2022 XPEL 375

Session Notes:

• The 2022 XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway was 248 laps on the 1.5-mile oval totaling 372 miles. The pit window was 50–60 laps under green-flag conditions for a four-stop race. NTT P1 Award winner Felix Rosenqvist gridded drivers' left for the start of the race.
• At 11:30 a.m. CDT, 15 minutes prior to the green flag, the ambient temperature in Ft. Worth, Texas was 71 degrees with 28% relative humidity and sunny skies. The track temperature was 78 degrees according to Firestone Racing engineers.
• Pole sitter Rosenqvist led the field to the green, but was quickly passed by Scott McLaughlin who would go on to lead 186 laps — the most of any driver.
• The race was slowed by four full-course cautions:
  • Laps 12–15: The No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda of Alexander Rossi slowed in Turn 2 and INDYCAR elected to throw the yellow flag for a tow-in.
  • Laps 99–112: The No. 51 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda of Takuma Sato made light contact with the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 after prior contact with the No. 29 Andretti Autosport Honda of Devlin DeFrancesco.
  • Laps 114–127: The No. 14 AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet of Kyle Kirkwood spun and made left-side contact with the Turn 4 SAFER Barrier.
  • Laps 129–148: A multi-car incident involving DeFrancesco, Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves took out all three cars. It was precipitated by three-wide racing in Turn 3, which the No. 29 Honda on the inside of Rahal's No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda. Both cars spun, pushing the No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda of Helio Castroneves into the SAFER Barrier.
• For the race's last stint following final pit stops for the leaders, McLaughlin led Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson. All three were covered by less than a second for many of the final laps.
• On Lap 248, Newgarden passed McLaughlin in Turn 4 and swept to the finish line with a 0.0669-second advantage over McLaughlin. The effort represented Newgarden's first victory of 2022 and second for Team Penske. McLaughlin won the season opener in St. Petersburg. The win also marked the 600th victory for Team Penske across all of its racing disciplines.
• Jimmie Johnson finished sixth, his best NTT IndyCar Series result.
• Unofficial points after Round 2:
  1. McLaughlin 97
  2. Power 69 (-28)
  3. Palou 67 (-30)
  4. Newgarden 65 (-32)
  5. Ericsson 58 (-39)
  6. Dixon 55 (-42)
  7. Herta 50 (-47)
  8. VeeKay 50 (-47)
  9. Pagenaud 39 (-58)
  10. Johnson 35 (-62)
      

Session Notes:

• Practice 2 was delayed until 5:45 p.m. CDT for a special 30-minute session featuring seven drivers with extra tires and increased downforce. The intent was to run laps at speed using the higher lanes of the Texas Motor Speedway oval in order to further "rubber in" the track. The following drivers participated:
  • Will Power
  • Graham Rahal
  • Ed Caprenter
  • Takuma Sato
  • Pato O'Ward
  • Felix Rosenqvist
  • Helio Castroneves
• Originally scheduled as a 60-minute session, Practice 2 was extended by 10 minutes after a significant incident involving Jack Harvey, driver of the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda. Harvey brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 and then made hard contact with the inside wall on the backstretch. He was able to exit his race car without assistance from the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team and was later checked and released by the infield care center. He is cleared to drive.
• At the conclusion of 70 minutes, Josef Newgarden's 223.108 mph lap was fastest. His teammates Scott McLaughlin and Power ended the session 16th and 19th, respectively.
  

Session Notes:

• Single-car qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway consisted of two laps for each driver with a measured distance of 1.44 miles per lap. Qualifying order was determined by reverse entrant points after Round 1 in St. Petersburg, with Ed Carpenter first and points leader Scott McLaughlin last.
• There were no on-track incidents during the session and each of the 27 drivers had clean runs.
• Felix Rosenqvist, 11th to qualify in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet, was fastest with a 221.110 mph two-lap average.
• The biggest challenge to Rosenqvist capturing the NTT P1 Award came from McLaughlin, whose 221.096 mph run was just 14 thousandths of a mile per hour slower.
• Rahal Letterman Lanigan racing struggled on track, with Graham Rahal having the slowest average speed of the day. Teammates Jack Harvey and Christian Lundgaard will start 24th and 25th, respectively.
• In his first oval qualifying effort, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Jimmie Johnson had a 219.865 mph two-lap average, good for the 18th starting position.
  

Session Notes:

• The first practice for the 2022 XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway was 60 minutes in duration.
• It was preceded by 10 minutes of two-speed pit limiter testing.
• Practice 1 was slowed by two brief yellow flags, both for slow cars on track that may have needed a tow-in.
  • David Malukas slowed two minutes into the session. The Dale Coyne Racing with HMD team reported a fuel pressure issue.
  • Jimmie Johnson slowed on the back stretch eight minutes after the initial green flag.
• At the conclusion of practice, Simon Pagenaud topped the speed chart with a 223.087 mph lap in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda.
• Top Practice 1 no-tow speeds:
  1. Newgarden —  220.971 mph
  2. Castroneves — 219.901 mph
  3. Ericsson — 219.414 mph
  4. Pagenaud —  219.044 mph
  5. Sato — 218.556 mph