Felix Rosenqvist crossed the line to record a top six finish in the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington on Sunday, but had to see a day’s hard work come undone after incurring a post-race penalty for a false restart on to the final lap.
Rosenqvist was on fine form at the new Arlington street course as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to Texas this weekend, powering into the decisive Firestone Fast 6 qualifying segment that featured a new single-car, single-lap format to mark the occasion.
Slotting into fifth on the grid – one place ahead of Meyer Shank Racing team-mate Marcus Armstrong as the Ohio-based team secured a double Fast 6 appearance – Rosenqvist was the lead driver opting to start Sunday’s 70-lap race on the hard compound Firestone prime tyres.
The move saw Rosenqvist circle into the lead on two occasions for a total of seven laps as the Swede deployed a three-stop strategy, starting and finishing on the black primary rubber.
A mid-race slump on the second set of red-walled soft tyres, however, took Rosenqvist out of podium contention on the Texas street track.
The race’s first caution waved with only three laps remaining, setting up a last-lap restart where Rosenqvist made an opportune pass on Penske’s David Malukas to climb to sixth. However, a post-race penalty for passing prior to the restart zone relegated the No. 60 MSR Honda to a 20th place finish in the final results.
“It’s unfortunate to have received that penalty at the end, especially after we were running so well for most of the day,” says Felix Rosenqvist. ”I think it was an improvement from St. Pete (the previous street course event on the schedule). We had pretty good pace on the first set of blacks and reds. The second set of reds was probably our weakest stint, which set us back a little bit. After that we were kind of running on our own island with no yellows until that late one right at the end.
”Unfortunate day for myself and for the team, but we’ll be back in Barber and see what championship points we can make up. Overall it’s been a positive weekend here in Arlington and the organizers really deserve a lot of credit for putting on an incredible track and event here in Texas.”
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES continues at Barber Motorsports Park on March 27-29.
RESULTS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 3
Java House Grand Prix of Arlington
Streets of Arlington (USA)
1: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, 70 laps
2: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, +0.314s
3: Will Power (AUS), Andretti, +3.585s
4: Marcus Ericsson (SWE), Andretti, +4.912s
5: Pato O’Ward (MEX), McLaren, +5.933s
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20: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, +33.604s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | After 3/18 races
1: Kyle Kirkwood (USA), Andretti, 126 p.
2: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, 100 p.
3: Josef Newgarden (USA), Penske, 93 p.
4: Pato O’Ward (MEX), McLaren, 93 p.
5: Scott McLaughlin (NZL), Penske, 85 p.
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14: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing, 47 p.