Today’s question: INDY NXT by Firestone is conducting its annual Content Days this week in Indianapolis in advance of the 2025 season, which starts Sunday, March 2 in St. Petersburg. Which driver in INDYCAR’s development series is most intriguing entering this season?

Curt Cavin: From this seat, Dennis Hauger would be the series favorite if he had ever seen most of the tracks he will compete on this season. The Norwegian is off to a fast start in testing so far with Andretti Global, and he should be even stronger once he stacks a few more sessions. Hauger won five races over the past three FIA Formula 2 seasons. I’m not saying he’s as good as Christian Lundgaard or Callum Ilott – in this sport it’s nearly impossible to compare drivers – but those two NTT INDYCAR SERIES veterans combined to win five F2 races. I’ll put the over/under on Hauger’s race wins this season at 4.5, and I’ll take the over.

Eric Smith: HMD Motorsports has a lot of star power in 2025, and one could be ecstatic the team has Hailie Deegan and Sophia Floersch as rookie drivers racing for the organization. But my focus is on another HMD driver, last year’s Rookie of the Year, Caio Collet. He finished third in points, and the two drivers in front of him earned promotions to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this season. That fact, plus the last three series champions being sophomore drivers, should propel him as THE favorite. However, his biggest weakness is ovals, with his best finish as third in the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway. His strengths are a 4.9 average finish in 10 road or street course starts, including a victory from the pole at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and three runner-up results. Andretti Global and Abel Motorsports have produced the fastest cars in offseason testing, so can Collet leap to the front in races and have enough improvement on ovals to take the championship?

Paul Kelly: I’m keeping a close eye on Myles Rowe as he enters his second season in INDY NXT by Firestone. Rowe joined the series in 2024 with HMD Motorsports in the exhaust of his 2023 USF Pro 2000 championship, and expectations were high. Rowe was solid in his first season but not spectacular. He finished 11th in points with two top-five finishes in 14 starts, including a best result of fourth at Detroit. Last season was the first since he advanced to car racing from karting in 2017 that he didn’t win at least one race. So, Rowe moved during the offseason from the bustling HMD team, which fielded nine cars in 2024, to the three-car, family-owned Abel Motorsports team that contended for the last two season titles with driver Jacob Abel, who has advanced to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with Dale Coyne Racing. This is a crucial season in the career development of Rowe, who could become a star in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES with his interesting, magnetic personality and his status as the first Black driver to win an INDYCAR-sanctioned race, in USF2000 in 2021. But he’ll need to climb the standings and stand on the podium this season – preferably the top step – to continue his acceleration through the ladder series to the big show in 2026.