But like it’s Big Brother IndyCar and Alex Palou.
Can anybody stop Denis Hauger?
Yeah, your Humble, Haggard No Fenders scribe
Tomaso’s another dollar short and several days late…
Have to say I agree with For the Love of Indy’s
Raymond Hando over how exhausting the sheer volume of negativity surrounding
IndyCar is, albeit much is self inflicted, unfortunately…
Case-in-point is the series yearly inability to
smooth out it’s schedule and the Uber annoying three week breaks at season’s
beginning, after we’ve waited another agonizing six month to go racing once
again!
Yet think those three week gaps are annoying?
Then think about how the Indy NXT competitors and it’s Fans feel over the
totally ridiculous 63 Freakin Days gap between it’s St Pete season kickoff and
round two last weekend at thee Barber’s, nee Barber Motorsports Park on May
4th, nine weeks later, Youza!
Naturally, much has happened since I last
listened to an Indy NXT race, for which I “Drop-in” for the Alabama round., the
first I’ve listened to since I Dunno, sometime last year.
Learning that Indiana native Kirk Dooley was
named Director of Indy NXT by Firestone on April 7th, and will oversee all
operations and competition of the Feeder series.
Dooley previously served as IndyCar’s Chief of
Staff between 2015-16. In in 2016, Dooley was named Director of Executive
Operations for Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Leaving in 2020 to served as Chief
Operating Officer of the Skip Barber racing schools.
Was ready to scribble all about Doce Femme
Fatales in Indy NXT this year, before learning nearly one month after the fact
that Sophia Floersch had ended Her Indy NXT campaign with HMD Motorsports, Huh?
As the 24yr old German driver reportedly had a
misunderstanding with Her primary sponsor according to Racer’s Marshall Pruett
and thus She and HMD Motorsports parted ways immediately, with no word on what
Floersch will do next?
As Sophia qualified P17 and finished P12, two
positions ahead of HMD Motorsports rookie Hailie Deegan. As Deegan makes Her
transition to single seaters, with the Temecula, California native being known
for Her Offroad and NASCAR career. In
ARCA, Trucks and Xfinity.
On a side note, learned earlier this season
that Jace Denmark, who’s now racing for TJ Speed Motorsports in His third USF
Pro 2000 campaign Has been signed as an HMD Motorsports development driver…
Norway’s Dennis Hauger claimed His first “Grand
Salami”, Err Grand Slam on His rookie debut for Andretti Global. As Hauger is
the first Indy NXT driver since Linus Lundqvist in 2021 to win on debut.
Hauger led wire-to-wire from pole, and set
fastest lap. Along wit leading rookie Lochie Hughes in an Andretti Global 1-2
finish, ahead of Caio Collet, driving for HMD Motorsports.
Myles Rowe of Abel Motorsports with Force Indy
tied His series best finish in fourth, with Salvador de Alba, also of Andretti
global rounding out the top five.
HMD Motorsports signed Kirkland, WA native Evagoras
Papasavvas to replace the departing Bryce Aron. With Aron moving onto Chip
Ganassi Racing’s Indy NXT team for the remainder of the season as Jonathan
Browne’s replacement.
While Hauger once again cruised home for His
second win in dominating fashion, with a second wire-to-wire victory from pole.
The story of the weekend was Papasavvas’s Indy NXT debut.
Papasavvas, who raced in USF2000 the past two
years, initially had signed a partial season deal with HMD Motorsports. A three
race deal beginning at Gateway and concluding at Mid-Ohio. Yet the HMD
Motorsports reserve driver, who impressed during a Mid-Ohio test, was called-up
as Aron’s replacement four round two.
Evagoras won His maiden USF2000 race at
Mid-Ohio, His hometown track in 2023. Followed by a second win at Toronto and
fourth in that year’s USF2000 Championship.
On debut at Barber Motorsports Park, Papasavvas
qualified third, inherited second when Caio Collet had a throttle issue, and
held off a menacing Lochie Hughes, Myles Rowe and Josh Pierson to finish Vice
Champion, Err runner-up!
Hughes tried everything He could think of, with
Rowe and Pierson nipping at His Heals, all to nought…
Indy NXT contests a Double Header outing on
Indianapolis’s road course this Friday-Saturday.
While can anybody catch the red-hot Hauger? Who’s two back-to-back wins on debut matches Ed Jones start to His 2015 Indy Lights season. As Jones would win the first three races in-a-row before finishing third overall behind Spencer Pigot and Jack Harvey…
