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Photo: Penske Entertainment
Reigning Indy Nxt champion Linus Lundqvist completed his first IndyCar oval test on Monday at Texas Motor Speedway, and impressed the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team he was driving for.
An adjustment to Indy Nxt’s prize structure contributed to Lundqvist missing out on an IndyCar seat for this year, and he could not find a professional drive elsewhere before the racing seasons begun.
His first IndyCar test came with Andretti Autosport in October 2021 on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, as a prize from Indy Nxt for finishing third in the standings that year.
“Wow, my first time ever going this fast and what a feeling,” Lundqvist said after his first run at Texas yesterday.
“It’s so difficult to describe. I’m not going to lie, the first couple of laps it almost made you sick with the speed and the banking before the body and the head got used to it. But now we’re flatout, back on the programme, trying a couple of things, and hopefully we can help these guys out for the Indy 500.”
Following his second run in the afternoon, he added: “What a place, what a day it has been. Absolutely amaazing. Going around at 220mph, there’s not a lot of people that can say that they’ve done that. Super happy, super poud of the day.”
“We’ve been quick from the get-go basically, which has been nice. Been through a lot of testing items, which has been cool to be a part of as well. Got to say a massive thank you to the guys and gals at Rahal for making this possible and making the day go through so smoothly. Hopefully I can be back with them soon again.”
Lundqvist did almost 250 laps – the distance of the previous day’s IndyCar race – around the high-banked intermediate 1.5-mile speedway and was driving the car usually raced by Linus Lundqvist.
“Linus did a lot of running and that’s what it was all about, just giving him time in the car,” said RLLR co-owner Bobby Rahal.
“We weren’t necessarily looking for a top speed but we did find a lot of good things at the test that would have made us more competitive the prior day.
“Texas is one hell of a race track to get your first oval test in an Indy car at and Linus didn’t make any mistakes. He did a good job and I’m pleased for him. Our guys were pleased as well, so all in all a great experience for everyone.”
According to Lundqvist, information about his 2023 racing plans “will be announced shortly”.