Josef Newarden was quickest in final practice for the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet propelled to the top of the timesheets with a flying lap at 223.108 mph around the 1.5-mile oval. The two-time series champion and 2019 TMS race winner will start seventh on Sunday.
.@josefnewgarden will start P7 for tomorrow's #XPEL375.
Hear what he had to say after being fastest in the final practice this evening.#INDYCAR // @Team_Penske pic.twitter.com/OlG3gUTWsc
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) March 19, 2022
Scott Dixon ended up second, with pole-sitter Felix Rosenvist in third. Rookie Christian Lundgaard and Colton Herta rounded out the top five.
Takuma Sato, Graham Rahal, Helio Castroneves, Romain Grosjean and rookie Devlin DeFrancesco completed the remaining the top 10.
The session, originally scheduled for one hour, was extended by 10 minutes after Jack Harvey crashed hard off the exit of Turn 2. The damage was severe enough that he is moving to a backup car for Sunday’s race.
Among the fastest no-tow times was Rinus VeeKay, who posted a best lap of 216.182 mph in the No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet. Rookie Callum Ilot was second fastest of the unassisted laps in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, just ahead of Jimmie Johnson in third.
There was a total of 1,921 laps run in the session.
Up Next: The XPEL 375 on Sunday, March 20 on NBC (12:30 p.m. ET)
