Holden driver Craig Lowndes left it late, but still proved the star of the Lone Star state on the V8 Supercars’ American debut.

Lowndes clocked the fastest time over four practice sessions on the first day of V8 racing at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas – a stunning 1min 32.9042sec lap on Saturday (AEST).

The Red Bull Racing pilot uncorked his time inside the final five minutes of the last session of the day.

After drivers had struggled to go under 1min 35sec for most of the day in mid-30s temperatures, Lowndes led a late charge and held on as 10 drivers ploughed under 1:34 in quick succession.

Ford driver Will Davison (1:33.2403) was second fastest, with Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander third in 1:33.4845.

Lowndes’ teammate Jamie Whincup was well outside the top 10 on combined times from the four sessions.

But the feeling was the Holden driver was conserving tyres for Qualifying and two of the weekend’s four 100km races scheduled for Sunday (AEST).

Drivers got their first taste of the stunning 3.7km Circuit of the Americas track – a purpose-built facility featuring several elevation changes and myriad turns – in four 30-minute sessions.

The other two races will be held on Monday (AEST).