The PPG 375 will be the first of five oval races on the 2023 IndyCar schedule, and the 36th Indy car race on the 1.5-mile oval in the Fort Worth region of Texas.
Last year, Team Penske-Chevrolet’s Josef Newgarden edged teammate Scott McLaughlin for victory after making an outside pass on the last turn of the last lap. It was Newgarden’s second win at the venue. Other multiple winners at the venue who are taking part in Sunday’s race include Scott Dixon (five wins), Helio Castroneves (four) and Will Power (two). Single-time Texas winners include Ed Carpenter, Graham Rahal and Pato O’Ward.
Speaking of Carpenter – the team owner/driver who since the start of 2014 has focused on ovals only – his first race of 2023 ensures there will be 28 starters on Sunday, the largest entry for an IndyCar field at Texas Motor Speedway since 30 entered in 2011.
Also making his 2023 debut this weekend is Sato, who takes over the #11 Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda entry from road/street course driver Marcus Armstrong.
Power, who holds the record for Indy car poles (68), scored three of his P1s at TMS. Other pole-winners taking part on Sunday include Dixon, Sato, Newgarden and Rosenqvist. For the Texas double-header in 2021, qualifying was rained out, so IndyCar set the grid by entrant points, which meant Alex Palou and Dixon took turns to start from P1.
Twenty-five of the 28 drivers entered this weekend have competed in past IndyCar races at TMS, the only exceptions being rookies Agustin Canapino (Juncos Hollinger Racing-Chevrolet), Benjamin Pedersen (AJ Foyt Racing-Chevrolet) and Sting Ray Robb (Dale Coyne Racing-Honda). Of the 25 non-newbies, 17 have led laps but far and away king of this stat is Dixon, who has led the field for 1043 laps, with his nearest rivals being Castroneves (507) and Power (453).
Dixon has two historical milestones on offer this weekend. Presuming he takes the green flag on Sunday, Dixon will make his 370th start, passing AJ Foyt for fourth on the all-time list, leaving him behind only Mario Andretti (407), Tony Kanaan (389) and Castroneves (375).
When is the IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway?
Date: Saturday, April 1 – Sunday, April 2
Start time: Sunday, 11.15am local (Central) time
How can I watch the IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway?
NBC’s coverage of the 2023 PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway will begin on Sunday at 11.00am (CT).
Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC's coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Marty Snider and Dave Burns are the pit reporters. All IndyCar practice sessions, qualifying and races will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s livestreaming product.
Will the IndyCar race at Texas be on the radio?
Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman is the turn announcer. Jake Query, Michael Young and Georgia Henneberry are the pit reporters.
The PPG 375 race and all NTT IndyCar Series practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM IndyCar Nation 160 and SiriusXM NBC Sports Audio 85 (Race only), racecontrol.indycar.com and the IndyCar App powered by NTT DATA.
IndyCar broadcast schedule (Central Time)
Saturday, April 1
8.00-8.10am – IndyCar two-stage pit limiter practice
8.10-9.00am – IndyCar practice 1 – Peacock
11.15am-12.15pm – IndyCar qualifying – Peacock
12.45-1.00pm – IndyCar “high-line” practice, Group A – Peacock
1.00-1.15pm – IndyCar “high-line” practice, Group B – Peacock
1.30-2.30pm – IndyCar final practice – Peacock
Sunday, April 2
11.00am – NBC broadcast begins
11.10am – “Drivers, start your engines”
11.15am – Green flag for PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway, NTT IndyCar Series race – NBC live
Race Notes
How many laps is the IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway? 250 laps (375 miles)
Track: 1.5-mile oval.
Firestone tire allotment: 11 sets of primary to be used during practice, qualifying and the race. One additional set of primary tires is available to drivers participating in the “high-line” practice session.
2022 Texas Motor Speedway winner: Josef Newgarden, Team Penske-Chevrolet.
2022 Texas Motor Speedway winner NTT P1 Award pole-winner: Felix Rosenqvist (Arrow McLaren-Chevrolet), 46.8906sec (two-lap average), 221.110mph.
Qualifying lap record (based on track distance of 1.44 miles): Charlie Kimball (Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda), 46.5861sec, 222.556mph, June 09, 2017.
Entry list
| No. | Driver | Hometown | Car name | Team-Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Josef Newgarden | Nashville, Tennessee | PPG Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 3 | Scott McLaughlin | Christchurch, New Zealand | XPEL Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 5 | Pato O'Ward | Monterrey, Mexico | Arrow McLaren | Arrow McLaren-Chevrolet |
| 06 | Helio Castroneves | Sao Paulo, Brazil | AutoNation / SiriusXM | Meyer Shank Racing-Honda |
| 6 | Felix Rosenqvist | Varnamo, Sweden | Arrow McLaren | Arrow McLaren-Chevrolet |
| 7 | Alexander Rossi | Nevada City, California | Arrow McLaren | Arrow McLaren-Chevrolet |
| 8 | Marcus Ericsson | Kumla, Sweden | Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 9 | Scott Dixon | Auckland, New Zealand | PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 10 | Alex Palou | Barcelona, Spain | The American Legion Chip Ganassi Racing | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 11 | Takuma Sato | Tokyo, Japan | Niterra | Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda |
| 12 | Will Power | Toowoomba, Australia | Verizon Team Penske | Team Penske-Chevrolet |
| 14 | Santino Ferrucci | Woodbury, Connecticut | AJ Foyt Racing / Sexton Properties | A.J. Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet |
| 15 | Graham Rahal | New Albany, Ohio | Fleet Cost and Care | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda |
| 18 | David Malukas | Chicago, Illinois | HMD Trucking | Dale Coyne Racing with HMD-Honda |
| 20 | Conor Daly | Noblesville, Indiana | BitNile.com | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet |
| 21 | Rinus VeeKay | Hoofddorp, Netherlands | BitNile.com | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet |
| 26 | Colton Herta | Valencia, California | Gainbridge | Andretti Autosport w/Curb Agajanian-Honda |
| 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | Jupiter, Florida | AutoNation | Andretti Autosport-Honda |
| 28 | Romain Grosjean | Geneva, Switzerland | DHL | Andretti Autosport-Honda |
| 29 | Devlin DeFrancesco | Toronto, Canada | Capstone | Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport-Honda |
| 30 | Jack Harvey | Bassingham, UK | PeopleReady | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda |
| 33 | Ed Carpenter | Indianapolis, Indiana | Bitnile.com | Ed Carpenter Racing-Chevrolet |
| 45 | Christian Lundgaard | Hedensted, Denmark | Hy-Vee Redbox Rx | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda |
| 51 | Sting Ray Robb (R) | Boise, Idaho | Biohaven | Dale Coyne Racing with RWR-Honda |
| 55 | Benjamin Pedersen (R) | Copenhagen, Denmark | AJ Foyt Racing / Sexton Properties | AJ Foyt Enterprises-Chevrolet |
| 60 | Simon Pagenaud | Montmorillon, France | AutoNation / SiriusXM | Meyer Shank Racing-Honda |
| 77 | Callum Ilott | Cambridge, UK | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Juncos Hollinger Racing-Chevrolet |
| 78 | Agustin Canapino (R) | Arrecifes, Argentina | Juncos Hollinger Racing | Juncos Hollinger Racing-Chevrolet |
