Photo credit: James Black | Penske Entertainment

Andretti’s Dennis Hauger put on a complete clinic on the Streets of St. Petersburg in both Friday and Saturday’s Indy NXT practice session, putting multiple tenths on the field on Friday and running near the top of the second session.

It felt like watching a varsity player in a junior varsity game when Hauger’s 1:05.222 in the first session put half a second between himself and second-place runner Caio Collet. That’s the largest gap in Indy NXT’s opening session of the season between first and second in any year since at least 2010.

Hauger’s second session was even stronger, going two tenths faster than Nolan Siegel’s 2024 pole time with a 1:04.354, finishing second only a tenth behind ABEL Motorsport’s Myles Rowe.

For the Norweigan driver, he carries a level of success on street circuits which is basically unprecedented for drivers entering Indy NXT. He is a Formula 2 winner in Jeddah, Baku and Monaco across his three seasons in the series.

While Hauger acknowledged his familiarity on street circuits, he didn’t downplay the effort it takes to adapt to Indy NXT and the circuits he is unfamiliar with.

“The tracks are new, the car is new for me, and it’s a different driving style in general,” Hauger said. “I feel like the American tracks are a bit more bumpy and a bit more rugged, but I find that really cool.”

Dennis Hauger will take the track next alongside the rest of the Indy NXT field when qualifying begins at 1:30 p.m. local time.