Dixon tops chaotic season-opening practice at Texas Motor Speedway

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon topped the season-opening practice session of the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway with a best average speed of 215.995mph.

After almost nine months of no track action, drivers were finally able to get back to what they do best and prepare themselves for today’s Genesys 300 – with practice, qualifying and the race all taking place on the same day.

Dixon swiftly got up to speed as the session get underway and even had flirtatious moment with the outside barrier of Turn 2 soon after leaving the garage.

Whilst on a qualifying simulation at the end of the session, the five-time series champion shot to the top of the speed charts, a stunning 1.5mph clear of Colton Herta in his first outing for Andretti Autosport in second.

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Patricio O’Ward took time to build up speed over the course of the session eventually covering 96 laps. The Mexican’s patience paid off as he would go on to claim third place in the No.5 Arrow McLaren SP with a best effort of 214.326mph.

Andretti Autosport’s Zach Veach spent most of his session in the top half of the speed charts showing solid pace throughout in the No.26 Gainbridge car. He would finish the session in fourth ahead of team-mate Marco Andretti.

Last year’s polesitter Takuma Sato did not take to the track in the opening 30mins, hinting that he would save fresh tyres for the race. Once he got out on the track, he was instantly on the pace eventually finishing in sixth.

Reigning series champion Josef Newgarden ended the session in seventh ahead of Penske team-mate Simon Pagenaud. Newgarden took some time in the early part of the session scrubbing several sets of tyres for the race with an eye on his own strategy.

Graham Rahal finished ninth to make it two RLL cars inside the top 10, just ahead of Felix Rosenqvist in the No.10 NTT Data entry.

Several drivers found the 1.5m oval particularly tricky over the course of the two hours as they took time to get up to speed as well as tackle the loose, less than grippy, surface.

Ed Carpenter Racing would suffer the most pain with rookie Rinus Veekay wrecking his No.21 Sonax car early on after dipping below the white line, ending any chances of a practice time ahead of qualifying.

Team boss Ed Carpenter would also have his own mistake on the exit of Turn 4, luckily the 39-year old team boss kept his car out of the wall.

Once the session got back underway, Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay became another victim of the lack of grip on the exit of Turn 2.

Qualifying for the Genesys 300 is set to take place at 17:00 local time.