NXT Gen Notebook: Hauger edges closer to title with ROTY clinch
- Archie O’Reilly
- Aug 13
- 9 min read
With Portland in the rearview mirror, the right-turn portion of the Indy NXT season is complete and only two races remain in 2025.
Heading into the weekend, HMD Motorsports’ Caio Collet had closed to within 42 points of Andretti Global’s championship leader Dennis Hauger with a sweep of the Laguna Seca doubleheader. But how did Round 12 unfold?
DIVEBOMB tells the key stories of Indy NXT’s visit to the Pacific Northwest…
Collet leads thrilling qualifying
Through practice at Portland International Raceway, Hauger flew out of the blocks. On the schedule’s shortest road course at 1.964 miles, the championship leader was 0.6365s clear of the competition in Practice 1, again leading the way in Practice 2 the next day.
But the nature of the way Practice 2 unfolded, with a late red flag denying new-tyre runs to establish a true competitive order, the top three in the championship - Hauger, Collet and Andretti’s Lochie Hughes - all fell in qualifying’s Group 2. Factor in HMD’s Josh Pierson too off the back of two podiums at Laguna Seca and a big-hitter would be on at least Row 4.
Abel Motorsports’ Myles Rowe and Callum Hedge led Group 1, with the former guaranteeing his first-ever Indy NXT front-row start. And there was initial hope that Group 2 may not be the pole-claiming group after an early red flag in that second segment.
Miller Vinatieri with Abel Motorsports’ Jack William Miller caused the stoppage, with a steering column failure hooking the car left before the backstretch, leading to heavy contact with the armco barrier. There were only six minutes remaining at the resumption.
Hauger appeared in the driving seat for pole, leading the group late on and still managing to usurp Rowe’s Group 1 time despite the shortened session. Collet’s threat appeared to have been quelled by an off-track excursion and drive-through penalty for an unsafe release.
But in quite extraordinary fashion, the Brazilian pulled out an unlikely lap at the very death to edge out his championship rival by 0.0557s on his critical final run.
“I think I managed to put one of the best laps of my life,” Collet said after taking a third pole in succession after his Laguna Seca pole-win sweep. “When I left the pits with the drive-through, my engineer came on and said: ‘You only have one lap to deliver.’
“Was quite hard to hear. But we managed to put a good lap together. I had a great car.”
The nature of falling in the same group as Collet, Hauger was forced to start what was, quite incredibly, a season-low third - his first race start off the front row in 12 Indy NXT races.
Third in the competitive Group 2 was Bryce Aron with Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR)’s best qualifying result since their return - a top-five starting position. Hughes was fourth in the group so started down in seventh, with HMD’s Juan Manuel Correa achieving a top-10 start that confined Pierson, one of this season’s breakout stars, to 11th.
Behind Rowe and Hedge in Group 1, Andretti’s Salvador de Alba, CGR’s Niels Koolen on the team’s strongest day yet and Andretti’s James Roe filled out the rest of the even positions inside the top 10.
How the 35-lap race unfolded
Above anything, Portland is renowned for its Turn 1 jeopardy. And as is typical, there was strife at the very first corner of the race, with Aron spun around trying to make an inside move on Rowe and Hughes trapped up against the stricken car.
Aron’s day ended from fifth place before it had really even begun, while Hughes was able to continue on the lead lap despite a damaged wing. Multiple other drivers were caught up in the chaos but were able to navigate the runoff maze so as to not cut the corner.
At the very front of the field, conflict was avoided and Hauger was decisive in dispatching of both Rowe and then Collet in the first two corners before a caution was brandished. The Norwegian driver got a sensational run into Turn 1, where he passed Rowe, before committing around the outside of Collet to take the lead in fine fashion in Turn 2.
“I was looking a lot at the start [from past years before the race],” Hauger said. “Was just trying to find different scenarios. In the end it worked out pretty well.
“I think Caio was a bit focused on Myles, who got on the outside, got around. I just saw a little bit of room to the inside and took it. I saw that worked last year. It was a good move. Happy we made it stick. No collision.
“We all came out clean… that’s not the easiest in Turn 1 on Lap 1 in Portland. From there on, it was just about keeping it clean, not doing too many mistakes, be smart with the push-to-pass.”
The race restarted on Lap 5, with Hauger robust in his defence after Collet managed to get a run down the long pit straight. A scuffle mid-lap between Miller and Roe saw the latter briefly lifted airborne and left with damage that sent him two laps down.
Otherwise though, it was clean through the field and a caution was avoided. Collet remained in close pursuit of Hauger, staying within one second of the race lead as the pair atop the standings streaked clear at the front of the field again.
The 35 laps continued with few events to note. Collet’s pressure continued but Hauger managed his race - both his tyres and push-to-pass - expertly to fend off any challenge. And finally, within the final three laps, he eked out the gap to over one second for the first time, ultimately finishing the race just shy of a second clear of Collet.
Rowe was a further 2.5s behind Collet - on the podium for the fifth time this year. Out front, Hauger’s victory clinched him Rookie of the Year at 122 points clear of teammate Hughes - now cut adrift of the top two at third in points having recovered to only 10th in Portland.
“We really needed that for the championship, to keep the momentum going into the last two,” said Hauger, 54 points clear of Collet with two races remaining. “Really happy. Great car today. A good step in the championship.”
Hauger’s journey to Rookie of the Year
It has taken only 12 races of the 14-round season for Hauger to secure rookie honours, with his Portland success taking him to six wins and nine podiums for the year.
But this was his first victory in four races and only the second in a seven-race stretch - a contrast to four wins in his first five races. HMD and Collet in particular have found more of an answer for Hauger and Andretti as the year has progressed.
