AUSTIN, Texas – The final practice session of the INDYCAR Classic weekend came under optimal conditions Saturday morning and provided the best lap times to date, led by Alexander Rossi of Andretti Autosport.
Under cloudy skies and with cooler temperatures than Friday’s three practices, the 24 NTT IndyCar Series drivers prepared for NTT P1 Award qualifying later in the day. Rossi, driving the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda, set the pace with a top lap of 1 minute, 46.9148 seconds (114.820 mph) around the technical and demanding 3.41-mile Circuit of The Americas permanent road course.
INDYCAR CLASSIC: Practice 3 results I Combined practice results I Qualifying Round 1 groups
Flashy rookie Felix Rosenqvist was a tick behind Rossi, at 1:40.0536 (114.672 mph) in the No. 10 NTT DATA Honda.
“You think just looking at this track and the length of it and everything, that there’d be some separation,” Rossi said, referring to the fact that he was little more than a tenth of a second quicker than Rosenqvist. “But yet again, this championship and these teams and drivers always end up on top of each other – which is what this championship is all about. It’s what pushes us each day and forces us to be on the top of our game.
Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing was third (1:47.4397) and Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay fourth (1:47.5363) as Honda locked up the first four spots in the session. NTT IndyCar Series championship leader Josef Newgarden of Team Penske, winner of the 2019 season opener March 10 at St. Petersburg, Florida, was the fastest Chevrolet driver in fifth (1:47.5372).
Qualifying to determine the pole winner and starting grid begins at 3 p.m. ET Saturday and airs live on NBCSN, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, INDYCAR Pass on NBC Sports Gold and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network. Even with the length of the COTA track – second in distance on the 2019 schedule only to four-mile Road America in Wisconsin – Rossi knows that the slightest bobble will be costly and could prevent advancing through either of the first two rounds of qualifying and into the Firestone Fast Six.
“If you’re missing it a little bit, the Fast Six is going to be tough to get into, just like a 60-second lap (on shorter circuits),” said Rossi, the 2018 NTT IndyCar Series runner-up with five career wins in his three previous seasons. “Which is crazy to think about, but that’s the way it is.”
Drivers again spent much of the 45-minute session testing the limits of the track, with many running into the wide runoff area at the next-to-last of the course’s 20 turns in an effort to carry as much speed through the corner as possible.
The tactic bit series rookie Marcus Ericsson, who slid through the gravel trap at the exit of Turn 19 and into a protective wall barrier to bring out a red flag and end the practice five minutes early. Ericsson was uninjured but the No. 7 Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda sustained front-end damage.
Sunday's 60-lap race is the first for the NTT IndyCar Series at Circuit of The Americas. Live coverage begins at 1 p.m. on NBCSN, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network. Live timing and scoring can be found at RaceControl.IndyCar.com.