Andretti Global Rookie Dennis Hauger continued his perfect start to the 2025 Indy NXT season with a commanding lights-to-flag victory at the Grand Prix of Alabama.
New Zealand’s Liam Sceats put on a strong race-day performance to climb from ninth to sixth in only his second start in the series, while Callum Hedge ran into some bad luck.
Qualifying Recap: Weather and Late Red Flag Adds Drama to the Grid Shuffle
Saturday’s qualifying was far from straightforward, with changing weather conditions splitting the field and decisively determining the grid lineup.
Sceats, driving for HMD Motorsports, emerged as the top Kiwi qualifier in ninth, navigating the drying track in Group 2. The 19-year-old set an early benchmark and held fifth when a red flag halted the session.
Upon resumption, Sceats briefly surged into the top four before ultimately settling fifth in his group. His time of 1:13.6967 placed him ninth overall once both groups were combined.
“It came down to a one-lap shootout under tricky track conditions,” Sceats explained.
“Between myself and the car, we left a little bit on the table… but it’s not too bad of a result out of 22 cars.”
Fellow Kiwi Callum Hedge, however, had a more frustrating outing.
Running in the slower and wetter Group 1, Hedge was hampered by a late red flag and missed the chance to complete a flying lap.
His best of 1:27.2800 placed him 18th on the grid despite showing strong pace earlier by going sixth-fastest in final practice.
At the front, Hauger continued his qualifying dominance, grabbing his second consecutive pole position with a 1:12.7705 lap time.
Race Report: Hauger Untouchable, Sceats Shines in First Barber Outing
When the lights went out on Sunday, Hauger wasted no time converting pole into victory, leading all 35 laps with surgical precision.
The Norwegian’s wire-to-wire win at Barber marked his second straight triumph to open the season following his dominant debut in St. Petersburg.
He has now led every lap of racing in 2025 — all 79 of them.
Behind him, Sceats delivered a mature and composed drive. The Kiwi rookie was aggressive in the early laps, making several clean passes to climb into the top six before the field settled into a rhythm.
“It was a decent weekend, to say the least; we walked away with P6 in the race today. It was a tricky race and the weekend in general, to be honest, with interchanging conditions, the track going from wet to dry and back and forth a few times.” Sceats reflected.
“It was my very first time at Barber. In the race, I moved forward a few positions early on, and in the second half of the race, I just managed to bring it home, so yeah, my first Indy NXT points”, he continued.
Sceats crossed the line sixth to bank his first Indy NXT points and now sits 10th in the championship standings with 40 points — tied with fellow standout rookie Evagoras Papasavvas, who stunned on debut to finish second.
“The goal is to get on the podium in Indy next weekend. We’ve shown top-six pace consistently — now it’s time to put it all together,” Sceats added, acknowledging the Tony Quinn Foundation and his partners’ continued support.
Hedge Recovers but Denied Redemption After Early Incident
For Callum Hedge, the race unravelled on the opening lap.
The Abel Motorsports driver went off and became beached in the gravel, triggering the first of two full-course cautions. Though he returned to the track a lap down, he was unable to make meaningful gains and finished 18th. He currently sits 12th in the standings with 36 points.
“Plenty of positives to take from Barber — the pace was there, we just didn’t get the opportunity to put it all together,” said Hedge post-race.
“We’re learning every time we hit the track. Eyes forward to Indianapolis next weekend.”
Rookie Lockout on the Podium, Championship Heats Up
Hauger was joined on the podium by Papasavvas and fellow rookie Lochie Hughes, who finished third. Myles Rowe tied his career best in fourth, with HMD’s Josh Pierson rounding out the top five — a personal best.
Notably, HMD Motorsports’ Caio Collet looked set to challenge Hauger early, sticking within a second of the lead. But a throttle issue during the second caution period forced him down the order.
The second caution came on Lap 10 when Bryce Aron and Salvador de Alba collided at Turn 5.
Earlier, on Lap 9, Sebastian Murray had gone off and later made contact with Hedge while rejoining, compounding an already eventful day for the Kiwi.
With Hauger firmly in control atop the standings, the INDY NXT field now shifts to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a highly anticipated doubleheader on the road course — a weekend that could shake up the championship and offer redemption for those left wanting in Alabama.
Header Image: Indy NXT
