By Austin Lawton, Staff Writer
With the NTT IndyCar Series is in the middle of its six-month off-season, it does not mean that the on-track action stops.
Testing was held on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Monday. There were five teams on hand for the test, with seven drivers: Lochie Hughes for Andretti Global, James Roe for Juncos Hollinger Racing, Caio Collet with A.J. Foyt Racing, Dennis Hauger with Dale Coyne Racing, Mick Schumacher for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Christian Rasmussen and Alexander Rossi for Ed Carpenter Racing.
Timing and scoring was not available for the test.
Tuesday marked the first on-track session for Schumacher in an IndyCar as he looks to explore other opportunities post-Formula One. Schumacher has most recently applied his trade in the World Endurance Championship, driving in the Alpine HyperCar program, but found getting into an IndyCar a comfortable experience.
“I’ve raced in quite a variety of different cars,” Schumacher said. “There are definitely similarities and differences and they’ve helped me get comfortable, pretty quickly.”
Schumacher was not the only driver learning, as Roe and Hughes, both took to the track in an IndyCar for the first time as well. Both drivers are fresh off of third and 12th place finishes, respectively, in Indy NXT.
“The weight of the car just feels heavy,” Hughes said regarding the experience. “A bit different feeling to the NXT car. Having the windscreen is there as well, makes everything quiet.”
Hughes inked another year of Indy NXT for Andretti Global on October 7, while also becoming the reserve driver for Andretti Global’s IndyCar efforts.
Roe, however, is in a different situation. Roe just finished his fourth season in Indy NXT, but is looking for opportunities in IndyCar, Indy NXT and sports cars for 2026. JHR recently announced that they would be fielding two cars in Indy NXT for 2026, but options are in the air for Roe.
“I’ve got nothing signed,” Roe said. “Anything is an option right now. The next two or three weeks are important. I just wanted to get through today, get a feel for the car and then sit down next week and the week after and start knocking things out.”
Hauger, who won the 2025 Indy NXT championship with Andretti, completed his second test with new team Dale Coyne Racing. Hauger tested at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on October 1st. Collet was also a part of that same test.
Hauger crashed the No.18 Honda twice during the Mid-Ohio test, but kept the car clean at IMS on Monday. Hauger is taking advantage of the test days as he gears up for a rookie campaign in 2026.
“It’s really good to get these practices in,” Hauger said. “When no one was running in the morning, it was good to get pit stop practice in. It’s good to do that while we have the time and I’m not sure we won’t be able to do that in February.”