Indy NXT | Qualifying | St. Pete | Hauger storms to pole on debut as Andretti take 1-2 - Motorsport

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Indy NXT qualifying at St. Pete is in the books, full report and results below as the 2025 season kicks off.

The fastest time across the two groups would guarantee pole position, with the others from that one starting 3rd, 5th, 7th and so on.

Group 1

Drivers in the first group: Hauger, Collet, de Alba, Allaer, Missig, Pierson, Murray, Sceats, Floersch and Koolen.

Josh Pierson was pushed back to his box as his HMD Motorsports car had some issue. Sadly for the young American, he could not get a lap in.

After blistering pace in practice, Dennis Hauger was immediately up and running in Group 1 as he did a 1:05.846 on his first proper push lap, 0.7s clear of Sceats and Murray. On his next attempt, he logged a 1:04.894 as he continued to hold a gap, this time over Caio Collet.

As Hauger did a 1:04.481, Collet managed to jump into the 1:04s as well on a 1:04.968. de Alba, Sceats and Floersch was the top 5 with 7 minutes remaining.

The Norwegian got faster still as a 1:04.106 had put him almost 0.4s clear, before doing so with a 1:04.064. Eventually he broke into the 63s barrier as he did a 1:03.889 in a display of total domination.

Andretti’s Hauger finished up with a 1:03.880, improving by 0.005s on his final attempt to put over half a second into the field. His five fastest laps would have been enough for P1 in this group. Collet and Sceats completed the top 3.

At turn 14, Nolan Allaer went off as he tried to improve at the end. Liam Sceats brushed the wall at turn 10 but could continue.

Group 1 Indy NXT St. Pete qualifying results

Hauger 1:03.880
Collet 1:04.385
Sceats 1:04.545
de Alba 1:04.626
Missig 1:04.697
Koolen 1:04.774
Murray 1:04.794
Allaer 1:04.901
Floersch 1:05.198
Pierson NO TIME

Group 2

Drivers in the second group: Hughes, Hedge, Rowe, Smith, Browne, Miller, Escotto, Roe, Johnson, Aron and Deegan.

The first big push lap in the second group was Lochie Hughes as the Australian did a 1:05.323 to go a second clear of the field early doors. The Aussie went faster still on his next run as he pumped in a 1:04.665. Hedge, Miller, Rowe and Smith completed the top 5 with 8 minutes left.

After Hughes did a 1:04.400, Myles Rowe beat that as he clocked a 1:04.301. Miller, Hedge and Browne rounded out the top 5 with 5 minutes left.

Rowe did a 1:04.287 to lower the benchmark. However, Hughes came back at the ABEL driver as he did a 1:04.136 to reclaim P1 in the group. The Andretti driver continued his charge as a 1:04.021 saw him extend his gap to nearly 0.2s to Rowe.

Despite the best efforts of Hughes, he could not beat Hauger’s time from Group 1, meaning the Norwegian is on pole for his Indy NXT debut. His Andretti teammate and fellow rookie completes the front row.

Caio Collet and Myles Rowe fill the second row.