Felix Rosenqvist edges Scott McLaughlin for XPEL 375 pole at Texas
NEWS RELEASE
FORT WORTH, Texas (March 19, 2022) – Felix Rosenqvist posted a fast lap early on in qualifying and then had to outlast a valiant charge from the 27th and final car on the track to earn the pole position for Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The driver of the No. 7 ARROW McLaren SP Racing Chevrolet completed his two-lap qualifying run at 46.8906 seconds at 221.110 mph, besting No. 2 qualifier Scott McLaughlin (No. 3 Team Penske XPEL Chevrolet) by just 0.003-of-a-second with his run of 46.8936 at 221.096. It was the second series pole for the Swedish native, whose first came in 2019 at the INDYCAR Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Getting that run that early is just killing you,” said Rosenqvist. “There are so many guys here close. I had a couple of guys within thousandths. I just have to thank Arrow McLaren SP, Chevy, and Vuse. The car felt so good, and I knew that lap was pretty much as good as I could have made it. It was just so hard to wait for so long to get it.
“This is huge for the team and for myself as far as a big confidence boost. Big comeback after some tough times. I am really pleased for everyone on my team to get this result. It’s awesome. So now we will just switch focus to the race and see what we can do.”
The balance of the top-10 qualifiers were Takuma Sato (No. 21 Dale Coyne Racing with RWR Honda), Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet), Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Honda), Helio Castroneves (No. 06 Meyer Shank Racing Honda), Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet), Rinus VeeKay (No. 21 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet), Colton Herta (No. 26 Andretti Autosport with Curb/Agajanian Honda) and 2021 XPEL 375 winner Pato O’Ward (No. 5 ARROW McLaren SP Chevrolet).
The first five drivers posted average speeds of more than 221 mph.
Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Series Champion and seven-time race winner at Texas Motor Speedway who is making his NTT INDYCAR SERIES oval debut in the XPEL 375, put the No. 48 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 18th on the pylon with a two-lap run of 47.1562 at 219.865. He will line up on the outside of Row 9.
Texas Motor Speedway’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES two-lap qualifying record is 46.586 at 222.586, established in 2017 by Charlie Kimball for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Rosenqvist was presented with a Henry Big Boy Texas Tribute edition rifle in SpeedyCash.com Victory Lane for winning the pole.
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES XPEL 375 goes green at 12:30 p.m. ET (TV: NBC; Radio: INDYCAR Radio Network, SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation Ch. 160).
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com