Arlington Recap- Kirkwood’s Pace Overcomes Pit Stop Issuews

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The king of the streets has returned. Kyle Kirkwood used the blistering he showed on Saturday to pass Alex Palou on lap 55 to win the inaugural java House Grand Prix of Arlington. The win was the sixth of Kirkwood’s fairly young career. Five of the victories coming on street courses.

It was not an easy victory as Kirkwood had issues on two pit stops. A loose wheel nut rolled in front of Kirkwood’s car as left on his second stop, turning the nut into a missile which ricocheted off of the pit wall. His final stop was 9.5 seconds, nearly two seconds slower than Palou’s simultaneous stop as the right rear tire was slow getting on.

Kirkwood quickly brought the deficit down and made a brilliant pass in turn 13 to overtake the reigning series champion. Kirkwood expanded the lead to more than thre seconds before a caution for Christian Rasmussen slowed the field on lap 68. Kirkwood pulled away on the restart to begin the final lap as the yellow flew again Roman Grosjean and Nolan Siegel collided.

Thoughts

Will Power bounced back from his troubles during the first two weekends with a strong third place finish. Sunday was the first session in which he did not make contact with the wall or another car. Power led 16 laps, the same number of laps that both Palou and Kirkwood led.

In addition to Kirkwood’s pit woes, Andretti teammates Power and Marcus Ericsson also had difficulties in the pits. Ericsson finished fourth. The pace of the Andretti cars allowed them to overcome their long stops. Pit work cost Colton Herta a couple of races over the last two years. If the team can improve their service work, Andretti can be a consistent contender.

Phoenix was a tough act to follow, but I thought Arlington produced a good race. Several tire strategies were in play, and there were fights for the lead and some battles further back in the field. A pass for the lead with less than 20 laps remaining is always a good look.

The long street course with a wide surface helped produce the good racing. It was nice to see a street course with room to maneuver. From what I saw, the event was a huge success.

Teams on the Rise

Meyer Shank Racing and ECR are showing signs of gaining strength and being in the mix all season. Had Felix Rosenqvist not jumped the restart at the end, Meyer Shank was looking at having both cars finish in the top 10. Marcus Armstrong ended the day 10th, and Rosenqvist was in fifth before his penalty.

ECR saw both Alexander Rossi and Christian E=Rasmussen qualify in the top 10. Rossi came home ninth Sunday. Rasmussen ended last after his crash on lap 68. Rasmussen led most of the way last weekend at Phoenix before his incident with Power. Rossi has two consecutive top 10 finishes.

FOX

Some questions about the broadcast:

Will we ever get a live pit stop timer?

Can the network show a little more flexibility with commercial breaks? Yesterday ads were so frequent and ill timed that I thought there would be a commercial break when the leader got to turn 10 on the last lap. Full screen commercials late in the race were especially annoying.

Fast Six Shootout

I talked about the shootout Saturday in my post

Ericsson Takes Arlington Pole

A Welcome Break, then on to Barber

The series takes a short break next weekend before heading to Barber Motorsports Park.

The first three races have produced three different winners from three different teams and three different pole winners from two different teams. In 2025 IndyCar did not see a third different winner until Mid Ohio in July. I hope this competitive diversity continues.

A different driver has led the championship each week. It’s nice to see the title in doubt.

Race Day at Arlington

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A reminder that the green flag and broadcast windows have been moved up. The revised schedule\:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup 9:30-10:30 a.m. Eastern FS1. The session is from 9:50-10:10 am ET.

INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Arlington 10:30-11:30 am ET FS1. Green flag 10:45 a.m. ET (30-minutes).

FOX Pre-race show 11:30 a.m. ET

Java House Grand Prix of Arlington green flag 12 Noon ET, FOX

From yesterday:

Ericsson Takes Arlington Pole

Winds are predicted to be near or above 20 mph from the Northwest with gusts as high as 50 mph during the race. Had the race started at its original time, the winds would be stronger.

My pick for today is Alex Palou, who will also retake the points lead.

If you are at the track, stay safe.

Ericsson Takes Arlington Pole

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NOTE: Tomorrow’s Java House Grand Prix of Arlington has been moved up on hour. FOX will be on the air at 11:30 am Eastern time with the green flag at Noon Eastern. The change is due to predicted high winds later in the afternoon.

