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Simon Pagenaud Tops Opening Practice at Texas

Simon Pagenaud storming into Turn 1 (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).

FORT WORTH, Texas – Saturday’s one-hour morning practice session was tame as Meyer Shank Racing’s Simon Pagenaud (223.087 mph) was quickest over Felix Rosenqvist (222.878 mph) and Colton Herta (222.786 mph).

Pagenaud explained that having a tow speed propelled him to the top of the charts with his non-tow speed being 219.044 mph.

“It was really nice and had a seamless session,” said Pagenaud. “We had a tow at the beginning of the run, but we did some qualifying runs and it seems like we’re in the game.”

With him drawing 13th for qualifying, the chances of winning the NTT P1 Pole Award were going to be real tough. But he was optimistic that the racing package will be an improvement come race day.

“It’s going to be hard going for pole,” Pagneaud commented. “But I feel like the car is fast and it should be an interesting race.

“Personally, the package is better in terms of downforce. You can follow cars closer and it doesn’t disturb you as much as in the past years. You can pin it down, keep it flat and have good runs at the exit of Turn 2. (INDYCAR) did a great job of getting the package right.”

Out of the 27 drivers on the grid, one competitor stood out in the morning session. Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Callum Ilott was not only the fastest rookie but he ended up fourth fastest at 222.257 mph.

Ilott will make his INDYCAR oval debut tomorrow (Photo: Luis Torres | TPF).

The former Formula 2 competitor wasn’t sure how he’d approach practice, especially with traffic. Despite these sentiments, Ilott felt more comfortable running with traffic on the 1.5-mile oval.

“With cars on track, you’re always having to be aware and going to anticipate what the guys are doing. But on my own, it was quite good,” said Ilott. “I could work my way to get the best of my ability on the oval. I did it efficiently so far but with the other cars, just finding my rhythm.

“One thing is doing the lap on your own and the other is the race. That’s where I’m going to find it a bit more difficult.”

Qualifying begins at 2:00 p.m. ET while final practice is slated to commence at 5:00 p.m. ET. Both events will stream live on Peacock.

Following the final session, several drivers will partake on a special session to run on the top groove, hoping it becomes an option for drivers to race. It’s a direct result of years of PJ1 compound used for NASCAR races which hampered INDYCAR’s style of racing.

Consequently, it’s led to the bottom lane being the only option going into the corners.

Those competing in the 30-minute session are Ed Carpenter, Helio Castroneves, Pato O’Ward, Will Power, Graham Rahal, Felix Rosenqvist and Takuma Sato.

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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