The bottom groove remains the lane of choice as shown by Josef Newgarden during final practice (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).
FORT WORTH, Texas – Two practice sessions commenced a couple hours after the starting lineup for the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway was determined.
Seventh-place starter Josef Newgarden (223.108 mph) was quickest in the main final practice session, besting Scott Dixon (222.726 mph) and pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist (222.662 mph).
The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion learned a lot in the session and was glad there was time left to practice following two delays. Additionally, he learned when tire wear will play a pivotal role during Sunday’s race due to the track surface.
“It’s going to be tough,” Newgarden commented. “As the track has gotten older, year-after-year, I feel like the tires are wearing out more than in years past. Which is good because you have to look after it with the racecar and your setup. I think you’re going to be chasing the balance all over the place from beginning to end.
“When you have brand new tires, it’s really easy to stay close and packed. I think you’ll see that at the beginning and our restarts. But when you get mid-way in to the stint, you really got to start managing the car.”
Newgarden added that his No. 2 PPG Chevrolet was capable enough to qualify better, but he’ll have some work to do by rolling off seventh on the grid. By going quickest, he’s pretty happy about the effort.
“I thought the PPG car was good. It was fast right off the truck. I wish we had a little bit more in qualifying,” said Newgarden. “I really felt we had a super quick car for pole but missed it by a little bit. I think our racecar is good, so we can make it up tomorrow hopefully.”
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, who had a bad qualifying session, had another blunder in final practice.
Jack Harvey wound up in the marbles, going into the high groove of turn 2, snapping his car and violently slamming the inside wall. It destroyed the left side of the No. 45 Hy-Vee Honda, requiring the team to get the backup car. Suffice to say, Harvey’s team will have a long night ahead.
Jack Harvey moments before his accident (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).
Harvey was the fastest out of the three RLL Racing drivers, but it was only good enough for 24th fastest of the 27-car grid. His car felt comfortable in qualifying, but the balance wasn’t to his liking prior to his accident.
The struggles continue for @RLLracing.
The yellow flag is out @TxMotorSpeedway after this incident involving @jack_harvey45.
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“I came off Turn 2 a little bit high and got loose,” said Harvey. “Most of that was probably for so much understeering in the corner. Quite a way to end a challenging day for us.”
Before the final hour session began, seven drivers took part of a “special session” where they tried making the top line preferable to race for a better product. Four-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves (216.842 mph) was fastest out of the competitors.
Two-time race winner Will Power was among those who partook about the special 30-minute session and was second quickest (211.193 mph). Despite getting what he wanted from INDYCAR, he still wished there were more cars while simply abolishing the dreaded PJ1 compound.
“You were able to get some speed up there, but the bottom is so much quicker and more grip. You have to take that stuff off,” said Power after final practice.
A part of his concern by running on top is not wanting to bin another car like he did during testing earlier this month. Fortunately, Power said running on top is possible, which he felt good about from a competition standpoint, but there’s a vital catch.
Power at the entry of Turn 4 during the 30-minute session (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).
“It’s a good learning exercise for the track, ourselves and the series to know what the next step would be. Take the stuff off or add another compound that’s actually better where it goes the other way. Sticky at first and wears away where the tire rubber goes down, but it’s difficult.
“At the end of the day, you almost need equal grip or a little less grip on the bottom to have the top work really well. At least equal but there’s definitely less grip. We’re trying and want to put the best show possible, so it was worth doing and see if we can run two-wide,” Power continued.
“The problem is that it’s so fast at the beginning at the stint to run on the bottom because there’s so much downforce and grip. It’s faster on the shorter line where you almost have to start with people running the top. As soon as you’ve done half the stint on the bottom, it’s too hard to get up the top with all the dust, debris and marbles,” Power concluded.
Live coverage of the XPEL 375 at Texas will mark Round 2 of 17 of the 2022 championship trail. Live coverage begins at Noon ET on NBC where Pato O’Ward seeks for his second straight win in “The Lone Star State.”
