The INDY NXT by Firestone duel between Andretti Global teammates Dennis Hauger and Lochie Hughes continued to heat up Saturday as Hauger edged fellow series rookie Hughes for the pole at the Detroit Grand Prix.

Hauger earned his third pole in five races this season – Hughes grabbed the other two – with a series-record lap of 1 minute, 4.9896 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group car. That broke the series track record of 1:05.1079 set last June by eventual series champion Louis Foster, also of Andretti Global.

SEE: Qualifying Results

“It was so messy, but I pushed to the limit and got the pole,” Hauger said. “That was intense.”

Hughes was second at 1:05.0516 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine, also under Foster’s track record.

There was a gap of nearly one second to third on the starting grid for the 45-lap race Sunday (10:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network), as 17-year-old rookie Max Taylor qualified third at 1:05.9554 in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car in just his second start in the INDYCAR development series.

2024 Rookie of the Year Caio Collet qualified fourth at 1:05.6249 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports machine. Salvador de Alba was the third Andretti Global driver in the top five with his top lap of 1:05.9772 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car.

Callum Hedge rounded out the first three rows by qualifying sixth at 1:06.1315 in the No. 17 Abel Motorsports car.

There was plenty of suspense throughout qualifying. The session was split into two groups of drivers, with Hughes in the first group and Hauger in the second to build the drama. Hauger leads his teammate by 15 points atop the series standings after four races, and they are the only drivers to win races this season – Hauger has three victories, Hughes one.

Hughes laid down his huge lap on his final trip around the treacherous, nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit in downtown Detroit, finally getting clear track on the tight, bumpy circuit for his last qualifying run.

Hauger was working up his response when James Roe suffered his second crash of the weekend with about seven minutes left in the session, with his No. 29 Topcon car receiving heavy right front damage after wall impact. Roe was unhurt.

There were only three minutes, 56 seconds left in the session when the track reopened, and Hauger and his group hustled back on the circuit to complete as many laps as possible.

Hauger dropped to 1:05.287 on his second-to-last lap, just behind Hughes, but grabbed the pole with his track-record lap on his final trip around the circuit.

IndyNXT PR

The following are Friday’s final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Southeast Division event at South Georgia Motorsports Park:

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
David Eaton, Merritt Island, Fla., ’32 Bantam, A/AA, 6.815, 167.22  def. Santo Volpe, Palm Bay, Fla., ’32 Bantam, A/EA, 7.852, 151.65. 

SUPER STOCK
Mike Crutchfield, Montgomery, Ala., ’08 G5, SS/DM, 9.086, 145.78  def. Michael Bryant, New Orleans, La., ’15 Camaro, SS/FA, 9.687, 138.48. 

STOCK ELIMINATOR
Terry Taylor, Lumberton, N.C., ’72 Corvette, G/SA, 11.350, 100.25  def. Jeff Longhany, Wade, N.C., ’00 Corvette, B/SA, foul. 

SUPER COMP
Chris Childress, Spartanburg, S.C., ’00 Horton, 8.862, 172.89  def. Allan Ackles, Bradenton, Fla., ’08 Mullis, 8.851, 179.68. 

SUPER GAS
Sherman Adcock, Cataula, Ga., ’19 Corvette, 9.843, 169.06  def. David Griffith, Winter Garden, Fla., ’67 Camaro, foul. 

SUPER STREET
Kevin MacNicol, North Port, Fla., ’69 Firebird, 10.873, 132.97  def. Jacob Rutledge, Powder Springs, Ga., ’79 Capri, 10.868, 130.38. 

TOP SPORTSMAN
Bruce Thaxton, Butler, Ga., ’03 Mustang, 7.480, 181.20  def. Jackie Robison, Greer, S.C., ’66 Nova, 6.732, 200.44. 

TOP DRAGSTER
Kelsea Hinkle, Danville, Ky., ’11 Miller, 6.967, 184.67  def. George Ebel, Naples, Fla., ’19 Dragster, 7.228, 182.77. 

