Collet leads opening Indy NXT practice at Road America

Road America is one of the biggest tests of car performance and driver skill of any circuit, so it came as no surprise Friday that the top three drivers in the Indy NXT by Firestone standings moved to the fore during the series’ first practice for the Grand Prix at Road America.

Caio Collet led the practice for the IndyCar development series, turning a top lap of 1m53.1345s in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car. The 2024 series Rookie of the Year is third in the standings, 78 points behind leader Dennis Hauger of Andretti Global.

Brazilian Collet topped the charts despite turning just 10 laps on the 4.014-mile natural-terrain road course, as his team had to replace a malfunctioning starter midway through the 45-minute session.

“We started off very, very good,” Brazilian driver Collet said. “The team did a very good job. We had a little issue in the middle of the session, but they were able to assess that very quickly, and we were back on track.”

Rookie Hauger was second at 1m53.5279s in the No. 28 Nammo car. His Andretti Global rookie teammate, Hughes, was third at 1m53.8290s in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine. Hughes is second in the standings, 19 points behind Hauger.

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Veteran James Roe of Andretti Global aimed to jump-start his disappointing season by ending up fourth at 1m53.8357s in the No. 29 Topcon car. Andretti Global drivers ended up taking four of the top five spots, as Salvador de Alba rounded out the top five at 1m53.9677s in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine.

Collet admitted his experience in Indy NXT machinery gave him a slight advantage over Hauger and Hughes. Formula 2 veteran Hauger never has raced at this iconic circuit, and Hughes only has competed here in lower junior categories.

But Collet doesn’t expect his edge to last long.

“When we start with new tires, if you know the track and everything, you can start with an advantage,” Collet said. “But I expect the guys, especially Dennis and Lochie, to come up and be with me going for the top tomorrow. It will be tight, as always, and we need to keep working.”

Up next is the second practice at 10 a.m. ET Saturday, followed by qualifying at 1:30 p.m. ET. The 20-lap race starts at 11 a.m. ET Sunday. FS1, the FOX Sports app and the IndyCar Radio Network are providing live coverage of all sessions.

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