The NTT IndyCar Series saddles up for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington in Arlington, Texas.
Returning to the Dallas-Fort Worth market for the first time since the 2023 race at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, IndyCar partnered with the two sports teams of the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers to kick off what is a built-up, exciting weekend for industry, media and drivers alike.
The 14-turn, 2.73-mile layout is the second street circuit this season and will cut around the colossal AT&T Stadium and state-of-the-art Globe Life Field.
With a new championship leader after Josef Newgarden’s late pass victory at Phoenix Raceway, Arlington will continue the trend of a quick-starting IndyCar season in a grand way.
New Race with a Lot of Hype
With the backing of Jerry Jones and the importance of the Dallas Cowboys as one of FOX’s biggest markets, IndyCar has a chance to make the Grand Prix of Arlington a staple on the calendar for years to come.
Most importantly, the drivers bought into building this event up since its announcement in Oct. 2024. No doubt, the marketing campaign around this race has been among the most aggressive in recent memory.
With performances by All Time Low and T-Pain over the weekend, fans will get a full experience seeing drivers rip down the longest straight on the calendar and through the technical Horseshoe section centered around what will certainly be a thrilling concert area.
Palou No Longer on Top
For the first time in 624 days, Alex Palou will not enter a race as the points leader following an early exit and a 25th and last-place finish last weekend at Phoenix.
That doesn’t change the fact that he enters Arlington (and just about every other non-oval race on the calendar) as the favorite to win and continue his usual domination. However, a crack in Palou’s armor may be exposed, and with three new street courses to boot this season, the likelihood of the Spaniard cruising his way to a title isn’t so clear now.
Regardless, he will still be a contender this week, but he will have to get through a historically better team on the streets in the last couple of seasons.
A New Kingdom for Kirkwood
No one else in the IndyCar paddock was happier to see new street courses on the schedule than Kyle Kirkwood over the offseason, and Arlington provides the first of three opportunities to establish dominance on the new layouts and in the championship battle in 2026.
The four-time street course winner has an average finish of 3.75 since 2024 on street courses, and with a fourth on the streets of St. Petersburg and a gritty runner-up finish last weekend in the desert, Kirkwood looks poised to make a statement at Phoenix.
Power Outage
The same can’t unfortunately be said of Kirkwood’s new Andretti Global teammate, Will Power.
Power was in position for a potential podium in the closing laps at Phoenix when he and dominant driver Christian Rasmussen made contact with 30 laps to go, battling for the lead.
While Rasmussen made daring and brilliant passes all day and showed that he will be a contender at ovals all season long, Power lost grip out of the corner and made contact to finish 16th, another disappointing result for a team that came into the year with a ton of promise.
Now sitting 22nd in points, it’s go time for the veteran, or else the only champion in the Palou era won’t even be a thought for the championship, only a handful of races into the season.
Homecoming for O’Ward and Arrow McLaren
Pato O’Ward has been a beacon for the promotion of the Grand Prix of Arlington and has made constant visits to Ranger, Stars, Mavericks and Cowboys games in the last few years to promote IndyCar’s big event between the two cathedrals of DFW sports.
Returning to the market of his first career victory back in 2021 and the state where he primarily resides in, O’Ward has the tools capable of taking the win on the streets, recently O’Ward used strategy to take the win on the streets of Toronto last season.
Additionally, Arrow McLaren sponsor NTT Data is headquartered in Dallas, and Christian Lundgaard is no slouch on street courses either. Both Lundgaard and O’Ward look like strong contenders to take a home win with NTT riding along the car this weekend.
What Else?
O’Ward isn’t the only driver with a little bit of home stakes this weekend.
Santino Ferrucci resides in the DFW area and had a podium run at Detroit thanks to strategy before being disqualified in that race. He and Texan car owner AJ Foyt are looking to bounce back from a slower start to 2026.
Team Penske has gotten the jumpstart they needed for 2026, and with Newgarden in the points lead and with Scott McLaughlin’s strong St. Petersburg performance, the Thirsty 3s are another team to keep an eye on this weekend.
The third of the Penske brigade, David Malukas, stood out as usual on the oval at Phoenix, but he needs to shake off an up-and-down first race at St. Petersburg to get the No. 12 Chevy on the right track in their street course program.
Dale Coyne Racing surprised the paddock with their qualifying pace at St. Petersburg. Doing it once to start is shocking, but making it happen twice in two street races can make a statement that their Andretti partnership was indeed the right call for the team.
Speaking of qualifying, the Fast Six will be different than traditional qualifying as the top six will get one lap and one lap only to set the first three rows of the field for Sunday’s (March 15) race. The first two rounds however, will remain standard.
Frontstretch Predictions
A well-marketed race would only be fitting for the face of IndyCar to capture the checkered flag at. O’Ward will take his 10th win in the market where he got his first.
Kirkwood will be hot on his heels in second and will take control of the IndyCar points lead.
Palou gets the bounce back, much needed, in third place to stay in touch with Kirkwood in the championship.
- O’Ward
- Kirkwood
- Palou
Coverage for the 70-lap Java House Grand Prix of Arlington starts Sunday, March 15, at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on X @WyattWRacing