Dennis Hauger Previews Phoenix Oval Debut After Strong IndyCar Start

Norway rookie driver to NTT INDYCAR SERIES Dennis Hauger sports a decorated junior career, winning the 2021 FIA Formula 3 championship. In 2025, he dominated INDY NXT by Firestone with Andretti Global, earning six wins, eight poles and the championship over Caio Collet by 72 points. Hauger is nicknamed the “Norwegian Nightmare.” Image Credit: Joe Skibinski NICS (2026)

Dennis Hauger Previews Phoenix Oval Debut After Strong IndyCar Start

Dennis Hauger, the Norwegian rookie driving the No. 19 Ault Blockchain Honda for Dale Coyne Racing, spoke to the media on March 3, 2026, ahead of the Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway—the NTT IndyCar Series’ return to the one-mile desert oval after an eight-year absence. 

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.

He described his first IndyCar weekend as a strong if imperfect beginning. Practice setbacks were overcome, soft-tire runs unlocked confidence and delivered that near-pole lap (just four-hundredths off the top spot), and both Coyne cars reached the top six in qualifying—a result that lifted the entire team. In the race itself, he acknowledged missed opportunities but highlighted valuable lessons: the importance of aggressive yet controlled in-laps and out-laps, pushing harder on cold tires during the opening lap, and refining pit strategy amid red flags and shifting undercuts. A surprise pre-race motivational outburst from NFL quarterback Jameis Winston—“Preach,” Hauger recalled with amusement—added an unexpected jolt of energy to the team.

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 Scott Dixon) 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.

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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).

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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

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Rookies Find Their Feet At Phoenix: Day One Unser Open Test Wrap

Conor Daly & Jessie Punch interview Cail Collet, No. 4 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet - Image Credit: NICS Video (2026)

Rookies Find Their Feet At Phoenix: Day One Unser Open Test Wrap

Day one of testing at Phoenix Raceway wrapped with the full 2026 IndyCar grid laid bare, rookies included, under the Arizona sun that shifts and plays tricks just like the wind does on these short ovals.

Conor Daly, riding shotgun in the broadcast booth with Jessie Punch, framed it plainly: a classic rookie day. Laps piled high, experience chased hard, no one rewriting the record books ... and that's exactly the point. This Unser Open Test isn't about fireworks; it's about stacking knowledge brick by brick before the real battles ignite.

The three newcomers - Mick Schumacher, Dennis Hauger, Cail Collet - each carved their own path through the session. 

Dennis Hauger, fresh off a dominant Indy NXT campaign, looked every bit the expected pace-setter among the rookies, marveling at the grip monster these high-downforce cars become on sticker tires. "Oh, there's some grip here," he said, the kind of understated awe that comes when a driver realizes the machine can take more than intuition first allows. He kept building, noted a few gremlins to sort, and eyed tomorrow for more baseline work in a field so tight that 17th was only a tenth or so off top-eight territory.

Cail Collet, settling into the AJ Foyt fold alongside the oval-savvy Santino Ferrucci, admitted to the inevitable greenhorn moment: a push too far on fresh rubber, misjudging the extra bite, clipping the apron in turn three or four and spinning into the wall. Lesson delivered the hard way, but he took it in stride - praising Ferrucci's openness with tips (even if ignoring the one about tire pressures and sun glare in turns three-four cost him dearly). Focus tomorrow: traffic runs, dirty air, placing the car right behind others. The steps from quali trim to race long-runs loom large, and he's hungry to log the data, watch the videos, shadow the veterans.

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Mick Schumacher, ever analytical and quick to push back on the "rookie" label - he's raced too long, claimed too many starts elsewhere to wear it comfortably - treated the day as championship business from the jump. He stacked laps, more than most, dialing in the peculiarities of Phoenix: the flat-ish banking that tilts the car outward unexpectedly, the hooked feel in turn three, the wind gusts that shove or suck the aero balance corner to corner. The biggest adjustment? Learning to relax in the seat with a pad for consistency over long stints ... counter to years of tensing up to feel the car precisely. Firestone tires feel worlds apart from Pirelli or Michelin; mastering their window is the immediate homework. Teammate Graham Rahal's counsel rang true: every oval tells its own story, and Phoenix whispered its secrets in differences from Homestead or Sebring.

Beyond the new blood, the timesheet told familiar tales with fresh twists. Team Penske's machines hummed fast as anticipated, but Josef Newgarden, short-oval royalty, found himself shaded by new teammate David Malukas at day's end, while old wingman Will Power lurked close in the Andretti entry. McLaren's squad stayed quiet, potential still holstered; Graham Rahal Hall's push to 11th hinted at progress on a program that has historically wrestled these bullrings.

The field? Razor-close. Top 20 within half a second. Margins microscopic. Rust shaken off, new Firestones waiting for day two.

... notes from The EDJE

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