IndyCar

Josef Newgarden pulled off a last-corner move on Scott McLaughlin to steal victory at Texas Motor Speedway and record Team Penske's 600th victory in ...

Initially looking serene out in front, McLaughlin got caught behind traffic which suddenly allowed Newgarden to charge behind him. Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson followed through soon after, dropping VeeKay from the victory battle. With enough speed garnered from Turns 3 and 4 ahead of the final lap, the #2 Penske charged onto the tail of the leader and went around the outside of McLaughlin - pipping his team-mate to the line. Following that trio of interruptions, McLaughlin then had to contend with multiple plays for the lead from his rivals in the second half of the race; Newgarden attempted to wrest control of the race on lap 150, but the Kiwi repassed his team-mate shortly after. But Newgarden drew closer as he picked his way through the order and McLaughlin had to contend with various bouts of traffic, and through three caution periods during the middle portion of the race, with Andretti rookie Devlin DeFrancesco proving to be the epicentre of all three. Having looked every bit as comfortable on the Texas oval as he did in his rookie season, McLaughlin led through an early caution period following Alexander Rossi's glacial trickle to the pitlane as his Andretti-run machine slowed to a crawl, maintaining that lead through the opening pitstop period - with Newgarden 12.5s behind on his Penske stablemate following the first pitlane visits.

Both veteran Takuma Sato and young Rinus VeeKay looked potential podium finishers at Texas Motor Speedway but were taken out of contention by misfortune.

“Unfortunately, we had a little issue with our teammate in pit lane and I couldn’t get into my box because I was blocked so I lost significant positions. “It’s very unfortunate but the team did a fantastic job this weekend. I think our tire management was better so I led the race in the perfect first stint. However, when he pitted on Lap 62, the route into his pitbox was blocked by his rookie teammate David Malukas who had stalled departing his pitbox, and that dropped the two-time Indy 500 winner to 17th. “That was a hectic race,” said VeeKay, who scored his first IndyCar win last May in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. “I actually wasn’t too happy with the car when I started the race. I could race at the front and had an awesome restart.

With questions about the NTT IndyCar Series' future at Texas Motor Speedway, veterans such as Scott Dixon believe the track should remain on the schedule.

He was always a big fan of IndyCar, so we’ll just have to see how it goes.” At least it’s not going to be 100 degrees, which will be a lot better for people in the stands.” What I can control is the journey of the fan. “If things were to change in the future, we’d probably need to figure something out. That goes for a lot of places, and that they’re willing to want to do a better job is part of growing the series. Said Simon Pagenaud: “I like it here. “I think it is a great market for us. Do I think we could a better job? Several drivers surveyed after qualifying Saturday said Texas Motor Speedway, which sits in the country’s fourth-largest market and has a population of nearly 9 million within a 45-minute drive, should remain on the schedule regardless of whether the racing improves this year. It would make the races a lot better. And I think it’s a place we should be running at. “Obviously, I love this place,” Dixon said.

Scott McLaughlin had to settle for second in Texas after teammate Josef Newgarden beat him to the line on the final corner.

I think Scott led 95% of the laps, I hate doing that to a teammate.”

The margin of victory was .669 seconds — the eighth-closest finish in 35 races at Texas.

Newgarden had to drive high into Texas' second lane, which has been too slippery and mostly unusable because of the residual traction compound applied to assist NASCAR's grip during its races.

The New Zealander led 186 of the 248 laps and wasn't challenged until Newgarden's last-ditch charge.

The American stalked McLaughlin through traffic and tried his best to maintain his composure.

“I was fuming in the car because we had all this traffic and it wasn't helping me,” Newgarden said.

The PJ1 has been terrible for the Indy cars, which find it too slick and so drivers avoid the second lane out of fear the lack of grip will send their car straight into the wall.

It's jeopardised the future of IndyCar at Texas, which has hosted the series since 1997 and its existing contract expired Sunday. The series used a special practice session on Saturday when seven drivers went on track and drove the top lane in an effort to scrub away some of the compound and widen the racing surface.

It had mixed results.

Some drivers did crash when they got up into the slippery gray line; Newgarden was not one of them.

McLaughlin had led for 185 laps at the Texas Motor Speedway, before Josef Newgarden snatched the win away from.

Fans and pundits alike expected fireworks in the IndyCar XPEL 375, and they got what they wanted out of a hectic 2022 race. Texas Motor Speedway has always.

Jimmie Johnson has had to listen to a lot of doubters since coming over to the NTT IndyCar Series, and his result at the XPEL 375 should silence them for at least a while. That potentially bit him in the behind on the final lap, when he ended up stuck behind Callum Ilott and Newgarden was able to make the race-winning move, but it would have been worse if McLaughlin had been too aggressive earlier and ended up in a wreck (see: Devlin DeFrancesco). The most notable was Alexander Rossi, who didn’t even make it 15 laps before he was penalized and knocked out of the race by a technical problem. Texas is one of the most intense tracks on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule, and moments like those are exactly why. Fans and pundits alike expected fireworks in the IndyCar XPEL 375, and they got what they wanted out of a hectic 2022 race. Josef Newgarden picked up Team Penske’s 600th win (and a nice $600 bonus from Roger Penske) on the final lap, giving the XPEL 375 another one of its jaw-dropping finishes.