I'm a retired educator and lifelong racing fan. I hope to return to fostering greyhounds in the near future. Living mainly in Indy and wintering in Florida. I attend about 10 Indycar races a year as well as some sports car events
12:45 PM Green Flag for the Expel 375 NBC coverage begins at 12:30 PM
Post race show on Peacock after NBC coverage ends
Race time temperature should be around 69 degrees and sunny, rising to the mid 70s by the end of the race.
The race should be very competitive. I think any one of the first seven starters could win. Pole sitter Felix Rosenqvist is confident of his chances. Josef Newgarden was very quick in the practice sessions. Many Texas races have come down to a late yellow and cars diving into the pits for new tires. The leader is a sitting duck in this situation.
Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star posted a story last night in which he reported that the efforts to reduce the effect of the JP 1 compound have not changed much. We are likely to see a single file race again. That would be a shame. Some of Indycar’s best races have been at Texas Motor Speedway.
Will Power led the effort for a high downforce session to attempt to scrub off the JP1 compound
This is possibly the last Indycar race at TMS for a while. there has been no talk about renewing the relationship this weekend. Attendance yesterday extremely low. I am not anticipating a large turnout today.
Josef Newgarden led a final practice interrupted by a heavy crash involving Jack Harvey. Following the cleanup Indycar extended the session time to make up for the lost time.
Before the final practice, seven cars ran high downforce setups in an attempt to make the second lane drivable for tomorrow’s race. Firestone measurements indicate that there is more grip in that lane. How that translates to the racing line remains to be seen.
About 20 minutes into the practice Jack Harvey brushed the outside wall at the exit of turn 2. The HyVee machine darted to the inside of the track and made heavy contact with the inside wall, destroying the front of the car and the left rear side. Harvey was able to walk away from the car.
None of the on track sessions today were during the time that the race will take place tomorrow. I do think Newgarden has a very fast car. His seventh starting spot is not an obstacle to his winning the race. Any of the first seven starters has a good chance to win.
Practice results:
Thanks for following along today. Look for my pre race story in the morning and a post about my ride around the track this evening.
The pole the Expel 375 came down to two drivers going for their second career pole. Scott Mclaughlin, who won the pole at St. Pete last month, had a target set by Felix Rosenqvist, who is fighting to keep his seat in the AMSP Chevy. Rosenqvist prevailed by 14 thousandths of a second.
Rosenqvist was the eleventh qualifier. He set the mark of 221.110 mph. Several drivers came close. Takuma Sato’s first lap was faster, but he slowed enough on his second circuit to end up second. He stayed there until McLaughlin’s run.
“It couldn’t be a better time to win the pole,” said Rosenqvist, who is rumored to be on the hot seat in the number 7 McLaren entry.
“I’m confident we have a good package for the race,” he added.
Rosenqvist thinks winning the pole is just the beginning of a great weekend for the Arrow McLaren SP crew.
“:I think we’re gonna be even stronger in the race. I mean, I can’t promise that but we have every reason to think that we have a good package overall. And I think this strength in our car air is very, you know, confidence inspiring. It never really feels edgy, and it’s just really good setup. So yeah, we’re happy going into the race.
“I remember the first time I came here, then then it was definitely not fun. I was really scared. First time I was here, and it was actually the first superspeedway I ever did. But yeah, I think from 2020 onwards, it’s been a track where I feel really calm and confident that I kind of know how to attack the race. And how to work with a driving line and how the car needs to be set up and I think it suits me pretty well. Naturally, and yeah, I definitely feel like it’s an unfinished business that motivates us.”
Rosenqvist won his first pole in 2019 on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
McLaughlin will start on the front row for the second consecutive race.
Quick Thoughts
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s three cars will start 24th, 25th, and 27th tomorrow. Graham Rahal finished mid pack in the morning practice but had the slowest qualifying time. Jack Harvey was slow in practice as well. Christian Lundgaard was 17th this morning.
If you want to pick a dark horse to win Sunday, go with Takuma Sato. Sato is off to a good start this season with a 10th at St. Pete. He rolls off third tomorrow.
Will Power had another strong qualifying today. He could win from fourth.
Biggest Disappointments
Simon Pagenaud led the morning practice but only qualified 15th. Teammate helio Castroneves will start 6th.
Andretti Autosport- Colton Herta is the only Andretti driver ibn the top ten. Alexander Rossi was 12th, Romain Grosjean was 13th, and Devlin DeFrancesco will be 17th on the grid for the race.
VeeKay Rebound
Rinus VeeKay once again carried the day for Ed Carpenter Racing, qualifying eighth. VeeKay has qualified in the top ten for both of the 2022 races. After his bicycle accident mid -season last year, VeeKay had a significant drop off in results. The first two race weekends of 2022 have seen him regain his form from early 2021.
