Eight races into the 2026 NTT INDYCAR Series season, the battle for Rookie of the Year is shaping up.
The three contenders have had their fair share of up’s and down’s so far as they continue to compete in a series where street circuits, road courses, and ovals demand versatility.
Currently sitting 18th in the standings for Dale Coyne Racing is reigning Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger. The 23-year old Norwegian native, nicknamed the ‘Norwegian Nightmare’, has recorded two top-10 finishes with his best of eighth coming in the Indianapolis Grand Prix. So far this season, the driver has an average finishing position of 14.4 . Despite having some struggles, Hauger’s early performance and positive attitude have showcased why Coyne took the chance on the young driver.
“This is what we’ve seen out of him in the preseason,” Coyne said after St. Petersburg. “We knew he’d be good, but you never really know until you put them in the deep end.”
Four spots below Hauger, sitting 23rd in points, is Caio Collet of AJ Foyt Racing. Despite being outside the top-20, the results don’t tell the full story for the Sao Paulo, Brazil driver. His best finish of the season was a 12th place run in Arlington, but his best showcase would come at St. Louis where he ran as high as sixth before a mechanical failure ended his race. Collet was also the fastest rookie in the open test for the Indianapolis 500 and even led nine laps before a crash would result in finishing 26th.
Collet’s biggest takeaway from his first year is trying to manage different conditions.
“I think I’ve made the biggest gains in understanding how to manage races and adapt to different situations,” Collet said. “For the second half of the season, I want to keep improving my qualifying performance and continue maximizing opportunities on race day.”
Veteran teammate Santino Ferrucci has taken notice of Collet’s speed and determination to get better every weekend.
“Caio is a great rookie in the sense of he knows he’s very talented,” Ferrucci said. “He is also willing to put in the work and ask the questions to help speed up his development.”
The third and final rookie in the class is Mick Schumacher for Rahal Letterman Racing, who sits 25th in points. Aside from being the only rookie in the field to finish the Indy 500 on the lead lap in 18th, the rest of the year for the German driver has been less than stellar. An average finishing position of 20.6 isn’t anything flashy, with a best finish of 16th at Gateway.
Ever since his preseason test at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Schumacher has tried his best to adjust to not only a new series, but also oval racing as a whole.
“I never thought it was easy to race on an oval,” Schumacher said in February. “There was always this sort of respect for it, and I think that respect hasn’t gone down, if anything, it’s gone up.”
The Rookie of the Year battle will continue on as the series’ next stop comes from Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Sunday, June 21 at 2:00 p.m. eastern time.