It has been 13 years since Marcus Ericsson won a pole position for a race. Today that streak ended as Ericsson won the pole in a new format for tomorrow’s IndyCar race at Arlington, Texas. Ericsson had the advantage of running his single Fast Six lap on warm tires, and his time stood up to a challenge by Alex Palou, the last driver on track.

“I’ve waited long enough; I can tell you that,” a jubilant Ericsson said. “I think 2013 was the last pole I had. I feel like this is a giant thing for me because of that. Two-hundredths of a second away at St. Pete.”

Ericsson’s winning margin was a bit less than half a second over the defending series champion.

Team Penske had won the pole in each of the first two races, with Scott McLaughlin in the top spot at St. Petersburg and David Malukas in first after qualifying at Phoenix. Today was not the team’s best day. While all three cars were very fast, Josef Newgarden hit the wall in morning practice, forcing him to go to a backup car. In qualifying Scott McLaughlin also made wall contact in Round 1. Malukas couldn’t quite find the speed he had earlier. No Penske car made the Fast Six.

Another pole favorite, Kyle Kirkwood, also missed the Fast Six. His teammates, Ericsson and Will Power, did get to the final round. Kirkwood starts seventh tomorrow.

For Power, today marks his first sign of success with the team after a difficult morning in which he made contact Scott Dixon.

Meyer Shank Racing put both of their cars in the Fast Six. Felix Rosenqvist will star fifth, and Marcus Armstrong rolls off sixth.

The New Fast Six

I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I was thrilled by it. I think the Fast Six format has potential with some tweaking. A better television presentation might have helped hold my interest more also.

Rule Changes: Ericsson seemed to have a big advantage going first since his tires were still warm from the end of Round 2. There are ways to remedy this. Here are some suggestions, not necessarily meant to be implemented as a group

  1. A 10 minute break allowing everyone’s tires to cool. OR
  2. The leader of Round 2 gets to choose when he makes his run. OR
  3. Tire warmers which must come off when the car on track is two corners from the alt. start line.
  4. Limit use of this format to tracks shorter than Arlington. I thought the length of the track contributed to some of the dullness of the shootout.

FOX could help viewer interest by providing sector times with comparison to where the leader was at a particular point on track. Showing times in green and red was a halfway job of marking progress. I want to know how much slower or faster t6he car is to the leader on the board. A map tracker would also help for the entire run.

Results

Qualifying Groups Set After Wild Practice 2

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Photo by Chris Jones, Penske entertainment

Kyle Kirkwood served notice that he is still the King of the Streets, leading today’s prequalifying practice period.

This morning’s Java House Grand Prix of Arlington practice 2 was not the smoothest of sessions. Red flags abounded, including one for a collision between Scott Dixon and Will Power.

Dixon spun, and he was backing his car up to turn around when Power rounded the blind corner and collided with he six time champion. The aftermath was much milder than their collision at road America in 2024. Still, it was Power’s fourth incident of the young season. Both cars were able to make repairs and return to the track.

Power finished with the fourth best lap while Dixon ended up 15th.

Josef Newgarden made contact with the right, sustaining damage which prevented his return to action. Newgarden, Friday’s leader, settled for 12th in practice.

As the green flag waved to start the first group portion of the session, the red flag came out as cars reached pit exit. Servers had somehow rolled a catering cart out onto the track at pit out. I’m sure this was a first year event issue, but how access even got to that point is puzzling.We have a new definition of fast food.

Qualifying begins at 2:30 pm Eastern on FS2.

Results

Arlington Preview

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Can the momentum be sustained? After a wildly successful event in the desert IndyCar races at a new venue for the second straight week.. Unlike Phoenix, which was a reconfigured track where the series has raced previously, the track at Arlington debuts as a completely new event with a brand new track. Photos from media on the scene yesterday reveal a massive track with some interesting corners. Turn 10 looks fascinating as a passing zone.

The facility looks better than several of the other newer street courses. It doesn’t appear to have any narrow straights or a route through alleys hidden from the spectators. The course still includes the trendy big dipper shape, this time with an appendage. .

I’m not sure how the track will race, but I think there is a potential for some good action here. I love the long backstretch, which is about 700 feet longer than the front stretch at Monza, according to Kyle Kirkwood.