Results
Next up at 4 PM Central time is the rubber in session, followed at 4:30 by a one hour final practice where the cars will be set up in race trim. We will see what the drivers learn from that session.
The only practice session before qualifying for tomorrow’s Expel 375 began under sunny skies and cool temperatures. The air temperature was 57 degrees when the session started.
Simon Pagenaud led the se3ssion with a best lap of 223.087 miles per hour. Felix Rosenqvist was 0.0218 mph behind. Colton Herta finished third, 0,0314 mph back.
The surprise of the session was Callum Ilott. The rookie driver for Juncos Hollinger Racing had the fourth fastest time with a speed of 222,257 mph. Texas is Ilott’s first career oval race.
Cars mostly avoided the higher groove where the PJ-1 compound had been applied. TMS has run graters over the surface in an attempt to grind the compound off and this afternoon seven cars will run their cars with a lot of down force to try to put more Firestone rubber down in those areas. We may not know if the efforts truly worked until the race tomorrow.
Some track action during practice:
Practice got off to a disjointed start with two yellow flags for seven minutes and 11 seconds within the first fifteen minutes. The remainder of the round was green.
The winners of the two races in 2021, Scott Dixon and Pato O’Ward, finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
The top 14:
Qualifying begins at 2 pm Eastern time on Peacock.
DRIVER AUTOGRAPH SESSION (INDYCAR Display on Fan Zone)
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM
4:45 PM-5:45 PM
NTT INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE to Rubber in high groove (7 cars)-Rahal, Power, Sato, O’Ward, Rosenqvist, Castroneves, Carpenter
NTT INDYCAR SERIES PRACTICE 2- Peacock
Temperature is predicted to be 55 degrees for the first practice, 69 degrees for qualifying and 75 degrees for the final practice.
The added practice is a last ditch effort to make the track racier and possibly kept Texas on the schedule. The slippery upper groove in the turns has limited passing opportunities the last two years. Will any one even try the top side in the final practice, or will no one want to risk possibly missing Sunday’s race?
Qualifying well could be important to success in the race if the passing lane isn’t there. Watch where cars go in Practice 1 and see if their lines change in the afternoon practice.
TMS- A Huge Place
Yesterday wqas my first time at Texas motor Speedway. This track has a massive footprint. The track is pretty much enclosed. there are two ten story buildings in each oif the first two turns. The grandstands which run the length of the front stretch look to be at least seven stories tall. Advertising billboards and a very large video board surround the rest of the outer walls.
This photo of the backstretch video board was taken from the pits.
The scoring pylon is unusual for a track this size with positions 1-20.
This photo of the backstretch video board was taken from the pits.
Several cars were out in the paddock area as I walked through.
Alexander RossiColton HertaFelix Rosenqvist
I hope to explore the track more today. It will be an interesting day.
I’ll be back with reports after each session, including the added session.
Greetings from Texas Motor Speedway. This place is huge. More on the facility later.
News came mid- afternoon that a special 30 minute session will take place involving seven cars which will run in the second lane in an effort to put more rubber down and neutralize the effect fo the JP1 compound. The drivers who will participate are Ed Carpenter, Will Power, Helio Castroneves, Pato O’Ward, Grahan Rahal, Takuma Sato, and Felix Rosenqvist. Firestone will have 10 sets of tires availablke for the test.
The practice will be at 4 PM local time. the final practice, which was originally scheduled to begin at that time, will begin at 4:45 and run the full hour allotted. The cars running the high groove time are allowed extra downforce for the 30 minutes only.
Participation in the special session was voluntary, and Andretti, Ganassi, Foyt, and Juncos Hollinger chose not to partake.
I’m not sure how much seven cars for half an hour will help. We should know after the final practice how effective it was.
My understanding is that Peacock will carry the the extra round.
