Starting from pole Rookie Car 28 Dennis Hauger won the INDY NXT by Firestone GP of St. Petersburg for his 1st Series win. This is his 1st win & 1st Top 3 of 2025. 2nd Place Car 26 Lochie Hughes, started from 2nd place posted his 1st Top 3 of 2025. 3rd Place Car 76 Collet Caio started from 3rd place posted his 1st Top 3 of 2025.
4th Place Car 99 Myles Rowe, started from 4th place followed by 5th place Car 27 Salvador de Alba, started from 7th place. 6th Place Car 48 Jordan Missig, started from 9th place followed by 7th place Car 9 Browne, Jonathan started from 10th place. 8th Place Car 17 Callum Hedge, started from 12th place followed by 9th place Car 14 Josh Pierson, started from 19th place. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 3 Ricardo Escotto, in 10th place, started from 8th place.
The race had 4 Cautions for 11 laps. Caution Summary: 1st Caution on lap 1 for Contact: Car 10, 16 and 29 in Turn 1. 2nd Caution on lap 10 for Contact: Car 29 in Turn 10. 3rd Caution on lap 22 for Contact: Car 11 in Turn 11. 4th Caution on lap 42 for Contact: Car 40 in 9.
The race had no Lead Changes.
Photo Courtesy of INDYCAR
INDY NXT Statement:
Hauger Dominates for First Series Victory at St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Sunday, March 2, 2025) – There are big expectations surrounding Dennis Hauger’s first season of INDY NXT by Firestone with Andretti Global.
So far, so good.
Hauger completed a dominant weekend with his first victory in his first start in the INDYCAR development series, taking the checkered flag in the No. 28 Rental Group car under caution. Hauger, who started from the pole, led every lap and turned the fastest lap of the race. He became the first driver since Linus Lundqvist in 2021 to win in his INDY NXT by Firestone debut.
Norwegian driver Hauger joins INDY NXT by Firestone this season after winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2021 and earning five wins and 13 podium finishes in FIA Formula 2 – the last official ladder step before Formula One – in the last three seasons.
“That was fun,” Hauger said. “First proper race on this course for me, as well. We had a good rhythm. The car was really good, and the team did an amazing job all weekend long to be up there with us. Super happy. Good start to the season and definitely a confidence boost for us.”
Fellow rookie Lochie Hughes gave Andretti Global a 1-2 finish in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine. Caio Collet, the top returning driver in the series, rounded out the podium finishers in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car.
Myles Rowe tied his career-best result in INDY NXT by placing fourth in the No. 99 Abel Motorsports/Force Indy car. Salvador de Alba rounded out the top five in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car fielded by Andretti Global.
Jordan Missig continued his breakthrough weekend by finishing a career-best sixth in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car. Missig, who also qualified a career-best ninth, recorded a best finish of ninth in five INDY NXT starts last season for the Abel team.
The only thing that slowed Hauger was four caution flags that forced the race, originally scheduled for 45 laps, to instead become a 55-minute event. He held off teammate Hughes on all three restarts, on Laps 2, 14 and 25, and eased away.
With 10 minutes remaining, Hauger led Hughes by 1.3 seconds. That gap expanded to 2.4 seconds and was growing when Jack William Miller hit the barrier in Turn 9 while running fifth in the No. 40 Abel/Miller/Vinatieri Motorsports car with two minutes, 15 seconds left in the race. That triggered the fourth and final caution period and ended the race.
Female rookie teammates Sophia Floersch and Hailie Deegan finished 12th and 14th, respectively, in their respective series debuts for HMD Motorsports.
The next INDY NXT by Firestone race is the Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park (11:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).
INDY NXT by Firestone GP of St. Petersburg Race Results
Streets of St. Petersburg
Position Starting Position Car Driver Laps Status
1. 1. Car 28 Hauger, Dennis (R) 44 Running
2. 2. Car 26 Hughes, Lochie (R) 44 Running
3. 3. Car 76 Collet, Caio 44 Running
4. 4. Car 99 Rowe, Myles 44 Running
5. 7. Car 27 de Alba, Salvador 44 Running
6. 9. Car 48 Missig, Jordan 44 Running
7. 10. Car 9 Browne, Jonathan 44 Running
8. 12. Car 17 Hedge, Callum 44 Running
9. 19. Car 14 Pierson, Josh 44 Running
10. 8. Car 3 Escotto, Ricardo 44 Running
11. 18. Car 18 Johnson, Nikita (R) 44 Running
12. 17. Car 24 Floersch, Sophia (R) 44 Running
13. 20. Car 39 Aron, Bryce 44 Running
14. 21. Car 38 Deegan, Hailie (R) 44 Running
15. 16. Car 16 Smith, Tommy (R) 42 Running
16. 6. Car 40 Miller, Jack William 41 Contact
17. 13. Car 2 Murray, Sebastian (R) 41 Running
18. 5. Car 30 Sceats, Liam (R) 33 Running
19. 15. Car 11 Allaer, Nolan 20 Contact
20. 14. Car 29 Roe, James 5 Contact
21. 11. Car 10 Koolen, Niels 1 Contact
Race Stats:
Time of Race: 00:56:37.7122
Avg Speed: 83.915
Lead Changes: 0
Caution Laps: 11
Fastest Lap: 100.041 mph ( 64.7732 sec) on lap 38 by 28 – Dennis Hauger
Next Event: INDY NXT by Firestone race is the Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park
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Photos & Graphics Courtesy of INDYCAR
INDYCAR
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Photos & Graphics Courtesy of INDYCAR