Hauger Battles to P15 in First Oval Start
Phoenix, Arizona – (Saturday, March 7, 2026)
Dale Coyne Racing’s Dennis Hauger (No. 19 Ault Blockchain Honda) completed his first ever oval with a lesson in backwards driving, however completing the 250-lap race with no damage and a P15 finish. Romain Grosjean (No. 18 Bmax.IO Honda) had his day ended early after a mechanical issue sidelined the veteran for the first oval of the year.
Dennis Hauger No. 19 Ault Blockchain, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
- After qualifying P22 and feeling he could have started higher up, Hauger was determined to get to the front.
- From P22, Dennis moved quickly, getting all the way to P16 in the early goings of the race. Pushing hard while continuing to learn, Hauger ended up spinning out, somehow keeping the car off the wall by driving backwards on track.
- When the green flag flew again, Hauger did not let the spin ruin his day. Pitting under the lap 13 yellow gave Hauger extra fuel over a majority of the field.
- This extra fuel allowed Hauger to stay out longer, even leading the race in just his second ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES race.
- Coming in from the lead, Hauger took new tires and fuel on lap 98.
- When the lap 142 yellow flew, Dennis was up to P10 thanks to a combination of good strategy and strong race pace.
- Dennis held strong during this stint, pitting from P13 on lap 197 for fresh tires and fuel.
- When the lap 208 yellow flew, the team elected to stay out, restarting P8 as the last car on fresh tires, while everyone behind elected to pit for fresh tires.
- Fighting hard, Hauger finished P15 with a clean race car and 250 laps of NTT INDYCAR SERIES oval racing under his belt.
Post-Race Quote:
“That was a crazy day. I definitely learned a lot about how to drive these on ovals. I even learned how to drive these backwards for a bit! Overall, today was good. We ran a good strategy and my pace was strong. Had more cars stayed out on the last yellow, we could have been in position for a top 10, but it wasn’t meant to be. I think we can grow from this as a team and go into Arlington with some good momentum from here and St. Pete.”
Romain Grosjean No. 18 Bmax.IO, Dale Coyne Racing Honda
As cars took off from pit lane, Grosjean was unable to launch due to a mechanical issue in the clutch, forcing him to retire.
Post-Race Quote:
“Well, I suppose there is not much to say. I went to launch off pit road and the car wouldn’t go , it would just stall. I was looking forward to this race too. I think we could have moved forward just like Dennis did, but I suppose we will never know. I feel horrible for everyone. A lot of people dedicate a lot of effort and time into this for it to end before it begins. Luckily, we don’t have to wait long to try again.”
