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Felix Rosenqvist Scores Pole for XPEL 375 at Texas

The jubilation for Felix Rosenqvist after winning pole at Texas (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).

FORT WORTH, Texas – For only the second time in his NTT IndyCar Series career, Felix Rosenqvist (two-lap average of 221.110 mph) scored pole position and will lead the 27-car field to the green flag for Sunday’s XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.

It’s the Swede’s first pole since his rookie year in 2019 at the Indy Road Course when he drove for Chip Ganassi Racing. Between that time period, it’s been a rollercoaster career for the Arrow McLaren SP driver.

Last season was a campaign to forget after not being on par with teammate Pato O’Ward (starting 10th) along with his horrific accident in the first Detroit GP race that sidelined him for two races.

With Rosenqvist being second fastest in Saturday’s morning practice and taking pole, the focus is now on the 248-lap race itself. Like his fellow competitors, Rosenqvist is curious about the high lane still being an unideal area to race.

“It’s going to be interesting. First practice was more about qualifying practice for everyone, so we didn’t know how the cars will race,” said Rosenqvist after winning pole. “We’ll have that practice where we’re going to rubber in the high line or try to at least. I think whatever happens, we have a good package. That’s what I’m really confident about.

“We have a good car in qualifying and in race trim. We kind of know what we need to do. As a team, we’re pretty confident we can execute well, but I have no idea how the race is going to be. At least we have the front row.”

Rosenqvist will look to get his second career win this Sunday (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).

Starting alongside Rosenqvist is championship leader Scott McLaughlin whose two-lap average speed ended up 0.014 mph slower. McLaughlin said his No. 3 XPEL Chevrolet felt pretty good but missed the balance a little bit.

“P2 is a good start,” said McLaughlin. “We got a good pit box selection for Long Beach, so we got to keep being solid. Keep being right up front and we’ll be okay, so I’m happy with (my qualifying run).”

After finishing second in last year’s Genesys 300, having a front row start was important for McLaughlin and the entire Chevrolet camp.

“We have a really good car in traffic and having a fast car (in qualifying) is even better. We’re in a good spot, so we got keep up there. I got Will (Power) right behind me and we got a couple Chevys up there which is fantastic for us. We’ve been working really hard in the offseason.”

The St. Petersburg winner is poised to start the year 2-for-2 (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).

The fastest Honda was Takuma Sato, who is no stranger of going fast on ovals. This time, he did so in Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 machine. In just his second start with the organization, Sato was very happy with the qualifying run.

“It’s a pretty good start,” said Sato. “But we got an incredibly important session to see how the cars perform. That’s leading into the race setup and we’re going to find out in final practice. I haven’t done any traffic run, so hopefully the trend continues. You just never know.”

Further down the grid, you’ll find Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. All three entries will roll off 24th or worse with Graham Rahal riding the caboose this Sunday.

“All three of our cars were exceptionally slow. We really have to go back and check what the heck we’re doing wrong,” said Rahal. “There’s a lot of scrub but aerodynamically, we have to be a clear outlier from the rest. We’re three out of the back four.

“There’s no excuse to perform that way and everybody better have a good hard look. Our race car is okay, but starting last, you’re not even looking for a win. You’re looking to get out of there save. The performance was pathetic.”

Texas will host one last practice session that’ll last an hour long, beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET on Peacock. Simon Pagenaud, who ended up fastest in the morning session, will roll off 15th.

Live race coverage of the XPEL 375 at Texas begins Sunday at Noon ET on NBC. Pato O’Ward is the defending race winner.

2022 XPEL 375 Starting Lineup

  1. 7 – Felix Rosenqvist
  2. 3 – Scott McLaughlin
  3. 51 – Takuma Sato
  4. 12 – Will Power
  5. 9 – Scott Dixon
  6. 06 – Helio Castroneves
  7. 2 – Josef Newgarden
  8. 21 – Rinus VeeKay
  9. 26 – Colton Herta
  10. 5 – Pato O’Ward
  11. 10 – Alex Palou
  12. 27 – Alexander Rossi
  13. 28 – Romain Grosjean
  14. 8 – Marcus Ericsson
  15. 60 – Simon Pagenaud
  16. 20 – Conor Daly
  17. 29 – Devlin DeFrancesco (R)
  18. 48 – Jimmie Johnson
  19. 18 – David Malukas (R)
  20. 77 – Callum Ilott (R)
  21. 33 – Ed Carpenter
  22. 4 – Dalton Kellett
  23. 14 – Kyle Kirkwood (R)
  24. 45 – Jack Harvey
  25. 30 – Christian Lundgaard (R)
  26. 11 – JR Hildebrand
  27. 15 – Graham Rahal

Throughout my young motorsports media career, my number-one goal is to be a personnel that can be flexible with my writing and photography in the world of NASCAR and INDYCAR. Content delivery is vital because this is my main passion and what keeps me going. On the side, I also do sports production ranging from Seattle Kraken hockey to the 2023 NCAA Women's March Madness. All for the love of the game. With four National Motorsports Press Association photography awards, I'm not slowing down anytime soon. Outside of media, I'm super vocal about my musical tastes that goes from Metallica to HAIM. At times, there might be some Paul Thomas Anderson and Southern California references in my social media.

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