IndyCar resumed after nearly a month off earlier today at Texas. An event that may be the last the track hosts for IndyCar for some time as well. If you recall, Scott McLaughlin started out the season with a bang, winning his first-ever IndyCar race on the street of St. Petersburg. Today, he returned to the track where he got his best finish in his rookie season, a second-place result. Another good result would go a long way for his development in the series, as the rest of the field tries to gun him down in Texas Motor Speedway’s last rodeo.
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Top of the Board
IndyCar oval qualifying is one of the better things the series has to offer. Having to put together two good laps as opposed to one spices things up from say single-car NASCAR qualifying. Emerging victorious on the mile and a half circuit was Arrow McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist, who beat out McLaughlin and Takuma Sato for the top spot. For the Swede, this was his second ever pole in IndyCar. In other news, Jimmie Johnson, running his first-ever IndyCar oval race, ended up in 18th. That ended up being better than either Ed Carpenter or Graham Rahal.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbS9HsMABmW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Rossi’s Problems Continue
At the start of the race, Alexander Rossi jumped to the outside a bit early to make some passes before the start/finish line. As a result, he received a one-spot penalty during green flag conditions. But wait it gets worse. Afterward, Rossi had a battery failure which forced him out of the race under 20 laps in, in addition to drawing out the first caution of the day.
Pitting for the Cycle
The first round of pitstops came just shy of lap 60, with a number of teams looking for a potential three-stop strategy. A lot of fuel-saving would be necessary to pull that off, but it seemed doable. McLaughlin cycled back to the lead of those who stopped in the first wave. Out front of those waiting to pit was rookie Kyle Kirkwood, who pitted on lap 70, along with Rosenqvist, Marcus Ericsson, and Colton Herta. Once the second wave cycled through, McLaughlin had over a 12 second lead on Josef Newgarden. A lead that the two-time champion cut in half before Sato brought out caution No. 2 on lap 99 after brushing the outside wall.
CONTACT!
Takuma Sato brushes the wall after making contact with Devlin Defrancesco.#INDYCAR // @TXMotorSpeedway pic.twitter.com/nQlFqGDQ0h
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) March 20, 2022
Pit Road Errors
Heading down pit road after the caution, Romain Grosjean had visible smoke coming out the back of his No. 28 Honda. Whatever it was, it was, it was terminal and it was done. Meanwhile, the pit stops themselves for the Arrow McLaren duo of O’Ward and Rosenqvist. For the No. 5, the left front tire changer got hit and tweaked his knee. For the No. 7 team, Roensqvist missed the mark on his box, then the right rear tire changer had an issue further increasing the stop.
Cautions Breed Cautions
For A.J. Foyt’s rookie Kirkwood, his IndyCar oval debut did not end well after a promising start. Laps into the ensuing restart, he lost the back end in the middle of three and four and nailed the outside wall forcing caution No. 3. Despite the hit looking rough, Kirkwood hopped out of the car on his own and walked away under his own power looking fine. Sad his oval debut ended like this, but he got some time out front, which is huge going into the Indianapolis 500.
Kyle Kirkwood is OUT.
The NTT @INDYCAR SERIES rookie spins and hits the wall.
📺 : @nbc and @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/mAvvviia6k
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) March 20, 2022
Then again on the next restart, another crash happened immediately, and this time, the number of drivers forced out of the race tripled. Those three were Rahal, Helio Castroneves, and Devlin DeFrancesco. Defrancesco, running on the far inside, got loose, and bowling pinned the two guys to his outside while getting the worse end of things slamming the outside wall hard.
"Rookie mistake."
Devlin Defrancesco goes below the white line entering Turns 3 and 4, loses control, and takes out Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal.#INDYCAR // @TXMotorSpeedway
📺 : @nbc and @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/E5vucnhPw8— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) March 20, 2022
Johnson Turns Back the Clock
The action picked up on what was the longest stint of the day in a big way. None more so than the performance of Johnson. Who not only just looked comfortable but extremely good considering the circumstances. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Champion made a pair of insane outside passes on his way into the top 10. First on Alex Palou and Santino Ferrucci with around 70 to go. The again around Scott Dixon later on. Furthermore, Johnson made it into fifth but just missed out of a top five day due to getting passed back by Dixon in the closing stages. Regardless, this was easily the best JJ48 has looked in IndyCar. Now any potential Johnson Indianapolis 500 sleeper win takes may have some merit. He looked that good today.
'@JimmieJohnson is in the TOP TEN!
The seven-time @NASCAR champion knows his way around @TXMotorSpeedway and makes a move on Santino Ferrucci!
📺 : @nbc and @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/vTg0xHEbUt
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) March 20, 2022
March Madness
Down the stretch, the win came down to Penske teammates McLaughlin and Newgarden. With around five to go, Colton Herta inadvertently held up Newgarden in turns one and two, which could have ended things for the No. 2. However, he caught back up to his teammate, right as McLaughlin was catching lap traffic as the white flag waved. Newgarden made his move in turn three, and riding the outside, took the lead and win at the buzzer. Without question, this is the early leader in the clubhouse for finish of the year in any series.
RETWEET to congratulate @josefnewgarden on his WIN at @TXMotorSpeedway!
He passes Scott McLaughlin coming to the checkered! pic.twitter.com/APVzRlvKnc
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) March 20, 2022
IndyCar XPEL 375 Top 10
1st No. 2 Josef Newgarden
2nd No. 3 Scott McLaughlin
3rd No. 8 Marcus Ericsson
4th No. 12 Will Power
5th No. 9 Scott Dixon
6th No. 48 Jimmie Johnson
7th No. 10 Alex Palou
8th No. 15 Graham Rahal
9th No. 45 Santino Ferrucci
10th No. 21 Rinus VeeKay
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
