Chip Ganassi Racing‘s Tony Kanaan was fastest in the sole practice session of the weekend for the NTT IndyCar Series‘ doubleheader event at Texas Motor Speedway, his first competitive action as the oval partner for Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team.
The practice session started with a two hour rain delay, originally scheduled to start at 1230 EST / 1730 BST, and did not get under way until 1430 EST / 1930 BST with a 75-minute session. This delay forced IndyCar to cancel qualifying for both races setting the grid by the championship points standings entering the event, giving the pole position to Alex Palou. Will Power of Team Penske will line up next to him on the front row.
Kanaan was at the top of the timing sheet for almost the entire session, and was also the only driver to break the 220 miles per hour lap speed threshold with a speed of 220.173 mph. Because of qualifying’s cancellation, the 46-year-old veteran will be starting at the back of the field for both races.
With less than 15 minutes remaining in the session, Patricio O’Ward jumped up to second fastest with a lap speed of 219.934 mph. The young Arrow McLaren SP driver jumped a couple of Indianapolis 500-winning drivers to take the second spot, and looks competitive for the third straight weekend.
Takuma Sato finished third for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, as both of the team’s drivers finished in the top 10 this session. His lap time of 219.868 mph was enough to beat out last year’s Texas winner Scott Dixon for third, but not enough to keep O’Ward from claiming second. Dixon finished just behind Sato with a speed of 219.723 mph.
Simon Pagenaud continues to build momentum after an amazing weekend at the 2021 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, finishing fifth with a 219.708 mph lap speed. Pagenaud was the runner-up in last year’s race in the Lone Star State, and will have a great starting position, also fifth, to work from.
Marcus Ericsson continues to have an incredibly impressive season, finishing another session in the top ten. His 219.698 mph lap was good enough for sixth fastest in the session, making him the last Ganassi car in the top ten. Polesitter Palou finished the session eleventh.
Felix Rosenqvist put both Arrow McLaren cars in the top ten, with a 219.366 mph lap putting him seventh fastest in the No. 7 car. Unfortunately for the 29-year-old Swede, he will be starting deep in the pack in nineteenth.
Josef Newgarden finished the session eighth fastest, the last Penske car inside the top 15. Newgarden was the first driver unable to eclipse the 219 mph barrier, with a lap speed of 218.82 mph. Power, the outside polesitter, finished sixteenth fastest, and rookie Scott McLaughlin finished twentieth as he tries to adjust to his first career oval race.
James Hinchcliffe was surprisingly the sole Andretti Autosport-affiliated car inside the top ten, clocking in at ninth fastest with a speed of 218.707 mph. His teammates struggled, with Alexander Rossi thirteenth fastest, Ryan Hunter-Reay fourteenth and Colton Herta seventeenth. Rossi ran the least amount of laps this session, only making 37 circuits of the 2.41 km oval.
Closing out the top ten was Graham Rahal, the man who beat Hinchcliffe at Texas in 2016 by the closest margin in IndyCar history. Rahal’s 218.668 mph lap may not have been enough to best Hinchcliffe on this occasion, the 32-year-old American will have the edge in the race, starting thirteenth while his Canadian compatriot starts twentieth.
Ed Carpenter, who returns behind the wheel of his own No. 20 car, finished the session nineteenth with a speed of 216.118 mph. Conor Daly, who normally drives that car but is spending this weekend with Carlin, finished the session in twelfth with a speed of 218.010 mph.
Pietro Fittipaldi, who is making his return to IndyCar running ovals for Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing and Romain Grosjean, finished the session in last place, with a speed of 213.401 mph.
Though Qualifying was cancelled, the Genesys 300 will still start at its scheduled time of 1900 EST / 0000 BST.
IndyCar at Texas Motor Speedway Practice Final Results
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | SPEED |
| 1 | 48 | Tony Kanaan | BRA | Chip Ganassi Racing | 220.173 mph |
| 2 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | MEX | Arrow McLaren SP | 219.934 mph |
| 3 | 30 | Takuma Sato | JPN | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 219.868 mph |
| 4 | 9 | Scott Dixon | NZL | Chip Ganassi Racing | 219.723 mph |
| 5 | 22 | Simon Pagenaud | FRA | Team Penske | 219.708 mph |
| 6 | 8 | Marcus Ericsson | SWE | Chip Ganassi Racing | 219.698 mph |
| 7 | 7 | Felix Rosenqvist | SWE | Arrow McLaren SP | 219.366 mph |
| 8 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | USA | Team Penske | 218.827 mph |
| 9 | 29 | James Hinchcliffe | CAN | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport | 218.707 mph |
| 10 | 15 | Graham Rahal | USA | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 218.668 mph |
| 11 | 10 | Alex Palou | ESP | Chip Ganassi Racing | 218.105 mph |
| 12 | 59 | Conor Daly | USA | Carlin | 218.010 mph |
| 13 | 27 | Alexander Rossi | USA | Andretti Autosport | 217.707 mph |
| 14 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | USA | Andretti Autosport | 216.982 mph |
| 15 | 60 | Jack Harvey | ENG | Meyer Shank Racing | 216.604 mph |
| 16 | 12 | Will Power | AUS | Team Penske | 216.56 mph |
| 17 | 26 | Colton Herta | USA | Andretti Autosport | 216.558 mph |
| 18 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | NED | Ed Carpenter Racing | 216.201 mph |
| 19 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | USA | Ed Carpenter Racing | 216.118 mph |
| 20 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin (R) | NZL | Team Penske | 215.647 mph |
| 21 | 18 | Ed Jones | UAE | Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser-Sullivan | 215.056 mph |
| 22 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | FRA | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 214.998 mph |
| 23 | 4 | Dalton Kellett | CAN | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 214.115 mph |
| 24 | 51 | Pietro Fittipaldi | BRA | Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing | 213.401 mph |
