Latest news with #McGinleyClinic
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Dennis Hauger Edges Andretti Teammate Lochie Hughes for Detroit Pole
INDYCAR The INDY NXT by Firestone duel between Andretti Global teammates Dennis Hauger and Lochie Hughes continued to heat up Saturday as Hauger edged fellow series rookie Hughes for the pole at the Detroit Grand Prix. Hauger earned his third pole in five races this season – Hughes grabbed the other two – with a series-record lap of 1 minute, 4.9896 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group car. That broke the series track record of 1:05.1079 set last June by eventual series champion Louis Foster, also of Andretti Global. SEE: Qualifying Results 'It was so messy, but I pushed to the limit and got the pole,' Hauger said. 'That was intense.' Hughes was second at 1:05.0516 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine, also under Foster's track record. There was a gap of nearly one second to third on the starting grid for the 45-lap race Sunday (10:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network), as 17-year-old rookie Max Taylor qualified third at 1:05.9554 in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car in just his second start in the INDYCAR development series. 2024 Rookie of the Year Caio Collet qualified fourth at 1:05.6249 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports machine. Salvador de Alba was the third Andretti Global driver in the top five with his top lap of 1:05.9772 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car. Callum Hedge rounded out the first three rows by qualifying sixth at 1:06.1315 in the No. 17 Abel Motorsports car. There was plenty of suspense throughout qualifying. The session was split into two groups of drivers, with Hughes in the first group and Hauger in the second to build the drama. Hauger leads his teammate by 15 points atop the series standings after four races, and they are the only drivers to win races this season – Hauger has three victories, Hughes one. Hughes laid down his huge lap on his final trip around the treacherous, nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit in downtown Detroit, finally getting clear track on the tight, bumpy circuit for his last qualifying run. Hauger was working up his response when James Roe suffered his second crash of the weekend with about seven minutes left in the session, with his No. 29 Topcon car receiving heavy right front damage after wall impact. Roe was unhurt. There were only three minutes, 56 seconds left in the session when the track reopened, and Hauger and his group hustled back on the circuit to complete as many laps as possible. Hauger dropped to 1:05.287 on his second-to-last lap, just behind Hughes, but grabbed the pole with his track-record lap on his final trip around the circuit. 'That was just so nerve-wracking with the red flag because tire temperatures weren't there on the first two laps, and they came on the last one,' Hauger said. 'I hit the wall on the second-to-last lap, I almost crashed in Turn 1 on the last lap.' recommended
Fox Sports
10-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Lochie Hughes Breaks Through for First INDY NXT Victory at IMS
INDYCAR Rookie Lochie Hughes led all 35 laps of the Indianapolis Grand Prix Race 1 to earn his first career INDY NXT by Firestone victory on Friday on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. 2024 USF Pro 2000 champion Hughes, from Australia, drove his No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car fielded by Andretti Global to victory by .7229 of a second over the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car of veteran Caio Collet. SEE: Race Results 'This is an awesome weekend so far,' Hughes said. 'I can't thank the whole team enough. It's been a tough jump to this series. It's a big step from what I was in, so I've been playing catch-up for a while. 'It's nice to finally get a win, especially around here. What a day. My parents are here, as well, this weekend, and they're not usually here, so I think it's the first time they'll see me win in a long time because they don't come over (to America) much. Pretty cool.' Veteran Myles Rowe finished a career-best third in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy machine. Callum Hedge (No. 17 Abel Motorsports) and Salvador de Alba (No. 27 Grupo Indi of Andretti Global) rounded out the top five. Hughes started from the pole and opened a 1.6813-second lead before a caution on Lap 10 when Juan Manuel Correa and Niels Koolen went off course in Turn 1. Hughes then led the field to green on the Lap 12 restart and quickly built a 2.3395-second advantage by the halfway mark on Lap 18. His lead blossomed to 2.6693 seconds before teammate James Roe crashed in Turn 14 on Lap 29, collecting 16-year-old Nikita Johnson and triggering the second and final caution of the race. Hughes kept the lead on a restart, this time on Lap 31, and held off Collet for victory. Andretti Global has won 12 of the last 14 INDY NXT by Firestone races, dating back to Race 2 of last year's Indianapolis race weekend. 'I was pretty annoyed when I kept seeing the yellow come out,' Hughes said. 'I was just trying to get a good jump off the last corner there and brake late into (Turn) 1 and make sure I don't get passed.' Hughes pulled to within three points of series leader and Andretti Global teammate Dennis Hauger with the victory. Hauger, who won the first two races of the season, finished eighth in the No. 28 Rental Group car. Hauger started second but had contact with Hedge in Turn 1 on the opening lap, forcing his car off track. He returned to the racetrack last in the 21-car field. He steadily climbed through the day and was in 13th at the first caution and eighth by the second yellow. Race 2 of the doubleheader, another 35-lap contest, starts at 1 p.m. ET Saturday on FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Hughes and Hauger once again will share the front row, with Hughes on the pole. recommended
Fox Sports
03-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Dennis Hauger Manages Mixed Conditions Best To Win Pole at Barber
