RACE REPORT: INDY NXT Detroit Grand Prix
Race Notes
- Andretti INDY NXT took on the Streets of Detroit this morning with a standout performance by rookie Dennis Hauger, who completed a perfect weekend with a victory on the Motor City street course, leading every lap of the heated race from green to checkered. Close behind Hauger at the checkered was Lochie Hughes, who rounded out the top five, as well as Seb Murray and Salvador de Alba, who locked in top-10 finishes.
- The Andretti INDY NXT team has scored podium finishes at the Detroit Grand Prix for the past three consecutive years since the race returned to the downtown street configuration in 2023 (Foster – R2 2023 and 2024)
- Today’s victory on the Streets of Detroit extends the Andretti INDY NXT team’s winning streak to a total of seven consecutive races. Additionally, the team has started every race in the pole position and led every race lap so far this season.
- The Detroit Grand Prix saw two total caution periods totaling five laps in duration, with one occurring on the opening lap of the race and the other within the final four laps, leading to a gritty restart with one lap to go of the race.
- INDY NXT by Firestone will take on its first oval race of the season in a couple of weeks, heading to World Wide Technology Raceway to race on Sunday, June 15 at 4:30 PM ET, with viewing available on FS1.
Race Results
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 USF Championship Dallara
P5
| Started | P2 |
| Standings | P2 (203 points) |
- Rounding out the front row of the grid today with teammate Dennis Hauger, rookie Lochie Hughes took on the Streets of Detroit for the first time in his career.
- Hughes started the race strong in P2 and held that position until teammate Salvador de Alba passed him on Lap 5, forcing the Australian driver into third. After de Alba was forced to pit for front wing repairs, Hughes was back in the coveted P2 spot by Lap 24.
- Unfortunately, shortly later, Hughes made slight contact with the wall, damaging his front wing. Hughes rode as long as he could with the wing damage, but ultimately received a black flag on Lap 38 to come to pit lane for repairs.
- Hughes got back out into the field on the lead lap and managed to move up from P8 up to P5 to capture his fifth top-five finish of the season.
“This was a really crazy race. It was just a bit hectic at the start, and then Salvador got past me. Then, I was trying to get Salvador, and he left me no room, so we made contact. He had to pit for damage, so I took second place, but then I had damage to my front wing later on. We were still really quick and making up space on Dennis, but the front wing eventually got too bad, and they gave us a black flag, so we had to go in for a pit stop. We came back out and finished in fifth with four laps to go. This was a tough one, but we’ll have to go back out for it on the oval.”
Salvador de Alba
No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara
P8
| Started | P5 |
| Standings | P5 (135 points) |
- Salvador de Alba took the green flag this morning from his best career street course starting position to spring into action as the green flag waved this morning, jumping up two positions to immediately round out the top three.
- Following a restart on Lap 5, de Alba successfully passed teammate Hughes for second place, pushing Hughes back to third. These positions remained until Hughes passed de Alba on the back stretch, and in a battle for second, de Alba regained the P2 spot by making a pass in Turn 3. Although in doing so, de Alba made slight contact with the wall, damaging the front right tire and a portion of the front wing. He remained out on the field until Lap 24 where he was called in for repairs.
- Going back out into the mix on the lead lap, the Mexican driver was then shuffled back to P13. Determined to make a comeback, de Alba fought his way back up to P8, but shortly after the restart on Lap 44, he made contact with the wall in Turn 3, preventing him from crossing the finish line. De Alba ended the day in that P8 spot, marking his 13th INDY NXT career top 10 result.
“Not a lot to say here. I’m really disappointed with what happened. The start was awesome for us, and the pace in general was great. We were running really good all weekend, but this all ends with the checkered flag, and we were not where we wanted to be at that time. So sorry to the crew about today. Heads down and we’ll focus forward on the next race.”
Dennis Hauger
No. 28 Rental Group Dallara
P1
| Started | P1 |
| Standings | P1 (241 points) |
- After leading every session this weekend, which included a track record-breaking qualifying result yesterday, rookie Dennis Hauger started the race day from the pole for the third time this season.
