Kirkwood tops IndyCar oval rookie test at Texas

A.J. Foyt Racing’s Kyle Kirkwood led the six drivers in attendance for IndyCar’s rookie certification test at Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday.

The dauntingly fast 1.5-mile oval played host to five teams, with the 2021 Indy Lights champion, Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Callum Ilott, and Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports’ David Malukas springing to the top of the chart towards the end of a day that had previously been mostly led by Andretti Autosport’s Romain Grosjean.

Andretti teammate Devlin DeFrancesco and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Christian Lundgaard completed the running order. Grosjean, who did his first oval race last year at World Wide Technology Raceway, had the fastest individual lap without the benefit of an aerodynamic tow (218.21mph).

In the case of Lundgaard and Ilott, the two Europeans turned their very first laps on an oval after focusing exclusively on road racing prior to the TMS visit.

The running was set for the morning and afternoon to mirror when the cars will be on track in a few weeks when practice, qualifying and the race will be held in the daytime.

(All speeds unofficial)

1. Kyle Kirkwood, No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Chevy, 219.79mph

2. Callum Ilott, No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy, 219.11mph

3. Romain Grosjean, No. 28 Andretti Autosport Honda, 218.69mph

4. David Malukas, No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports Honda, 217.99mph

5. Devlin DeFrancesco, No. 29 Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Honda, 217.69mph

6. Christian Lundgaard, No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, 216.91mph