QUALIFYING REPORT: Grand Prix of Portland
Qualifying Notes
- The Andretti INDY NXT team hit the track for qualifying this afternoon at Portland International Raceway, with Dennis Hauger securing a second-row start for tomorrow’s race. Teammates Salvador de Alba and Lochie Hughes will follow from Rows 3 and 4, respectively.
- While Group 1’s qualifying attempt remained clean, Group 2 saw a red flag as with the No. 40 going off track. The interruption lasted nearly half of the session’s time, making each lap the Group 2 drivers made that much more crucial.
- INDY NXT by Firestone will battle it out on the Pacific Northwest track for their final road course race of the season tomorrow at 1:00 PM ET, with live coverage available on FS1.
Qualifying Results
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 McGinley Clinic /
USF Championship Dallara
P7
- Lochie Hughes made his INDY NXT qualifying debut in Portland this afternoon after Practice 2 saw him finish the session outside of the Top 10 after a red flag cut practice short.
- Taking on Qualifying in Group 2 with teammate Hauger, Hughes quickly moved up inside of the top five in his group, where he remained until the checkered flag waved, putting him at P7 in overall results.
“It was a pretty horrible day. I’m not really sure what to say. We looked good yesterday in Practice 1 and the car felt strong, but I think we may have gone the wrong way today. We’ll regroup tonight and come out stronger tomorrow.”
Salvador de Alba
No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara
P6
- Qualifying for the second time in INDY NXT at Portland International Raceway, Salvador de Alba made his attempt to lock in a strong spot on the grid tomorrow in Group 1.
- De Alba started strong in his group, moving into P1 at the start. He continued to move around the leaderboard through the session, but improved on his final timed attempt to record the third quickest lap in his group, putting him in the third row for tomorrow’s race.
- This is de Alba’s career-best qualifying result at this track, improving upon last year’s by two positions.
“I’m pretty happy with the result, even if it wasn’t what we originally planned for the weekend. Practice 2 was tough for the No. 27, so this feels like a bit of a relief. I want to thank the crew, my engineer Ron and Bob for staying calm and helping put us on the third row. It’s not exactly where we want to be, but it’s a big step from where we were in Practice 2. Now we just focus on tomorrow’s race.”
Dennis Hauger
No. 28 Nammo Dallara
P3
- After leading Practices 1 and 2 this weekend, Dennis Hauger made his qualifying debut in Portland this afternoon in Group 2.
- Hauger started off strong, leading Group 2 with the fastest lap time for the majority of the session. As the checkered flag closed out the session with the Norwegian on top, a final lap from the No. 76 car was just six-hundredths of a second quicker, bumping Hauger to second quickest in his group and third overall.
“Today was frustrating. I thought we had pole for a while, but Caio got us right at the end. That’s how it goes sometimes. We have a new day tomorrow, and we’ll be ready to go after a strong result.”
James Roe
No. 29 Topcon Dallara
P10
- Returning to the Grand Prix of Portland race weekend for the third time in his INDY NXT career, James Roe was part of the first group of drivers to make their qualifying attempts this afternoon.
- Roe remained in the middle of the pack for Group 1 for most of the session, and ultimately took the checkered there as well, putting him in the top 10 on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
“It was a tight qualifying today. However, I think we got the most out of the package we had. Just half a tenth would’ve moved us up two rows, which shows how competitive it is in INDY NXT right now. We know we have a strong car and will get after it for tomorrow’s race.”
Seb Murray
No. 2 Dream Racing Dubai Dallara
P12
- After struggling to get in a solid lap in practice this weekend, rookie Seb Murray came into qualifying this afternoon ready to find the speed he needed to set himself up well for tomorrow’s race.
- Murray remained near the middle of the pack in Group 1 this afternoon and wrapped up the session directly behind teammate Roe, putting him just outside of the top 10 for tomorrow.
“It was a pretty decent qualifying session. We were just on the wrong side of a tenth. Qualifying was really close, but that just makes the racing more fun. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.”
Michael d’Orlando
No. 3 Rising Star Racing/ Priority Dallara
P16
- Following a tough Practice 2 that saw the Portland INDY NXT rookie make contact with the barrier in Turn 11, Michael d’Orlando took on qualifying today with the hopes of finding the top-five pace he had in yesterday’s practice session.
- Unfortunately, d’Orlando struggled to find the speed he had earlier in the weekend and will ultimately start near the back of the grid in tomorrow’s event.
“This is not the qualifying session we were hoping for. We just didn’t have the pace we wanted, so we’ll debrief and figure out if it was a case of not getting the most out of the car or if there’s an actual issue. It was a disappointing run all around, but we’ll keep pushing for tomorrow.”
Don Lambert
Team Manager
“It wasn’t an awful day, but we definitely expected a bit more. We thought Dennis had a much better car, and it just didn’t come together for us. The team still has a good shot for tomorrow. We just need to play our cards right and bring home solid results.”
