Rosenqvist pips Newgarden in final Laguna Seca practice

Felix Rosenqvist nipped Josef Newgarden to pace the final pre-qualifying practice session while title challengers Josef Newgarden and Simon Pagenaud flexed their muscle in the 45 minutes session.

The Swedish rookie did one better from his performance yesterday where he was second quickest in both practice sessions. He topped the charts today with a lap of 1 minute 10.4065 seconds.

Josef Newgarden led the Team Penske brigade occupying positions two through four. Newgarden ended up .1823s behind his Chip Ganassi Racing rival with a best lap timed at 1:10.5888.

Will Power was the meat in the Penske sandwich with the third fastest lap at 1:10.5930 while 2016 series champion Simon Pagenaud brought up the rear in the fourth position.

Takuma Sato rounded out the top five fresh off re-signing with the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team for the 2019 season.

Max Chilton netted a pleasant surprise in sixth place ahead of a Honda quartet led by Harding Steinbrenner Racing’s Colton Herta in seventh.

Long shot championship contender Scott Dixon landed the eighth quickest time in front of Graham Rahal in ninth. The final piece of the championship puzzle in Alexander Rossi rounded out the top ten but a gargantuan .4673s off Rosenqvist’s time.

Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan driver Sebastien Bourdais returned to the cockpit of his No. 18 Honda after suffering issues with his back late in yesterday’s session. The Frenchman appeared to be healthy today as he was the busiest driver in the field with 22 laps completed.

The team has sportscar ace Tristan Vautier on standby if needed.

A handful of drivers went off course throughout the 45-minute session, but none warranted a stoppage.