INDY NXT QUALIFYING REPORT: Grand Prix of Detroit

No. 26 Andretti Global Dallara

• After a strong performance in Friday’s opening practice and backing it up with the second-fastest time this morning, Lochie Hughes entered qualifying this afternoon as the sole Andretti driver in Group 1.
• The Australian driver spent the majority of the session cycling through the top of the leaderboard, but late-session improvements by competitors ultimately shuffled Hughes to third in his group, securing a fifth-place starting spot overall for tomorrow’s race.

“That last lap I was on, I was up like four-tenths of a second, but I didn’t really know it at the time, so I was just going all out and made a mistake. I wish I had backed it up a bit and didn’t push so hard, but it is what it is.”

Seb Murray

No. 27 Megatron Dallara

• After recording impressive speed in Practice 1, Seb Murray aimed to transfer that speed into today’s qualifying session in Group 2.
• Murray shuffled through the top five on the leaderboard during his attempt and was trending to be on a strong run when an untimely red flag came out due to a competitor making contact with the barrier, halting the session.
• Once the track returned to green, Murray was able to maintain his position in the top five, finishing fourth in his group and eighth overall, a four-position improvement from where he started last year at this track.

“Just finished quali here in Detroit. Pretty frustrating end to what could have been a really strong session for us. The team put together a fantastic car. Honestly, it felt great. The car just kept getting better and better, every lap. But unfortunately, that red flag messed up our run. I was on a really good lap, and like I said before, the car just kept coming and coming. So I reckon we would have found a lot more time if we had a couple more laps, but massive thank you to your team, and we’ll get to work building a fast race car for tomorrow.”

No. 28 Susan G. Komen Dallara

• Max Taylor set the quickest lap in practice this morning and was on track to continue improving just as he unfortunately made contact with the barrier in Turn 1. Facing extensive damage to the car, the No. 28 crew executed a phenomenal rebuild to get the car track-ready just in time for qualifying.
• Taking the track in Group 2, Taylor battled for the top spot on the leaderboard and was sitting in second and trending for the pole position when the red flag came out for Group 2, interrupting the session.
• While he reclaimed the top spot on the restart, the momentum lost during the pit lane hold ultimately left him just shy of the pole. Still, Taylor secured an impressive front-row starting spot for tomorrow, the sixth of his INDY NXT career.

“It’s all about the team. I’m just the one that drives a car. They’re amazing. They’re legends to put this car together after swapping a whole engine, fixing the whole thing after my mistaken practice. Honestly, I think if we didn’t have the red flag, we would have been pole overall. So, I’m really happy considering the circumstances, but it’s still not P1, so there’s a little bit there to find, but I was going for everything. I was bouncing off of a few walls and skimming them right on that limit. I was giving it everything because I wanted to show this team that their good work goes a long way. I wanted to make it worth it.”

No. 29 Starchive Dallara

• Josh Pierson came into the Detroit race weekend with great pace in both practice sessions and took on qualifying today in Group 2 with teammates Taylor and Murray.
• Like his teammates, Pierson was also caught out by the untimely red flag while on a strong lap and was not able to rebuild the proper speed to attempt to break back into the top five when the track returned to green. He will start tomorrow’s race on the sixth row.

“I just really struggled. I couldn’t roll any speed in the mid corner. I don’t know what it is. I just feel bad for the guys. We had super strong cars in Practice 1, so I don’t know what happened. Pace just disappeared for me. I’m just really disappointed, and it’s super frustrating that I can never really figure quali out. I made our job really difficult for tomorrow.

“I think we expected a little bit more out of the group. Obviously, Max had a good car before he crashed, and fortunately, we were able to change the engine and get that thing back out there in the same area that it was. Lochie had a really good lap and ended up just missing P1 by just a couple of tenths. It’s a shame because I think all four Andretti cars should have been in the top five. So we’re just going to see where we race tomorrow. It’s a long, grueling race for these guys. It’s tough, so we just need to come out of here with some points and keep working on our Championship fight.”