“You would think the rhythm would be in the opposite direction,” Hauger said. “The team has been doing an amazing job; the first five, six races we were really on it - we managed to maximise most of it with a lot of the cars.
“I think HMD, especially on the road courses, just caught up with us a bit, found some really good pace. We saw Pierson as well in Laguna so they have definitely come alive. Caio, I always considered him fighting for the championship this year.
“We were just really on it from the beginning. It’s been a bit of a tough few weekends but it’s good to gain back momentum and have a good feeling going into the [final two] ovals.”
Should Collet not achieve any bonus points next time out in Milwaukee, Hauger only has to beat his rival to clinch the title with one race to spare. If Collet does not outscore Hauger by 12 points, all Hauger will need to do is start the finale in Nashville to seal the deal.
After that, attention turns to trying to secure a ride in IndyCar, which Hauger feels his year of developing in Indy NXT has set him up well for.
“Obviously getting to know the tracks and ovals, for sure, being a big part of the series over here, [has been helpful],” he said. “It’s been a really great experience so far this year, learning a lot of new things. It’s a bit of a different mindset here compared to what I’ve been used to. For sure it’s been a learning curve that I’ve had to adapt to quickly.
“It’s been feeling really natural so far so hopefully it’s something I can bring to the future, hopefully in IndyCar.”
Avoiding mistakes name of the game
After his stunning pole lap, Collet was left frustrated that, in his mind, he threw away the lead of inside only two corners as Hauger swung around the outside of Turn 2. With that, the Brazilian’s chances of winning the title in his sophomore year have been taken firmly out of his hands.
“I had a mega car. Just frustrating that I couldn’t capitalise on the win mainly because of my mistake at the start,” said Collet, whose podium tally for the year is now at nine - level with Hauger. “Very frustrating from my side… I did the mistake of looking at Myles. We both overshot a little bit Turn 1.
“When I saw Dennis on the outside, he was already ahead. It was just too late to react. He found a really good gap, made a great move. I didn’t even see it coming. I was quite focused on Myles on the outside. Mistake from my side.
“After that, the race was quite okay. I kept pressure until the end. He did a really good job again on not doing any mistakes.”
Collet tried all race long to force Hauger into a mistake of his own but it never came. No clear overtaking opportunity arose and he had to settle for second-best for the fourth time this year. It was a race decided at the very start.
Chemistry key between Rowe and Abel
After finishing 11th in points with only a solitary top five as a rookie with HMD last year, Rowe’s fifth podium of his sophomore season with Abel elevated him to nine top-five finishes on the year. His 11 top-10 results so far - in all bar one race - betters seven last year.
“Very happy with the progression from last year to this year,” Rowe said. “I just think things have just clicked between us on the team. That’s enabled me to really show my strong suits. Very happy with how they’ve had faith in me. I’m quite pleased with it all, for sure.
“It’s no doubt been a good journey.”
But what exactly has the lightning bolt been for Rowe? Foremost, the nature of the environment at Abel - a much smaller team than HMD - has allowed him to thrive.
“For one, a little bit of the foundation with the team and things have helped us start strong,” said Rowe, the 2023 USF Pro 2000 champion. “They work really well with me at the shop and things like that. Just certain things off the track I think that weren’t really implemented last year really helped me really show my strengths, like I always have on the Road to Indy.
“All in all though, just the organisation and the hard work they put in, being a little bit more of a focused programme, focused on slightly less drivers than the programme I was in last year, has helped me as well.”
Two races on ovals now remain this year, with Rowe’s best two results of the season having come in the two oval races so far - second at Gateway and his maiden win at Iowa Speedway. Currently comfortably fourth in points and just shy of 22 points adrift of Hughes, there remains a significant chance at a championship podium finish.
Odds and ends from the weekend
Outside of the podium, it was another strong weekend for Hedge in fourth - a seventh successive top-seven finish and third consecutive top five. He is now only seven points from leap-frogging De Alba for sixth in the championship and 23 points from Pierson in fifth.
De Alba himself finished fifth for a seventh top five and 10th top 10 of the season - a quietly impressive sophomore year. And while 70 points behind the top seven, Koolen has had a breakout season of sorts for CGR as he sits eighth in points; a sixth-place finish marks a third top-six result in four rounds.
Maybe the weekend’s most impressive driver was Michael d’Orlando in seventh, progressing from 16th place after a stunning first-lap charge, as he made his season debut after securing a three-race deal in Andretti Cape’s No.3 entry, recently vacated by Ricardo Escotto.
Making his eighth Indy NXT start - the first in almost a year and first on a road course in over a year amid funding issues - d’Orlando showed well immediately with fifth in first practice. He crashed heavily in Practice 2 but had his car repaired for qualifying and rebounded incredibly to put in a stellar race-day performance. He has still finished no NXT race worse than 12th.
There was a second fresh addition to the grid too, with USF Pro 2000 driver Nicholas Monteiro debuting for HMD. He qualified 15th and finished 14th.
Jordan Missig took a fourth top-10 finish in five races for the Abel team in eighth as he holds onto 10th in points, followed by Correa with his fourth top-10 result in his ninth Indy NXT outing. Hughes rounded out the top 10 as his Rookie of the Year hopes were ended, with Pierson still fifth in points but failing to finish better than his starting position in 11th.
Rookie Tommy Smith levelled his best result - achieved in Laguna Seca Race 2 - in 12th for HMD. Miller made up six positions to 13th after his starting crash, followed by Monteiro, HMD’s Nolan Allaer and Andretti Cape’s Sebastian Murray.
HMD’s Hailie Deegan was one lap down and Roe two laps behind after his early incident. Aron was the only retirement.
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