Coming off an impressive debut at St. Petersburg, where he qualified third—the
best rookie qualifying performance since 2018—and finished 10th, Hauger
answered questions with a composed, reflective demeanor that balanced quiet
confidence with the realism of someone still absorbing the intensity of his
new surroundings.
Phoenix marks his first competitive oval outing in an IndyCar, following a test
session where he adapted swiftly to the car’s greater weight, power, and
downforce compared with his INDY NXT experience. While he cautioned that testing
is never definitive, he expressed solid comfort heading into qualifying—his
strongest discipline—and emphasized the need to dial in balance quickly. The
oval’s relative unfamiliarity to much of the current grid (beyond a handful of
veterans like
) might narrow the experience advantage slightly, but Hauger focused on
fundamentals: setup precision, execution, and learning the unique demands of
oval racing, including more frequent pit stops and close-quarters traffic.
ZOOM Call Transcript:
EDMUND JENKS - Motorsports Journal: It's been kind of an exciting debut,
probably the strongest debut since Robert Wickens joined the series back in
2018, and oddly enough, we were racing in Phoenix at the same time. I know
it's a bit of a distraction, but this is kind of a duel-sport weekend, and
INDYCAR goes first on Saturday. Do you have any interest whatsoever, since
you're a driver and probably curious, catching up with any of the people and
watching what's going on with
NASCAR?
DENNIS HAUGER: Yeah, definitely. I'm staying on Sunday to watch the race.
It's going to be the first time I've watched a NASCAR race live. I think
it's awesome that the two paired up together to make an awesome weekend for
the fans, for the crowds. I think you've got two different types of racing,
just in terms of how we race and how the cars work. At the end of the day,
we all just want to have some good sounds, some good racing, and enjoy what
we love. I'm definitely going to watch the race on Sunday and see how they
get on. Hopefully we'll give some good racing for the fans, as well. It's
going to be a fun weekend to watch for sure.
EDMUND JENKS - Motorsports Journal: Now revealing your background in coming
to INDYCAR, you're a champion twice, you were no less than 10th in a field
of 22 drivers in Formula 2, and then you finish in your first race 10th.
It's like, you can't finish worse than 10th. Given your testing at Phoenix,
how well do you think you might fare against everybody else?
DENNIS HAUGER: As I said, it's really hard when you're testing because
you're trying different things. You don't know what the others are doing.
You're kind of just focused on your own stuff. Putting everything together
for the race weekend, everyone is just figuring stuff out during testing and
putting it together for the race. That's when you really find out what
you've got. As I said, I hope we can be there in a decent spot for
qualifying.
I think we can do something good there. Our race pace seemed pretty decent
in testing. But it's going to be completely different when we are running
the high line and everything. Just the racing, as well, is just so different
when you're with 25 other cars on track fighting for position. It's
something I'm just really open-minded with. I know there's a lot of new
stuff again this weekend, but for me, again, it's just about trying to
maximize what I have at the time, and at that point, that's all I can
do.
EDMUND JENKS - Motorsports Journal: It's kind of exciting to see you blend in with Dale Coyne and Romain Grosjean. Also great to see him back behind the wheel again. It's like we've got two different kind of rookies coming back in to the field. How has he related to you on driving on ovals since he only became familiar with them when he came to INDYCAR?
DENNIS HAUGER: We haven't talked too much about it. We're all working together to try and be the quickest out there. But it's always good to hear what he has to say about balance. Our driving style is in a very similar window, which makes the feedback also very similar, which is very positive, I think, as a team. That makes it just easier to have both cars going one direction for what we want to do balance-wise. So that's been really good.
Hopefully he has some tips on the side for this weekend, as well, in terms of the racing. That's the main thing for me. Just get more experience with the racing side, being wheel-to-wheel with the others. I feel like qualifying I'm in a pretty good spot. I feel confident there.
It's just about keep progressing, and having him as (audio interruption).
ENDS
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|
Frenchman and former F1 and NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Romain
Grosjean - who now lives in Florida - back in the field for
another go at a championship here in 2026. Image Credit: Chris
Jones: NICS (2026)
|
His late-announced teammate, Romain Grosjean, has integrated smoothly
despite the short preparation window. Their similar driving styles produce
aligned feedback, helping both cars progress in the same direction - a
dynamic Hauger values even as he aims to outperform his more experienced
partner. Grosjean’s oval background offers potential insight, though the two
have so far concentrated more on shared setup work than detailed oval
tutorials.
Hauger downplayed any notion of heightened external pressure following his
strong debut. The P3-to-P10 weekend provided a clear confidence boost
without becoming a weight. He expects the season to deliver highs and lows,
with consistency as the true target rather than chasing perfection every
time out.
He refuses to fixate on rookie status; the priority is maximum performance
on any given weekend, whether the result is a podium or a top-10.
Preparation remains his cornerstone: exhaustive study of video, data, and
track details to arrive more ready than his competitors.
Asked to sum up his IndyCar debut in three words, he chose “happy, surreal,
and decent.” Decent, because he always hungers for more. Yet for a rookie
confronting time-zone confusion, new sponsors, hybrid systems, fueling
calculations, and the distinctive rhythm of American open-wheel racing, a
10th-place finish after starting third stands as a credible and promising
foundation.
As the series turns to Phoenix, Hauger’s approach is straightforward: keep
grinding, adapt rapidly, chase every available tenth—and trust the results
will reflect the effort. The young driver who left Formula 2’s frustrations
behind for success in INDY NXT now turns his focus to conquering IndyCar’s
ovals. Early signs suggest he is adjusting faster than most anticipated.
... notes from
The EDJE
TAGS:
#DennisHauger, #IndyCar, #PhoenixRaceway, #DaleCoyneRacing,
#RookieSeason, #GoodRanchers250, #StPetersburgDebut, #OvalRacing,
#NTTIndyCarSeries, #RomainGrosjean, #MotorsportsJournal, #TheEDJE
