Indy NXT kicked off its 2025 Season back in St. Petersburg last month. With the second round of the season about to get underway at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, here’s a reminder of how everything unfolded last time out.
Alex Palou secures win in a tight St. Petersburg opener
Domination from Dennis in St. Petersburg
Dennis Hauger made the bold move to switch from Formula 2 to Indy NXT for 2025. After his debut on American soil, none are in doubt that this was a great choice from the Norwegian Driver. Hauger topped all but one session over the course of his inaugural Indy NXT weekend. Taking the fastest time in the first practice session before claiming pole in qualifying (Myles Rowe putting in the fastest time during the second practice session), many wondered if anybody would be able to stop him in the race.
The short answer was no. Hauger swooped into turn one in the lead after starting from pole. He led from lights to flag in an incident filled race that saw many race restarts. While some drivers can handle these a couple of times, it’s easy for mistakes to creep in and for the lead to be lost on a race restart. Hauger however, looked calm and collected for the entire race and victory was never in doubt, handling every restart with ease. After round one, he sits at the top of the Championship with 54 points to his name.
Andretti 1-2 in St. Petertsburg
2025 began perfectly for Andretti. Alongside Hauger on the podium in P2 was his teammate, Lochie Hughes. The US Pro 2000 and Formula 4 US Champion graduated to Indy NXT this year and is one of the rookie favourites for the title. The Australian kept Hauger honest for the duration of the race, ensuring that any mistake by the Norwegian would prove costly. Only thirteen points behind Hauger in the Championship, that pressure will serve to either motivate or break both drivers as the season continues.
Andretti had another of their drivers, Salvador De Alba, in the top five meaning that as starts the seasons go, theirs was pretty darn good. Andretti’s fourth driver, James Roe, was not so fortunate. But more on him later.
IndyCar – Sebring Pre-Season Testing Report
Myles Rowe – Best of the Rest
Returning driver Caio Collet rounded out the podium in St. Petersburg. While he continued where he left off at the end of last season, the Brazilian won’t be happy that he was beaten by two rookies. Nor will he be happy about the driver that finished just behind him in P4 – Myles Rowe.
Another driver entering their second season, Rowe is an American driver on the rise with lots of keen eyes watching his progress. Last year, he finished in eighth place in St. Petersburg. This year, he finished in fourth, just a fraction of a second behind third place. With other hungry drivers behind him such as De Alba, Missig and Hedge, many of whom finished ahead of him last year, Rowe will be even more determined to prove a point and leave his mark on the rest of the field in 2025.
Sophia Flörsch – On the Move
Sophia Flörsch made the move to America in 2025 too. The German driver had some work to do during the opening race of the season, after an unfortunate qualifying saw her down in seventeenth place. But she managed to keep her head down, avoid the drama and collisions happening around her on track and made some moves as the race unfolded.
She finished the race in twelfth – an encouraging result off the back of a strong pre-season test where she was less than half a second behind Hauger. Frustratingly, after St. Petersburg, HMD Motorsports announced that they were parting ways with Flörsch after just one race together. Anything can happen in Indy NXT though and we may yet see Flörsch return later in the season.
Sophia Flörsch Parts Ways with HMD Motorsports
All to Play For
Further down the field, naturally not every driver had a dream start to the season. Tommy Smith didn’t make it out of turn one after several cars came together in the opening meters of the race.
Another of the drivers involved in this incident, Andretti’s James Roe, crashed out on lap nine. The Irish driver ploughed into the barriers at the exit of turn ten and eliminated himself from contention. Nolan Allaer was the next to crash out on lap 21 and then, with less than three minutes left on the clock, Jack William Miller crashed out into the barrier at the exit of turn nine.
Ricardo Escotto however, managed to avoid a potentially nasty crash with a nice save on lap 25 coming out of turn four. He finished the race in tenth. Bryce Aron and Hailie Deegan also warrant a mention. They began the race in twentieth and twenty-first respectively but moved up the order to finish in thirteenth and fourteenth.
| Driver | Points |
| Dennis Hauger | 54 |
| Lochie Hughes | 41 |
| Caio Collet | 35 |
| Myles Rowe | 32 |
| Salvador De Alba | 30 |
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Indy NXT returns May 4th at Barber Motorsports Park
Feature Image: IndyCar Media Centre – Travis Hinkle
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