IndyCar Driver Dennis Hauger Drops Jaw-Dropping Save

IndyCar was back at Phoenix Raceway for the first time since 2018, and we got a show, with one of the most memorable moments coming from series rookie Dennis Hauger.

Phoenix is back on the calendar as part of a double-header weekend with the NASCAR Cup Series, and it serves as an early first oval of the season for IndyCar.

Early in the day, Hauger — who impressed last weekend in St. Pete — was being hounded by Ed Carpenter Racing's Christian Rasmussen when he lost control of his No.19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda.

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While it looked like that car was headed for the barrier, Hauger managed to save it and wound up rolling down the backstretch in reverse.

Talk about some serious car control that saved his team and probably some others a lot of money.

Not too long after that, we had another incident that didn't end quite so well, and it was a biggie as far as the championship is concerned.

Four-time champ Àlex Palou found himself in the air after making contact with Rinus Veekay.

That ended Palou's day, and also put his streak of over 600 days atop the championship standings in jeopardy.

One of the most entertaining drivers of the day was Christian Rasmussen, who is just an animal on short ovals. He led 69 laps, but the damage he sustained in a run-in with Andretti Global's Will Power made him a sitting duck for a hard-charging Josef Newgarden.

Rasmussen plummeted down to P14, which is a shame because he was running so well.

But that was all she wrote, with Newgarden taking the win, followed by Kyle Kirkwood in P2, and then his Team Penske teammate David Malukas (who started on pole) in P3.

Newgarden was the winner of the last race at Phoenix back in 2018, and it's great to have the track back on the schedule.

IndyCar's season-opening tripleheader wraps up next week with the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington.