After a strong Indianapolis performance, the Detroit GP resulted in carnage for the two Kiwi racers.
21-year-old Kiwi racer Callum Hedge finished Friday’s practice one in fourteenth place before improving to twelfth in Saturday’s practice session. His best time of 1:07.9394 was two seconds behind a dominant Dennis Hauger in first place.
Fellow Kiwi driver, 19-year-old Liam Sceats, came eighteenth in practice one after doing only five laps. He also improved in practice 2, finishing in eleventh place and improving his best lap time by three seconds.
Both racers were in qualifying group one on Saturday. Hedge improved from practice, with his best lap being a 1:06.1315, which put him in third place in the group.
Sceats managed eighth with a time of 1:07.2903, which was also his best of the weekend.
Qualifying group two saw championship leader Hauger set a new track record of 1:04.9896. He is the first IndyNXT racer to get a lap time under 1:05 at Detroit.
The combined qualifying results saw Hedge start sixth on the grid for Sunday’s race and Sceats in sixteenth.
In the race, disaster came on lap one when Hedge hit the rear corner of Myles Rowes’ car, number 99, causing him to spin out. While Hedge escaped the incident with minimal damage, it caused a six-car pile-up.
Sceats got caught behind the turned cars and was forced to stop. He avoided any damage but ended up a lap down for the rest of the race.
The crash caused a red flag, as the track was blocked by cars that had to be removed by crane. Cars 18 and 3 of Max Taylor and Ricardo Escotto could not make it back out. Six cars in total sustained damages from the pile-up.
When the race resumed under the yellow flag, only 13 cars were on the lead lap. Sceats restarted sixteenth, but after two cars went back into the pit, he rose to fourteenth.
Hedge gained a place and restarted in fifth position. He then received a pitlane penalty and was held for 15 seconds for avoidable contact and causing a crash. After serving the penalty immediately, he re-emerged in the thirteenth position, just in front of Sceats.
Rowe was able to race again after multiple parts replacements, including the wishbone and nose. He managed nine laps before retiring for the rest of the race.
Most of the race stayed green, but it still had plenty of action. Hauger maintained a strong pace at first, increasing his lead to seven seconds.
Second to sixth place were close, with plenty of passing throughout the race. Salvador De Alba held onto second place before hitting the wall on lap 15 and having to pit.
Lochie Hughes then held onto second, closing the lap to Hauger to 2.5 seconds when going through traffic before disaster struck and making heavy contact with the wall with eight laps to go, knocking his front wing loose. Despite being under a black flag, he refused to pit for three laps until a piece of the wing fell off.
De Alba’s pitting and a pass allowed Hedge to make it to the eleventh position, where he would finish the race. He ended up a lap down after Hauger lapped over half of the field.
With four laps to go, Jordan Missigs’s car, number 48, crashed, resulting in a second safety car appearance. The race went green for the last lap, and Hauger held position for his fourth win of the season.
The crash had no effect on our Kiwis, who remained in their positions from the race. Hedge finished eleventh after his penalties, and Sceats remained in fourteenth place.
Hedge ends the weekend seventh in the drivers’ championship with 107 points, just one point ahead of fellow Kiwi Sceats in eighth.
Indy NXT takes a brief pause before returning to action on June 15 at Gateway Motorsports Park in Illinois. This 1.25-mile (2.01 km) oval is a favourite among drivers thanks to its distinctive layout and unique corner profiles.
Turns 1 and 2 resemble the tighter, more technical corners of New Hampshire Motor Speedway, while Turns 3 and 4 echo the sweeping bends of Phoenix Raceway. The track’s overall egg-shaped design also draws comparisons to Japan’s Twin Ring Motegi, making Gateway a challenging yet rewarding venue on the calendar.
Words by Jasmin Murray
Header Image: Image: Penske Entertainment – Joe Skibinski
