Louis Foster dominated the oval portion of the 2024 INDY NXT by Firestone season, sweeping all four circle-track races en route to winning the championship.

Foster has since graduated to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this season with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, vacating the throne as the top oval driver in the INDYCAR development series. The first of four oval races this season is scheduled for Sunday, June 15 at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis, and a series Open Test on June 10 at another circle track on the 2025 schedule, Iowa Speedway, showed at least two interesting candidates to seize circle-track honors this season.

SEE: Open Test Results

Twenty-one car-driver combinations combined to turn 3,209 laps on the .894-mile oval in Newton, Iowa, more than enough data to make some itemized deductions.

Pierson, Hauger Find Groove Quickly

With Foster gone from the series, there was no clear ovalmeister entering this test. But after a full day of running, veteran Josh Pierson and rookie Dennis Hauger separated themselves from the pack.

Pierson led with a top speed of 176.109 mph in the No. 14 HMD Motorsports car, with series championship leader Hauger second at 175.105 in the No. 28 Nammo machine of Andretti Global.

It was a bit surprising to see Pierson atop the charts, as his best oval finish in the series was sixth in 2003 at Iowa. His best circle-track finish last year, his first full season in the series, was 10th at Nashville Superspeedway.

“P1 to end the day, so solid step for us,” Pierson said. “I think the ovals last year were an area we particularly struggled in. So, really happy with that to show up here and have some pace to show for it.

“I’m excited about our progress, particularly in single-car runs, and looking forward to (the oval race in) St. Louis this weekend and coming back here to Iowa in July.”

Hauger has no oval racing experience, arriving this season from European and international junior open-wheel racing on road and street circuits. But unfamiliarity is no roadblock for Hauger, who has won four of the first five races this season in a car and on tracks that are unfamiliar.

There was a significant gap from Hauger to fellow Andretti Global rookie Lochie Hughes, who was third at 173.795 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Championship car.

Experience Counts at Iowa

Hauger and Hughes went 2-3, respectively, on the speed charts as series rookies in this test, but that was an outlier.

A quick glance at the time sheet indicates experience matters on this Iowa bullring. After Hughes, the next-highest rookie was Evagoras Papasavvas, 13th at 169.823 in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car.

Experience appeared to matter so much during the test that seven of the last nine spots on the speed charts were filled by rookies, including the last six.