Simon Pagenaud led a straightforward opening practice for the NTT IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway.
The 37-year old Frenchman put down flying lap at 223.087 mph in the no. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda, besting the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet of Felix Rosenqvist by 0.218s (222.878 mph).
Colton Herta put the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda third on the scoring pylon with a pace at 222.786 mph around the 1.5-mile oval. He was followed by rookie Callum Ilott and Scott McLaughlin.
Scott Dixon, Pato O’Ward, Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean and Alex Palou completed the rest of the top 10.
Josef Newgarden was fastest among drivers on the no-tow times, with a flying unassisted lap at 220.971 mph. On the no-tow list, he was followed by Helio Castroneves, Ericsson, Pagenaud, Takuma Sato to round out that top five.
The one-hour session only fell under caution twice, with rookie David Malukas and Jimmie Johnson – both making their oval debuts – running out of fuel. Johnson, who put down a practice-high 69 laps, ended up 22nd of the 27 cars on the timesheets with single-lap times, but was seventh-fastest on the no-tow chart at 215.764 mph.
Up Next: Qualifying at 2 p.m. ET, with live coverage on Peacock and the IndyCar Radio Network.
