On a late race restart with nine laps to go, Hughes got the jump on Hauger and shot into third.

Into Turn 1, Hauger returned serve but made wheel-to-wheel contact that speared him and Hughes off the road.

Both wound up buried in the gravel trap and brought out the fourth Safety Car intervention of the race.

Hughes finished 15th and three laps down while Hauger was one place behind him. That result for the Aussie followed a sixth place finish in the first race of the weekend.

“It was a bit of a wild race,” said Hughes.

“I got up to third at the start, but had to give the position back when the yellow came out.

“After that, the car felt a bit loose, but I was getting to grips with it and making progress.

“There were a lot of yellows, and the end was a bit chaotic. We’ll go back, review everything and talk it through as a team.”

Hauger lamented the collision with Hughes.

“Today was difficult. You never want to make contact with a teammate,” said the Danish driver.

“We struggled a bit with pace and couldn’t quite get by Josh Pierson. Then things got a little too messy on the restart.

“It’s not the result we wanted, but we’re still leading the championship, and we know we have the pace as a team. We’ll put this one behind us and focus on Portland.”

Race two of the weekend was dramatic from start to finish.

Bryce Aron got sent airborne on Lap 1 when New Zealander Liam Sceats swerved across the nose of the American.

Sceats was delivered a 30-second stop-and-go penalty for the clash that also claimed Australian Tommy Smith. Aron retired while Sceats and Smith continued.

Sceats’ race came to an end on Lap 18 when he speared off at the high-speed Turn 6 and nose-dived the tyre barrier.

The penultimate Safety Car before Hauger and Hughes collided came on the Lap 22 restart when a chain reaction of cars stacking up sent Jordan Missig into a spin, broke the front wing of Nolan Allaer, and sent Hailey Deegan into the air after she rode over the back of Juan Manuel Correa.

The was one last incident with five laps to go when Myles Rowe and Salvador de Alba rubbed wheels into Turn 5 and punctured the latter’s left rear.

Caio Collet took the chequered flag first ahead of Josh Pierson and New Zealander Callum Hedge in what was his first podium of the year.

Three rounds remain in the Indy NXT season, which continues on Monday, August 11 (AEST) at Portland.