Felix Rosenqvist once again is the master of pure speed at Texas Motor Speedway, winning his second consecutive NTT P1 Award for the PPG 375 on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.
Rosenqvist, from Sweden, turned a two-lap average speed of 220.264 mph on the 1.5-mile oval to earn his fourth career NTT INDYCAR SERIES pole and first top spot this season in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet. His pole speed last year was 221.110.
SEE: Qualifying Results
With air and track temperatures climbing as the session progressed, Rosenqvist admitted that being the 10th of 28 drivers on track in the qualifying order helped him find more speed.
“I think we just built on last year,” Rosenqvist said. “Maybe it was a good thing to start early. The track kind of warmed up. We’ll take it. We’ve always been good here, but this is a whole different confidence level compared to last year. Let’s try to wrap it up tomorrow.”
The 250-lap race – the first oval event of the season – starts at noon (ET) Sunday. NBC, Peacock and the INDYCAR Radio Network will provide live coverage.
Six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon will join Rosenqvist on the front row after a run of 219.972 mph in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Dixon has five career victories at Texas, including winning four of the last nine races on the high-banked, high-speed oval. He also earned his 10th career front-row start at Texas.
Alexander Rossi continued his strong start to the season with his new team, Arrow McLaren, by qualifying third at 219.960 in the team’s No. 7 Chevrolet. Reigning PPG 375 winner Josef Newgarden qualified fourth at 219.801 in the No. 2 PPG Chevrolet.
Pato O’Ward qualified fifth at 219.619 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet to complete a power play for Arrow McLaren, which put all three of its cars in the first three rows of the starting grid. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato qualified sixth at 219.508 in his first start of the season in the No. 11 Niterra Honda.
Benjamin Pedersen was the fastest rookie in qualifying, earning the 13th spot at 219.100 in the No. 55 AJ Foyt Racing/Sexton Properties Chevrolet owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner and Lone Star legend A.J. Foyt.
Scott McLaughlin led practice this morning at 223.747 mph but dropped to 15th in qualifying at 218.765 in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet. Series points leader Marcus Ericsson qualified 16th at 218.698 in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.