to start tomorrow. Sorry to the No. 27 Grupo Indi team, the car was not supposed to be there. That can happen when you push the limits. So, we’ll race from there.”

No. 28 Nammo Dallara

• Dennis Hauger finished this morning’s practice session with the second-fastest lap time of the field, only six-thousandths of a second separating him from the leader.
• Hauger then took on qualifying this afternoon in Group 1, where he locked in his pole-winning fast lap time on his second timed lap.
• Dennis will make his Road America debut from the front of the grid tomorrow, where he will lead the field to green for the fifth time in his INDY NXT career.

“I didn’t really expect it to go this way today. We struggled a bit yesterday in Practice 1, but we just kept on building from that and made some changes overnight. The team did an awesome job getting the balance right for qualifying, and as I said, I didn’t really expect the pole being in Group 1, but we nailed it and we did the job. We’re happy about it. Tonight we’re just going to look at the data and try to work everything out for tomorrow, balance-wise. Overall, I feel like we’re in a good window for tomorrow and we’re starting in the best place. So, it’ll be cool to do my first race around Road America from there.”

No. 29 Topcon Dallara

• Feeling good about the No. 29 Topcon machine’s performance after Practice 2, James Roe made his qualifying attempt in Group 1 with teammate Hauger.
• Unfortunately, Roe ran into issues with his front right tire with less than 10 minutes left in the session. The issue prevented Roe from capitalizing on the strong pace that he had so far this weekend, forcing him to finish last in his group and 17th overall.

“I’m a little disappointed with qualifying after we had great pace all weekend. We seemed to have lost it there just when it counted, so we’ll look at the data, figure it out and go racing tomorrow.”

No. 2 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara

• Falling a bit short on pace this morning in practice, Seb Murray came into qualifying at Road America with hopes of improving and setting himself up for a strong starting position for his debut on the road course.
• Taking on the session in Group 2, Murray maintained a spot near the middle of the pack. Although he improved upon his fast lap time from practice earlier today, Murray was unable to advance to the front in his group and will start tomorrow’s race in P14.

“Quali done here at Road America. It was both good and bad. It’s just a bit mixed honestly. The car was really good this morning in Practice 2, but we struggled with it in quali today. I just think the hot temperatures and the high winds played a role in it as well. Also, I think the red flag messed me up a little bit at the end. But still, I think we have a good car underneath us, so we’ll make our way up in the race, that’s for sure. I just didn’t maximize the grip I had on the used tire, unfortunately.”

No. 3 Frank’s RedHot Dallara

• Ending practice earlier today outside the top 10, Ricardo Escotto took on his first qualifying session at Road America in Group 2.
• Struggling to find the speed he needed to put together a strong lap in his group, Escotto placed himself behind teammate Murray and will start tomorrow’s race near the back of the field.

“I’m disappointed in qualifying at Road America today. We just hope to be back in the mix during the race tomorrow. This is a track where we can overtake, so we just hope to make up some spots when the race starts.”

“Another great qualifying effort by Dennis Hauger. It’s been a pretty awesome season so far for the Andretti INDY NXT team. It was a little bit of a tough battle with (Caio) Collet up there, but you know, that kind of pushes us a little bit as well. So, hopefully tomorrow we have good cars across the board and keep getting some solid points.”