The following are Friday’s final qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Southeast Division event at South Georgia Motorsports Park:

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
1) Wes Leopold, Bethel Park, Pa., ’05 Stratus, A/SMA, 7.884 seconds, -0.586 (under index)
2) Steve Johnson, Spartanburg, S.C., ’85 Camaro, F/SM, 8.755, -0.545
3) Santo Volpe, Palm Bay, Fla., ’32 Bantam, A/EA, 7.349, -0.521
4) Monty Bogan, Boiling Springs, S.C., ’07 G5, E/SMA, 8.499, -0.471
5) Joel Warren, Clinton, N.C., ’08 G5, H/AA, 8.749, -0.451
6) Jared Kimbrough, Pace, Fla., ’09 Prostart, C/ED, 7.500, -0.410
7) John Frech, Cortland, Ohio, ’88 RED, F/D, 9.239, 0.679
8) David Eaton, Merritt Island, Fla., ’32 Bantam, A/AA, 11.815, 4.665

SUPER STOCK
1) John Fogle, Norway, S.C., ’05 Cavalier, GT/HA, 9.569 seconds, -0.931 (under index)
2) Jeff Adkinson, Damascus, Ga., ’13 Copo Camaro, FSS/F, 9.338, -0.862
3) Don Barber, Hohenwald, Tenn., ’96 Avenger, FGT/E, 9.171, -0.829
4) Stephen Johnson, Gadsden, Ala., ’67 Fairlane, SS/D, 9.383, -0.817
5) Marion Stephenson, Williamsport, Ind., ’06 Cobalt, GT/GA, 9.584, -0.816
6) Dennis Steward, Port Orange, Fla., ’90 Daytona, GT/KA, 10.101, -0.799
7) Richard Bierie, Acworth, Ga., ’22 Copo, FSS/B, 8.408, -0.792
8) Victor Cagnazzi, Mooresville, N.C., ’18 Copo, FSS/F, 9.413, -0.787
9) Ronnie Dutton, Southside, Ala., ’80 Monza, GT/QA, 10.973, -0.777
10) Robert Cameron, Porter, Texas, ’96 Firebird, SS/JA, 10.225, -0.775

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1) Jimmy Hidalgo, Donaldsonville, La., ’04 GTO, F/SA, 10.837 seconds, -1.013 (under index)
2) Mike McMahan, Punta Gorda, Fla., ’89 Corvette, G/SA, 10.997, -1.003
3) Marion Stephenson, Williamsport, Ind., ’15 Copo, FS/D, 9.625, -0.975
4) Kevin Loehle, Brightwaters, N.Y., ’15 Copo, FS/D, 9.635, -0.965
5) Anthony Bongiovanni, Hopatcong, N.J., ’10 CJ, FS/A, 8.757, -0.943
6) John Duzac, Covington, La., ’70 Camaro, D/S, 10.568, -0.932
7) James Schaechter, Cumming, Ga., ’65 Nova, H/S, 11.071, -0.929
8) Anthony Hughes, McDonough, Ga., ’66 Nova, K/SA, 11.769, -0.881
9) Victor Cagnazzi, Mooresville, N.C., ’23 Copo, FS/C, 9.438, -0.862
10) Jeff Strickland, Red Bay, Ala., ’23 Copo, FS/C, 9.473, -0.827

TOP SPORTSMAN
1) Douglas Crumlich, Douglasville, Ga., ’63 Corvette, 6.624 seconds, 210.41 mph
2) Jackie Robison, Greer, S.C., ’66 Nova, 6.718, 205.04
3) Bruce Duncan, Crawfordville, Fla., ’05 Colbart, 6.744, 207.69
4) Thomas Schmidt, Lakeland, Fla., ’10 GXP, 7.075, 197.68
5) John Gifford, Naples, Fla., ’10 Cobalt, 7.373, 184.83
6) Frank Altilio, Longwood, Fla., ’02 S 10, 7.455, 182.28
7) Bruce Thaxton, Butler, Ga., ’03 Mustang, 7.467, 181.59
8) Michael Scott, Lakeland, Fla., dragster, 7.469, 184.70
9) Kendall Barnes, Brunswick, Ga., ’05 Grand Am, 7.493, 183.67
10) Mark Roberts, Orange Lake, Fla., ’63 Corvette, 7.493, 179.71

TOP DRAGSTER
1) Robert May, Kinsey, Ala., ’24 Nelson Racecraft, 6.206 seconds, 224.47 mph
2) Jeff Strickland, Red Bay, Ala., ’14 American, 6.235, 222.84
3) Wayne Brooks, Monroe, Ga., ’19 Worthy, 6.290, 222.77
4) Matthew Buck, Lamtama, Fla., ’25 Miller, 6.325, 210.14
5) Casey Spradlin, Ranburne, Ala., dragster, 6.374, 222.69
6) John Platt, Cocoa, Fla., ’09 Tackash, 6.405, 209.75
7) Vance Houston, Newland, N.C., ’15 Race Tech, 6.542, 209.75
8) Steve Furr, Harrisburg, N.C., ’13 American, 6.597, 219.47
9) Darryl Childress, Spartanburg, S.C., ’25 Maddox, 6.644, 199.32
10) Tisha Wilson, Salisbury, N.C., ’25 Racetech, 6.696, 198.70

What’s Happening?

Rain showers have canceled qualifying for tonight’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Corey Heim will start on the provisional pole.

• The qualifying session for tonight’s race was originally scheduled for 4:10 PM EST. However, as 36 trucks showed for a 36-truck field, NASCAR opted to ditch qualifying so drivers could get in practice time.
• Without qualifying, per NASCAR rules, the field will be set by a metric valuing from 70% of the previous race finish and 30% of the owner points. Corey Heim and Kaden Honeycutt will line up on the first row, with Layne Riggs, Grant Enfinger, and Corey Day rounding out the top five.
• According to the National Weather Service, the chance of rain for the area is 17% at press time; however, this will dramatically drop to 1% by race time.
• Last year’s Craftsman Truck Series race at Nashville was won by Christian Eckes, who no longer competes in the series, meaning a repeat winner is unlikely. The green flag for tonight is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST. The race will air on TV on FS1 and the radio via the NASCAR Radio Network.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

By Noah Poser, Staff Writer

From a young age, Théo Pourchaire was destined to become a racing driver, just as Luke Skywalker was destined to become a Jedi.

So it came as no surprise when Skywalker and later Pourchaire quickly rose through the ranks within their respective pursuits to the point where both were considered young prodigies, Skywalker in the art of the Force, and Pourchaire in his mastery of navigating the winding lefts and rights of European street circuits.

But what trait most links these two individuals, one fictional and the other quite real, together, is their resilience and the determination they show when the entire galaxy (or racing world) is seemingly working against them. 

For Skywalker, that meant joining forces with the rebel alliance, while for Pourchaire, it means travelling to Indianapolis and enlisting the help of former driver and fellow Frenchman Simon Pagenaud in hopes of landing a full-time seat in INDYCAR.

It was in Indy where Pourchaire sat down and shared with me not only his admiration of Pagenuad, but also his love of racing, basketball and Star Wars too.

“My favorite Star Wars character, it’s a very good question actually,” Pourchaire said. “I’m a big fan. But I’m going to give an easy answer. I’m going to say Luke Skywalker.”

Perhaps the French racer, who won the 2023 Formula 2 championship at just 20 years old, was unaware of the parallels between his own story and that of his favorite Jedi.

Born in Grasse in southern France, Pourchaire has been racing since he was two years old and has been doing so competitively since he was seven.

After dominating the karting scene in France, he rapidly worked his way up to single seaters, competing in the French Formula 4 championship at 14 years old.

