Indy NXT went racing in Alabama last weekend for Round Two of the 2025 Season. Dennis Hauger picked up where he left off in St. Petersburg as the Norwegian Driver dominated the weekend. But there was more to the action with plenty of drama behind him. Here’s everything that you need to know.
Indy NXT – Last Time in St. Petersburg
Domination from Hauger
It was another lights to flag victory for Dennis Hauger. Starting from Pole on Sunday, his win never looked in doubt. It’s an impressive start from the former Formula 2 driver. After winning the Formula 3 title in crushing fashion, many were surprised at his struggles in Formula 2. If Hauger came to Indy NXT to reassert his credentials on the race track, he’s certainly going the right way about it. With Alex Palou dominating in IndyCar so far in 2025, it looks like the same may be true of Dennis Hauger.
Can anyone beat him? We’ll have to wait and see.
Podium on Debut
Rookie driver Evagoras Papasavvas made his Indy NXT debut in Alabama for Round Two. The American driver qualified in third place ahead of Sunday’s main event. On race day, he went one better by climbing up to second place, ten seconds behind Hauger. Prior to this weekend, Papasavvas had only been racing in the USF 2000 Championship. But after this performance, a lot more attention is surly going to come the way of the seventeen year old. Watch this space.
IndyCar | Alabama Grand Prix | Practice and Qualifying Recap
From Hero to Zero
On the other end of the grid was Caio Collet. The Brazilian finished in third place last time out in St. Petersburg. But the race weekend in Alabama would be one to forget for the youngster. A sensor failure compromised the performance of the car and despite the chaos around him on track, Collet was unable to capitalise on any of it. He finished the race down in nineteenth place. With a double header race weekend coming up immediately, he’ll be keen to turn this negative momentum around and bounce back stronger.
Worthy Mentions
Myles Rowe finished in fourth place once again, keeping him in third place overall in the Championship. Salvador de Alba slipped slightly down the order, finishing the race just outside the top ten. One driver’s bad luck is another’s good luck though and that was the case in Alabama for Josh Pierson. The American driver finished in a respectable fifth place. Rookie Liam Sceats finished in an impressive sixth place after having finished in eighteenth place at round one back in March. Max Taylor finished in seventh in his Indy NXT debut and Hailie Deegan finished her second race of the year in seventeenth.
Elsewhere, Callum Hedge got turned around on lap one, bringing out the first yellow flag of the race. Seb Murray had a double spin later on and De Alba and Aron had a coming together too which was what put them both out of contention for the remainder of the race.
There’s never a dull moment in Indy NXT and the race at Alabama was no exception. Those behind Hauger will be looking forward to the double header in Indianapolis to find out if any of them can beat him.
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Indy NXT returns May 9th and May 10th for a double header for the Indianapolis Grand Prix
Feature Image: James Black, IndyCar Media Centre
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