Strong start for rookie Hauger excites Dale Coyne Racing's all-star engineers

Race engineer Michael Cannon had one thing to say to his wild-eyed rookie driver Dennis Hauger, who couldn't believe he just qualified third for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: "Why are you so surprised?"

The question reinforced Dale Coyne Racing’s belief in the Norwegian’s vast talent.

“It’s amazing what the kid can do when you don’t place any pressure on him,” Cannon added a few hours later, after Coyne’s team rocked time trials by taking sixth place as well with returning veteran Romain Grosjean.

Between Cannon, damper engineer Mike Cicarelli, Grosjean’s race engineer Bill Pappas, and floating race engineer Mike Colliver, Coyne’s team has stacked more technical experience for two cars than some teams have with three, and the results showed on Saturday.

Team manager Mitch Davis — a veteran’s veteran in his own right — is responsible for amassing the champions and Indianapolis 500 winners who lead the engineering program and was beaming with pride after placing both cars in the Firestone Fast Six.

“You search around your whole career to find this kind of group, right?” Davis told RACER. “And once Romain came the back into the picture, we already know he's quick, right? But Romain brings this wealth of knowledge. The first two tests we did, we were like all one team working together. Man, it worked out so well. So our young rookie today? Dennis is just great. But the rest of these teams are so good. We’ve got to make no mistakes in the races. If we can make no mistakes tomorrow, we’re going to be a happy team.”