NTT IndyCar Series rookie Dennis Hauger and his Dale Coyne Racing team received an impromptu pep talk from a surprising source just before the start of Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Veteran NFL quarterback (and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player) Jameis Winston offered encouragement just seconds after meeting Hauger during FOX’s grid walk with pit reporter Jack Harvey.
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“You were built for this moment. Look at your team. Everybody that’s helped you get to this point is intentional. It’s a reason that you’re here right now,” Winston told Hauger. “All right, so I don’t care if this is your first race. I don’t care if you’re a rookie. You have put in the work. Your dedication is going to allow you to be your very best today. You better believe that.”
“That’s good words. Thanks, man,” Hauger said. “Now we got to go and do it.”
Hauger, the Indy NXT champion last season and third-place qualifier this weekend, posted a top-10 finish, at No. 10, in his IndyCar debut behind the wheel of the No. 19 Ault Blockchain Honda.
Winston wasn’t done with his advice, though. He said, “It’s about execution. Oh, yeah. Your trusting decisions are going to get you where you need to be. All right. You wake up looking like your parents, but you die looking like you’re trusting decisions. So make a decision to go out there and execute today. All right, man. Good luck. Do your thing. Do your thing.”
Furthermore, he told the team, “Hey guys, tell you one thing. People saying about this rookie. Rookies—no one has respect for rookies, but think about the work you put in. Think about your desire. What would you love? You would love to come home with this victory. All right. They call him the Norwegian Nightmare. [People say] that the people from Norway only winning in the Olympics.
ntt indycar series test session
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Dennis Hauger.
“But we’re out here in sunny St. Pete, Florida. We’re out here doing something that you love. You love the precision. You love the detail. You love leaning on every man and woman that are part of your crew. So align with them. Set your vision and go out there and be precise and execute to the best of your ability.”
Winston was accompanied by chatty five-year-old son Taurus, who said he loves racing and was fascinated by the F1 LEGO race car that took a parade lap at last year’s Miami Grand Prix. Proud Dad said Taurus “lives and breathes” racing and constantly doodles pictures of the cars.
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Susan Wade has lived in the Seattle area for 40 years, but motorsports is in the Indianapolis native’s DNA. She has emerged as one of the leading drag-racing writers with nearly 30 seasons at the racetrack, focusing on the human-interest angle. She was the first non-NASCAR recipient of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award and has covered the sport for the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, and Seattle Times. She has contributed to Autoweek as a freelance writer since 2016.