When he won the ADAC F4 championship a year later and made the jump to Formula 3 at 16, Formula 1 was squarely in his sights.

“F1 was always the dream,” Pourchaire said. “But you need everything to go right to go to F1. You need results, you need sponsors and you need a bit of luck. Even if you win championships, it doesn’t really matter.

“I produced some great results. I was F3 vice champion, just three points behind Oscar Piastri, the F1 points leader right now. In F2, I performed well in my three seasons, going from P5 to vice champion to champion. And yet, with all those great results, I couldn’t see an opportunity in F1, which was a bit sad.”

For years prior, Pourchaire had seemed destined for an F1 seat, having joined the Sauber Academy in 2019 as a 15-year-old. And when he won the F2 championship, it appeared as if it was a lock that he would eventually drive one of the team’s two cars.

But when it came time to replace incumbents Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu at the end of last season, Sauber passed over him not once, but twice, when it announced Nico Hülkenberg and 2024 F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto as its 2025 driver lineup.

Fast forward to the present day, with his F1 dream on pause, and Pourchaire, who is competing in European Le Mans this season, is left weighing his future prospects.

That’s where Pagenuad comes in.

“Simon is a legend for French racing drivers,” Pourchaire said. “He won the Indianapolis 500 and an INDYCAR championship, so since I was a young kid I’ve been looking up to him and wanting to have the same career as him because he’s won everything.

“I just want to maximize my chances, and I’m sure with Simon in my corner we will be able to find something that suits my abilities, whether it be one of the many good opportunities in INDYCAR or endurance racing.”

As he spent the 2024 season looking for work, Pourchaire was hoping for something, anything, really whatever opportunity he could find to jump back behind the wheel of a race car.

Then David Malukas suffered a wrist injury, and suddenly in need of a replacement driver, Zak Brown and Arrow McLaren came calling.

“Last year, I didn’t have much to do, so when McLaren called me it was the perfect time,” Pourchaire said. “It was the perfect opportunity for me so of course I said yes, of course, I’m ready to drive for you. At first it was to replace an injured driver, but the relationship between the team and myself was good so we decided to continue for a few more races.”

Then, just as he was with Sauber, he was replaced by a younger driver, this time in the form of Nolan Siegel.

And once again, after seeing his career go through another round of musical chairs, Pourchaire was the one left without a seat.

In the six races Pourchaire competed in during his brief stint in INDYCAR, he had fallen in love with the series, and the fans of the series had fallen in love with him.

“I just fell in love with this championship,” Pourchaire said. “I really love it.  It’s an amazing championship with good drivers, good tracks and the Indy 500, which is the greatest race in the world, so hopefully I can race in it one day.

“Off the track, I think the fans are awesome. They even gave me a nickname after one race because my name is French and it’s a little tough to pronounce. So I got called ‘Teddy Porkchops’ straight away, which I really liked. The fans are a big part of what makes me want to come back here to INDYCAR one day.”

And while a return to the US and the INDYCAR series isn’t out of the question just yet for Pourchaire, he prefers to keep his options open for the time being.

In the meantime, he’s set out a new dream for himself, less in line with the one he had when he was first starting out as a racing driver, and more in line with that of a younger Théo Pourchaire, the motorsports fanatic.

“There’s not only Formula 1 in this world,” Pourchaire said. “I’ve always been passionate about motorsport and the greatest races in the world, like the Indy 500 and the 24 hours of Le Mans as well. Those are two races I really want to win one day.”

He then took a moment to remind everyone that despite not reaching F1, he still holds a win at F1’s most historic track.

“You know, I already won the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 2,” Pourchaire said. “But in my eyes it counts. It still counts. It’s more than most, so you know, if I could add the Indy 500 and the 24 hours of Le Mans to that, it could be my own kind of personal Triple Crown. That would be really awesome.”

And whether he achieves this dream within the next year, the next five years, the next 20 years or not at all, one thing is for certain.

He’ll be smiling throughout it all.

