Hughes’ strong showing in Indy NXT debut

Aussie Indy hopeful Lochie Hughes couldn’t have asked for much more in his Indy NXT debut at St Petersburg, as the Andretti Global racer scored a debut podium behind race winner Dennis Hauger.

Hughes’ promotion to the final rung on the “Road to Indy” ladder came after taking out the USF Pro2000 series in 2024, with the hefty USD scholarship money allowing him to step up with the famous Andretti garage.

It didn’t take long for the Gold Coast born 22-year old to find his feet in the Mazda powered Dallara IL-15 machinery, starting on the front row next to his teammate and former Red Bull F1 junior driver who set a course record in qualifying.

At 44 laps, it was also the longest race that Hughes has experienced in his junior career, and although he had several cracks at Hauger over two restarts, the Norwegian proved to pacy off the starting line and in the restarts.

Hughes shares the Indy NXT podium with former Red Bull F1 junior, Dennis Hauger

Hughes had previously taken two wins at the street track in the USF series, but explained that this was a different kettle of fish.

“It’s just completely different,” Hughes said.

“It’s just so much faster, heavier, and with different tyre. Racing for a team like Andretti…there’s a little bit of added pressure there.

“Pretty reasonably happy with this weekend. I think it’s been a while since the scholarship car has had a podium on debut. It’s the longest race I’ve ever done in my life coming from the USF Series.”

Fellow Aussie Tommy Smith also had his first outing in the Indy NXT series, with the former FIA F3 racer not getting any luck at the green flag.

Competing for HMD Motorsports, the Victorian qualified in 16th, but was then unluckily turned into the right-hand barrier at the race start after taking contact. He eventually finished two laps in P15.

It’s a bit of a wait for the next round, with the series not resuming until May 2 at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.