Scott McLaughlin had a great time in the first practice on Friday for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, and his pleasure didn’t come just from the fast digits next to his name on the results sheet.
McLaughlin led the 80-minute first session for the third IndyCar race of the season, producing a best lap of 1 minute, 34.8926 seconds in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet. But McLaughlin was just as happy with the layout of the 14-turn, 2.73-mile temporary street circuit.
“That is instantly my most favourite street circuit ever,” McLaughlin said.
“That is such a blast. The DEX Chevy feels great. It’s just an absolute ball to drive. I’m like a little kid again. This is great.”
McLaughlin will aim for his second NTT P1 Award of this young season in qualifying at 8:30 am on Sunday.
He won the pole for the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg two weekends ago. Another 80-minute practice will precede qualifying at 3:30 am Sunday.
Live coverage of the 70-lap race starts at 6:30am Monday and can be viewed via Sky Sports.
Reigning and four-time series champion Alex Palou started his rebound from a 24th-place finish at the last race, the Good Ranchers 250 on March 7 at Phoenix Raceway, by ending up second in practice today at 1:34.9513 in the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
Will Power, also looking for a bounce-back after sitting 22nd in points after two races, was third at 1:35.3051 in the No. 26 Honda fielded by Andretti Global. Pato O’Ward ended up fourth at 1:35.3641 in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the top five at 1:35.3775 in the No. 60 Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian. That time came despite Rosenqvist brushing the concrete barriers lining the challenging, fast, flowing circuit after his car snapped suddenly near the final turn late in the session.
“The track (surface) is a little rougher than we expected,” Rosenqvist said.
“Good fun, though. They did a great job on the layout.”
Series leader Josef Newgarden, winner last Saturday at Phoenix, was 16th out of 25 drivers at 1:36.3108 in the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet. 2025 Indy NXT champion Dennis Hauger was the quickest rookie, 10th overall at 1:36.0528 in the No. 19 Honda of Dale Coyne Racing.
Less than one second separated the top eight drivers as the entire field learned the new circuit. The drivers filling the top 10 spots represented seven different teams, as Chip Ganassi Racing, Andretti Global and Arrow McLaren each had two drivers in that group.
Fellow Kiwis also gained valuable early laps around the brand-new street circuit. Scott Dixon ended the opening practice session ninth fastest in the No. 9 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing, finishing 1.101 seconds adrift of McLaughlin’s benchmark lap.
Meanwhile, Marcus Armstrong placed 18th in the No. 66 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing, 1.611 seconds off the pace as the field continued to learn the challenging new Arlington street layout.
There were two red flags stopping action during the session, including one for contact. Sting Ray Robb hit the wall in Turn 1 in the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger – Goodheart Chevrolet 15 minutes into the practice. He was unhurt.
That was the start of a fraught session for Juncos Hollinger Racing. Robb’s teammate, Rinus VeeKay, triggered the second red flag 23 minutes later when he drove into the runoff area in Turn 10 at the end of the long backstraight, smoke pouring from the rear wheels of his No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet.
SEE: Practice Results
