Hauger edges Andretti teammate Hughes to Detroit Indy NXT pole

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 1m4.9896s in the No. 28 Rental Group car. That broke the series track record of 1m05.1079s set last June by eventual series champion Louis Foster, also of Andretti Global.

“It was so messy, but I pushed to the limit and got the pole,” Hauger said. “That was intense.”

Hughes was second at 1m05.0516s in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine, also under Foster’s track record.

There was a gap of nearly 1s 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 1m05.9554s in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car in just his second start in the IndyCar development series.

Last year's Rookie of the Year Caio Collet qualified fourth at 1m05.6249s 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 1m05.9772s in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car.

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Callum Hedge rounded out the first three rows by qualifying sixth at 1m06.1315s 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.

Teammate 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 3m56s 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 1m05.287s 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.

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