Ed Carpenter Racing announced a sponsor for owner/driver Carpenter in Sunday’s Expel 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. The team’s news release:
(INDIANAPOLIS) March 18, 2022 – Ed Carpenter Racing (“ECR”) announced today that the team is joining the fight to “Making Alzheimer’s Just a Memory,” with ECR owner and oval driver Ed Carpenter showcasing Alzamend Neuro, Inc. (“Alzamend”) on his No. 33 car in this weekend’s XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. ECR received a commitment from Milton “Todd” Ault, III, founder and Chairman Emeritus of Alzamend, a company focused on developing novel products for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorder with a primary target of Alzheimer’s disease (“Alzheimer’s”), in order to sponsor the No. 33 Alzamend Neuro Chevrolet at this race. Mr. Ault is all too familiar with Alzheimer’s and the disastrous toll it takes on patients and caregivers. Mr. Ault’s grandparents passed away from Alzheimer’s and his father is currently suffering from this deadly disease. To honor all of those who are committed to “Making Alzheimer’s Just a Memory,” Mr. Ault has generously donated 1,000 tickets for Sunday’s race to any Alzheimer’s caregiver who submits a request at https://v-forward.com/caregivers/. Behind the wheel of the No. 33 Alzamend Neuro Chevrolet will not only be one of the most experienced drivers in the field, but also the only owner/driver in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. Carpenter, who competes exclusively in the oval events, will begin his 20th season of NTT INDYCAR SERIES competition this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway (“TMS”). Carpenter has 21 starts at TMS to date and has competed in all but one NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at the oval since the fall of 2003. He is also the 2014 TMS race winner, taking the victory after leading 66 of the final 67 laps. “We are very proud to support Alzamend and raise awareness to their efforts to fight Alzheimer’s. This relationship is especially important to myself and my family as we have personal experience with Alzheimer’s and know how it affects the whole family,” Carpenter stated. “We’ve been talking to Todd Ault and his team about how we can support Alzamend and it’s exciting to see this come together. Mr. Ault and his group have been fantastic since they joined us and their excitement for our sport and race team is so encouraging. I can’t wait to get out there and do a good job for Alzamend.” Mr. Ault channeled his personal passion for discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s into Alzamend when he founded the company in 2016. Today, he is Alzamend’s largest investor and biggest advocate. “In celebration of Alzamend’s promising topline clinical data from its Phase I study of AL001, I am proud to support Alzamend’s race for a cure,” stated Ault. “I can think of no better way to demonstrate my confidence that hope is on the horizon than to sponsor Ed Carpenter in car No. 33 and offer Alzheimer’s caregivers a day dedicated to them.” Alzamend’s first drug candidate, AL001, has completed Phase I and Alzamend is expected to issue a press release with study results at the end of the month. Moreover, the company is gearing up to commence a Phase II study in the second quarter of this year for AL001. The company expects to submit an investigational new drug application for its second drug candidate, AL002, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) during the second quarter of this year and commence clinical trials post clearance from the FDA. Alzamend is committed to “Making Alzheimer’s Just a Memory” with these two therapeutics targeting Alzheimer’s. Alzamend CEO Stephan Jackman attended his first NTT INDYCAR SERIES event last month as a guest of Mr. Ault at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Mr. Jackman stated, “I was impressed by the camaraderie, diversity, and hospitality of ECR racing team and the Indy Car community.” He continued, “We identified with the team aspect of the sport, watching a diverse group of people work together to solve problems and win. Alzamend is doing the same with our commitment to the prevention, treatment and cure of Alzheimer’s.” While ECR has entered three cars in the Indianapolis 500 multiple times, this weekend’s race at Texas Motor Speedway will mark the first time the team has expanded to three entries outside of their home race. With Conor Daly competing the in the No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet for the full season, Carpenter will transition to the new No. 33 entry. The ECR trio of Carpenter, Daly and Rinus VeeKay will take on the high banks of Texas Motor Speedway this Sunday, March 20 with coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET.
About Ed Carpenter RacingEd Carpenter Racing (ECR) first entered the NTT INDYCAR SERIES in 2012. The Indianapolis-based race team has proven its versatility by collecting eight wins across each type of track the series competes on – street and road courses, short ovals and speedways. ECR is led by IndyCar’s only team owner/driver, Ed Carpenter, three-time pole winner for the Indianapolis 500 (2013, 2014 and 2018). The 2022 season will see the team continue to compete with two full-time entries: the No. 20 BitNile Chevrolet with Conor Daly behind the wheel and the No. 21 Chevrolet, driven by Rinus VeeKay. Both will be entered in the Indianapolis 500 alongside Carpenter, rounding out the team’s three-car effort. ECR has been active in the eSports arena as part of the iRX World Championship for the past two years. More information may be found at http://www.edcarpenterracing.com/. About AlzamendNeuroAlzamend Neuro is an early clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel products for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer’s. OurAlzamend’s mission is to rapidly develop and market safe and effective treatments. OurAlzamend’s current pipeline consists of two novel therapeutic drug candidates, AL001 – a patented ionic cocrystal technology delivering lithium via a therapeutic combination of lithium, proline and salicylate, and AL002 – a patented method using a mutant-peptide sensitized cell as a cell-based therapeutic vaccine that seeks to restore the ability of a patient’s immunological system to combat Alzheimer’s. Both of ourAlzamend’s product candidates are licensed from the University of South Florida Research Foundation, Inc. pursuant to royalty-bearing exclusive worldwide licenses.
The Pit Window by Mike Silver 