Photo credit: Paul Hurley | Penske Entertainment

Andretti’s Dennis Hauger continued his perfect start to his Indy NXT season by securing pole for tomorrow’s race at Barber Motorsports Park with a time of 1:12.770.

Hauger will start on the front row alongside Caio Collet, who topped the first group of the session with a time of 1:23.839.

The session saw the continued dominance of Andretti and their affiliated Andretti Cape cars. In the first qualifying session, Lochie Hughes, James Roe, and Cape’s Seb Murray all sat in the top five behind Collet in the opening group, only separated by Bryce Aron, who is making his debut with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Max Taylor’s rollercoaster debut ended in heartbreak. After briefly holding provisional pole by over four-tenths with six minutes remaining in Group 2, the USF Pro 2000 graduate crashed late in the session. As a result, his two fastest laps were deleted per Indy NXT regulations, dropping him to the back of the grid. Despite the setback, Taylor’s early pace made a strong impression in his series debut.

Following Taylor’s crash and red flag, the session was extended to allow one final timed lap, setting up a last-lap shootout for pole in Group 2.

Indy NXT’s qualifying format, divided into two groups, gives the inside positions on the starting grid to those in the fastest group, beginning with pole position, third place, and so on. The slower group will be placed on the outside rows.

The Indy NXT race is set for 11:30 a.m. eastern time tomorrow from Barber Motorsports Park.