INDYCAR Dennis Hauger remained perfect this season in INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying, earning the pole for the Grand Prix of Alabama in mixed conditions Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park. Hauger, from Norway, grabbed the top starting spot for the race Sunday with a best lap of 1 minute, 12.7705 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group car fielded by Andretti Global. He won the pole and the race in his debut in the INDYCAR development series March 2 at St. Petersburg, Florida. SEE: Qualifying Results Qualifying was a tale of two sessions in changing weather conditions. The 20-driver field was split into two groups for qualifying, and the first group of drivers all used Firestone Firehawk rain tires because of damp track conditions. The 17-turn, 2.3-mile natural terrain circuit dried enough for the second group to switch to the faster Firestone slick tires after their warmup lap, creating a big discrepancy in times between the two groups. But series rules state the grid is set by alternating the quickest times in each group, so Caio Collet will join Hauger on the front row even though his top time of 1:24.8394 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car from the wetter first group was more than 12 seconds slower than Hauger's best. That trend continued throughout the lineup for the 20-car field, as the starters in the odd-numbered grid spots all came from the drier, faster second group while all even-numbered starters qualified in the wetter, slower first group. Hauger already was on top when he improved upon his best time on his last lap. Every driver in the second group was given one final flying lap after rookie Max Taylor spun off track late in the session in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car, losing his two quickest laps for triggering a red flag during qualifying. 'It was looking like it was drying up, but you don't really know before you go out there,' Hauger said. 'After the first lap, I was like, 'We've to pit for a sticker (slicks) run.' After we did that, I think most people did in the end. 'It was a good run, a good last lap. I managed to maximize it. The Andretti team and 28 crew have had a good weekend so far and are looking forward to starting on pole tomorrow.' The 35-lap race starts at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Evagoras Papasavvas will start third in his series debut in the No. 24 HMD Motorsports machine. Papasavvas, 17, turned a top lap of 1:13.3669 in the second group. Lochie Hughes of Andretti Global will join him in the second row after qualifying fourth at 1:25.4437 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car of Andretti Global. Myles Rowe qualified fifth at 1:13.4377 in the No. 99 Abel/Force Indy machine of Abel Motorsports. Bryce Aron will start sixth after his run of 1:25.5923 in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing car. recommended
Fox Sports
23-04-2025
- Automotive
- Fox Sports
Test Patterns: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
INDYCAR Andretti Global reaffirmed its position as the team to beat early this season during an INDY NXT by Firestone group test April 22 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Columbus, Ohio. The reigning champions, which fielded the car last season for title winner Louis Foster, opened this season March 2 in St. Petersburg, Florida, with a victory by series rookie Dennis Hauger and a runner-up result by his rookie teammate Lochie Hughes. Not much changed in the test Tuesday with 21 car-driver combinations on the 13-turn, 2.258-mile natural terrain road course at Mid-Ohio. While times and speeds are not officially released from private tests, various media reports and social media feeds have given an opportunity to try to make some itemized deductions: Hauger Continues To Reign Formula 2 race winner Hauger opened the 2025 season by winning at St. Petersburg from the pole, leading all 44 laps. His dominance continued Tuesday in testing at Mid-Ohio, as his No. 28 Rental Group car was more than three-tenths clear of his closest competitor, veteran Callum Hedge of ABEL Motorsports. Hauger, from Norway, entered this season with title-or-bust aspirations considering his three seasons of experience in F2, the last ladder rung before Formula One. But there always are wrinkles to iron, such as learning a new car and tracks. So far, Hauger has steamed out all wrinkles and is the driver to beat entering the next round, the Grand Prix of Alabama on Sunday, May 4 at Barber Motorsports Park (11:30 a.m. ET, FS1, INDYCAR Radio Network). Hedge Again Quick in Testing; Race Pace Up Next Hedge proved again he is plenty quick against the clock in testing. He led the test in early February at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and was second here Tuesday, slightly more than three-tenths of a second behind Hauger. But Hedge needs to convert that pace into results if he wants to stay in touch with Hauger in the title race. Hedge qualified a disappointing 12th and placed eighth in St. Petersburg in the No. 17 ABEL Motorsports entry, leaving him already 30 points behind Hauger. Hughes Quietly Getting It Done In almost any other year, 2024 USF Pro 2000 champion Lochie Hughes would be the talk of the paddock after finishing second in his series debut at St. Petersburg and ending up third at this test. But Hughes also was joined this season at Andretti Global by Hauger, who has grabbed the INDYCAR development series by the scruff of the neck with his testing and race pace. Still, Hughes continues to quietly impress in his No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car. He finished second to Hauger in the St. Petersburg race and was third quickest at this test, less than a tenth of a second behind Hedge and slightly more than four-tenths behind leader Hauger. Hughes is finding the kind of consistency that will let him contend for more podium finishes and victories if his rapid teammate Hauger falters any weekend. Midfield Tightens While Hauger held an impressive gap of more than three-tenths of a second over the field, margins were tighter deeper in the pack. Just slightly over three-tenths of a second separated the No. 99 ABEL Motorsports/Force Indy car of Myles Rowe in fifth and the No. 29 Topcon machine fielded by Andretti Global and driven by James Roe.
