Dennis Hauger and Caio Collet duelled one another for victory last time out in Portland. But it would be a brand new face at the front of the field in Milwaukee where we also saw the crowning of a brand new Indy NXT Champion. Here are your key takeaways from Indy NXT in Milwaukee.
Dennis Hauger – 2025 Indy NXT Champion
Despite losing Pole Position to Salvador De Alba at the opening of the race in Milwaukee, Dennis Hauger put in yet another stellar performance in his rookie Indy NXT Season. He stayed close to De Alba for the remainder of the race, with the big picture in mind. The Norwegian didn’t need to win the race to win the Championship – and he knew it. Hauger’s second place finish was his fourth this year in that position – and has to surely be the best one.
With that, Hauger has claimed the 2025 Indy NXT Championship with a round to spare. He has six wins to his name so far this year and will be looking to make it seven next time out in Nashville to round out his debut year in style.
Winning the Championship also all but guarantees that we’ll see Hauger in IndyCar in 2026. But where will we see the reborn racing driver? It’s too early to tell but it won’t be surprising if a number of teams will be fighting each other to accost him.
Salvador De Alba – Indy NXT Winner
Hauger’s Championship win shouldn’t overshadow the outstanding job that Salvador De Alba pulled off in Milwaukee. Snatching the lead away from Hauger at the end of lap one, De Alba then went on to calmly and methodically control the rest of the race. This included a race restart but this challenge didn’t spook the Mexican driver.
Winning in Milwaukee makes De Alba the fifth different winner in Indy NXT in 2025. It’s also his first ever win in the series and, naturally, his best result of the season after his third place finish back in Iowa. Sitting in P5 overall, De Alba now had one more shot to take the fight to Myles Rowe ahead of him and steal P4.
New Names Out Front
Lochie Hughes was back on the podium in Milwaukee – his first trip to the rostrum since Mid-Ohio. This third place finish for the Australian is a much needed boost after a string of sub par results following his strong start to the year.
Callum Hedge continued on his strong and consistent run of recent results with another P4 finish. Bryce Aron also came from relative obscurity to launch into what is easily his best finish of the year with a P5. Prior to Milwaukee, he’d only been able to finish as high as ninth.
Michael d’Orlando finished in eighth place in only his second Indy NXT race of the season. It was another solid result after finishing in P7 back in Portland. James Row also managed to achieve a good result with P9 being only his third time in the top ten this year.
Missig Vs Milwaukee
Jordan Missig was in a race of his own in Milwaukee. While everyone around him were battling with each other for the duration of the race, Missig was locked in a fight with the track itself.
The American driver spun on lap three, bringing out a caution. But he was able to recover from the spin before doing any damage to his car and was able to continue on in the race.
All looked OK for a while, despite a few hairy moments that he, and most other drivers on the track experienced at one time or another. But with four laps to go, Missig was tested again. He spun once more but did manage to save it. He nearly hit Max Taylor in the process, with the two drivers coming very close together. Luckily for both, contact was avoided and they were able to continue unscathed, but perhaps needing fresh race suits.
Noteworthy Mentions from Milwaukee
Caio Collet had his second worst result of the season, right when he didn’t need it. P7 in Milwaukee saw the Brazilian uncharacteristically out of place after such a strong surge for the title in the latter stage of the Championship.
Tommy Smith did well not to crash at one point too. But while he was able to keep his car out of the wall, his solid progress up through the field to that point was undone. He finished down in P18.
Davey Hamilton Jr. also had a hairy moment as he brushed along the wall at the top of the banking around the Milwaukee Mile Oval. In his other two appearances this year, he’s finished in P15. Where did he finish this time out? You guessed it, P15. Consistency is key in motorsport, but the American driver will be hoping for better in the future.
Feature Image: IndyCar Media Centre
Indy NXT returns August 31st at Nashville.
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