Hauger pips Rowe by 0.0265s in Indy Nxt practice on Milwaukee Mile

Photo: Chris Jones

Dennis Hauger set the pace in practice for of the penultimate round of the Indy Nxt season around the Milwaukee Mile.

The session began under cloudy but dry skies, a stark contrast to conditions two weeks prior as heavy storms and flash flooding in Greater Milwaukee left the track underwater for days and disrupted activities in the area local to the track.

However, examination of the oval after the flood waters cleared revealed no damage to the track itself, with the only work needing to be done being repainting areas and putting down new signage.

There was certainly little evidence of the previous flooding when Indy Nxt practice began on Saturday morning.

Hauger moved to the top of the times early in the session and remained there until the chequered flag. He lapped the oval in 24.3155 seconds, which was a slim 0.0265s faster than Myles Rowe in second place.

Three caution periods disrupted running. One of these was caused by Rowe in the final minutes as he lost the rear end of his car. He avoiding making contact with any barriers or oncoming card, and was able to continue.

Before then, the returning Max Taylor has suffered a similar half-spin but was closer to the wall. The rear of his car crashed into it he came to a stop on track.

James Roe Jr was third fastest, ahead of Caio Collet and Bryce Aron. Collet did the most running of anyone as he sought to maximise the track time, but ended up 0.1769s slower than title rival Hauger.

Less than half a second covered the top nine, with Seb Murray the only driver over a second off the pace.

Free practice results