- Despite the aggressive racing occurring in his mirrors, Hauger maintained composure to lead every lap of the race, capture the fourth win of his INDY NXT career and cushion his Championship lead by 38 points ahead of his teammate Hughes.
“This race was pretty clean for me, I just tried to keep it calm and not overdo it on the tires. It was sketchy on the last lap with the track just cooling down a lot with the safety car, but we did the job. I’m happy about the win today, it’s a good step for the Championship. It’s a shame about Lochie and Salvador today. I think we could have had a top three for all the Andretti cars, so that’s a shame. But we had a strong car all week. Big thanks to Andretti for that today. For the next race, we’ll just keep working as we have done so far.”
James Roe
No. 29 Topcon Dallara
P13
| Started | P19 |
| Standings | P16 (77 points) |
- Following an unlucky weekend in Detroit after making contact with the wall in both Practice 1 and Qualifying, James Roe’s focus for today was to keep a clean race and bring home some points.
- Forced to take the green from the back of the field today, Roe avoided the multi-car incident in Lap 1 of the race and focused on moving his way up the field. The Irish driver ran in the top 10 for the majority of the race, running as high as P9, but ultimately was shuffled back, taking the checkered in P13.
“I was just happy to see the checkered flag today – it was a tough weekend. To see the end of the race felt like a win; we’ve been on the back foot all weekend, and then it was a crazy race. We just tried to stay out of trouble and kept to ourselves. We knew we didn’t have the pace that we usually have to fight, so it was a matter of bringing it home, and that we did. We got points, and now let’s just rebound and get on to the ovals.”
Seb Murray
No. 2 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara
P6
| Started | P12 |
| Standings | P11 (91 points) |
- After securing his best street course qualifying position yesterday, Seb Murray took on the Streets of Detroit for the first time in his career to transform a strong start into a strong race finish.
- Avoiding the Lap 1 incident that collected Andretti Cape teammate Ricardo Escotto, Murray kept an aggressive race to gradually move his way up the field from the outside of the top 10. Eventually, following an impressive driving performance, the Scot took the checkered flag just outside of the top five, directly behind teammate Hughes.
- Today’s result is Murray’s first INDY NXT career top-10 finish and best career finish overall.
“That’s a wrap on Detroit. Honestly, this has been a great weekend as a whole. P6 is a great finish for me and the team. Best finish so far. Massive thank you to everyone back home, and we’ve had a really strong car all weekend, so huge thanks to the Andretti Cape guys. Regarding the race, it was pretty messy at the start with the pile-up. I got around but couldn’t do much to completely avoid it, and got hit in the rear, which caused a bit of damage. It hindered my straight line speed a bit, but otherwise, we were pretty set. It got chaotic again there at the end, and there was some pretty scrappy racing, and it would’ve been nice to get a top five, but we can’t complain too much about getting some solid points for the team.”
Ricardo Escotto
No. 3 Frank’s RedHot Dallara
P20
| Started | P20 |
| Standings | P13 (82 points) |
- Following a difficult day yesterday that saw Ricardo Escotto involved in an incident during Practice 2, which prevented the car from being ready in time to qualify, Escotto and the No. 3 Frank’s RedHot crew were back in racing conditions for the Detroit Grand Prix.
- Although shortly after the green flag waved, Escotto unfortunately was not able to avoid a multi-car pile-up in Turn 4. This caused him to be collected in the incident, damaging the front left wishbones of his car beyond repair, ending his race day before the first lap was completed.
“This is a very disappointing end to the weekend. We didn’t even get one lap into the race. I was just completely blocked, and I couldn’t do anything to avoid it. It’s just really a shame. But we’ll try to bounce back in St. Louis.”
Don Lambert
Team Manager
“Another outstanding job by Dennis. He continues to do a great job regardless of where we go. He always stay calm and collected and put together another fabulous race for himself. I’m a little bit unhappy with the guys fighting behind there. Could’ve been a really good points weekend and it would’ve been nice to get that 1-2-3 here. We could’ve walked away and fought for another day on some points, but I’m not driving the car.”
