Josef Newgarden overtook Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin of New Zealand on the final lap Sunday to win the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.
McLaughlin led for most of the race before Newgarden passed him in Turn 4 of the final lap and beat him to the finish line by .0669 seconds, a photo finish.
“How about Scott. I think he led like 95 percent of the laps,” Newgarden said. “I hate doing that to a teammate, but I was going for it, just like he was. We were driving hard.”
Newgarden, the driver of the No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet, notched his 21st career IndyCar victory. Team Penske earned its 600th win across all racing programs.
McLaughlin, who won last month’s season opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., nearly made it two for two in the No. 3 XPEL Team Penske Chevrolet.
“If you’re going to lose it to anyone, your teammate’s the guy you want to lose it to,” he said. “Congrats to Josef and his PPG team.”
Marcus Ericsson of Sweden finished third.
NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson took sixth place for his best IndyCar finish to date. Johnson is racing the full IndyCar schedule for the first time in 2022 after joining the circuit part-time last year.
–Field Level Media