“I’m the same guy off the track that I am on the track,” Pourchaire said. “I’m a really simple guy who likes to smile a lot. Sometimes people tell me ‘Théo, you’re always smiling’ even if I’m having a bad day at the track.

“But I’m always smiling because I always have something to smile about.”

Something fans may not know about Pourchaire is that he’s very up to date on the American sports scene. 

While he says motorsport was and will always be his first love, and he holds a special place in his heart for French soccer club Marseille, basketball is the one sport outside of racing that he particularly enjoys.

“I’ve always really liked American sports,” Pourchaire said. “I’m always on TV or on my phone watching something about sports, whether it’s motorsports, basketball, American football, soccer or boxing. But I love sports and I’m a huge basketball fan especially. I love the Golden State Warriors and I’m a big Steph Curry fan.”

It was through his fandom of American sports that he grew comfortable racing in the US, despite growing up almost exclusively in Europe.

“The goal at the moment is to have a full-time drive next year,” Pourchaire said. “Whether it’s INDYCAR, World Endurance Championship or even F1, I’m looking forward to having as many opportunities as possible to be in the car. When I got dropped from the team in INDYCAR, I had nothing and I don’t want to be in that position again. 

“I just want to drive and do what I love to do, which is drive race cars all around the world. That was always the ultimate dream growing up, so we’ll see what happens.”

And perhaps to simply cover his bases, Pourchaire, aka ‘Teddy Porkchops’, aka one of Luke Skywalker’s (and Steph Curry’s) biggest fans, made an appeal to INDYCAR one final time

“I don’t close any doors, but the thing I love about INDYCAR is that the championship is so competitive,” Pourchaire said. “The atmosphere is awesome and I don’t know why, but I prefer the atmosphere here more than almost anywhere else, especially at the Indy 500 and here at IMS, which is such a beautiful place, so who knows what will happen.

“But as I said, I won’t close doors to anything.”

This is the first installment in a series of features focused on drivers who have made the leap from the Formula 2 ranks to INDYCAR. These pieces will detail various parts of their respective racing journeys and hopefully give a glimpse into some of the key events that went into shaping their careers.

Amazon Prime Video, one of the two new partners introduced as a part of NASCAR’s new seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal, debuted at Charlotte Motor Speedway for this past Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600, and for the most part, fans loved the broadcast.

It’s no secret that there has been mounting frustration with Fox over the years, so a lot of fans were excited to see Fox’s portion of the calendar wrap up several weeks earlier than it did under the previous agreement, when Fox was responsible for the season’s first 18 races (16 points races) and NBC was responsible for the final 20.

In 2025, Amazon Prime Video and fellow newcomer TNT Sports are each responsible for five races, and to make room, Fox’s portion of the calendar was reduced by four races, while NBC’s was reduced by six.

Race number two on Amazon Prime Video is set to be shown live this weekend from Nashville Superspeedway.

Nashville NASCAR Cup race not being shown on Fox

The Nashville race actually took place four weekends later last year than it does this year, so last year’s race was shown live on NBC, not Fox.

Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 is set to be a 300-lap race around the four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.145-kilometer) Lebanon, Tennessee oval.

The remaining three races on Amazon Prime Video’s portion of the calendar are scheduled to take place at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, June 8; Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday, June 15; and Pocono Raceway on Sunday, June 22.

TNT Sports’ five-race portion of the schedule, which consists of the entire inaugural five-race in-season tournament, is scheduled to get underway on Saturday, June 28 with the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NBC’s portion is scheduled to get underway with the race at Iowa Speedway on Sunday, August 3, though that race is actually set to be shown live on USA Network, which is responsible for 10 of 14 races following the switch to NBC.

USA Network took over from NBC Sports Network as the alternate NBCUniversal-owned channel during NBC’s portion of the broadcast calendar after NBC Sports Network shut down in late 2021.

NBC is only actually responsible for four races this year, including the regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 23, plus final three races of the playoffs at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 19; Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, October 26; and Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, November 1.