The highlight of the weekend will be the new qualifying format in which the drivers who make to the Firestone Fast Six will take single car one lap runs to determine the pole sitter. I like the idea, and I think it will add some excitement to the end of qualifying.

One issue I have heard some people express is that the first car out will have an advantage because that car will still have warm tires from the Fast 12, and the last car out will have been sitting for several minutes. Perhaps the series could provide a longer between the end of Round 2 and the start of the Fast Six to allow all cars to have cold tires or maybe mandate a tire change for the final round. I’m sure if this format continues, there will be tweaks to it.

The race will see the usual suspects battling for the lead. Andretti Global will return to their street dominating form, and Team Penske will be in the mix as well. My pick to win is Kyle Kirkwood, who has been the king of the streets over the last two years. Will Power shakes off his early season troubles with his first podium for Andretti.

IndyCar practice begins at 4 pm Eastern today on FS2.

Java House Grand Prix of Arlington Fast Facts

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Fr4om IndyCar. My preview will be up tomorrow morning.

 Race weekend: Friday, March 13-Sunday, March 15Track: Streets of Arlington, a 2.73-mile, 14-turn, temporary street course (counterclockwise) in Arlington, Texas

Media Links: NTT INDYCAR SERIES Entry List (PDF) | INDY NXT by Firestone Entry List (PDF) | 
Race distance: 70 laps / 191.1 miles (NTT INDYCAR SERIES) | 27 laps / 73.71 miles / 55 minutes (INDY NXT by Firestone)
Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. | INDY NXT by Firestone: 65 seconds of total time
Hybrid energy deployment parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 530 kilojoules (kj) per lap
Firestone tire allotment: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Five sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams fielding a rookie driver may use one additional set of primary tires. Teams must use one set of primary and two sets of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race. INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets to be used during the event weekend, with one new set used for qualifying. Another new set may be used during the race. Two carryover sets from the St. Petersburg event may be used during the prequalifying practices.

X: @Arlington_GP, @INDYCAR, @INDYNXT, #GPArlington, #INDYCARInstagram: @arlington_gp, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #GPArlington, #INDYCARFacebook: @arlingtongp, @IndyCar, @INDYNXT, #GPArlington, #INDYCARTikTok: @IndyCar, #INDYCAR
YouTube: @INDYCAR, @arlington_gp
Event website: www.gparlington.com/
INDYCAR website: www.indycar.com
2025 race winner:Inaugural Event
Qualifying record:Inaugural Event

FOX Sports telecasts: 
NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 
Practice 1, 4 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); 
Practice 2, 9:30 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); 
Qualifying, 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live);
Warmup Show/Final Practice, 10 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1;
Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, 12:30 p.m. ET, Sunday, FOX (live).
Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters.

| INDY NXT by Firestone: 
Practice 1, 3 p.m. ET Friday, FS2 (live); 
Practice 2, 11 a.m.. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); 
Qualifying, 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live);
Race, 11 a.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live).
Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.

INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Michael Young and Jake Query are the turn announcers. Alex Wollf, Ryan Myrehn, DJ Clark and Jonathan Grace are the pit reporters. The Java House Grand Prix of Arlington race and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates,SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA

.At-track schedule (All Times Local/Central Time):
Friday, March 13
2-2:45 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, FS23:05-4:25 p.m. –
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 1 (split group format), FS2
Saturday, March 14
8:35-9:55 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice 2 (split group format), FS1
10:15-11 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, FS2
1:35-3:10 p.m. – NTT P1 Award qualifying (two rounds of knockout qualifying followed by Firestone Fast Six single-car pole showdown), FS2
3:30-4 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone qualifying (two groups, 12 minutes each), FS2
Sunday, March 15
9:05-9:35 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Warmup, FS1
10:06 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix of Arlington (27 laps/73.71 miles/55 minutes), FS1 (Live)
11:30 a.m. – FOX Pre-Race Show on air
12:10 p.m. – “Drivers, start your engines”
12:17 p.m. – Java House Grand Prix of Arlington (70 laps/191.1 miles ), FOX (Live)

‘WHAT TO LOOK FOR’ AT ARLINGTON:
New points leader Newgarden aims to continue Texas win streak: One week after taking the NTT INDYCAR SERIES points lead with his thrilling win at Phoenix Raceway, Josef Newgarden heads to Texas in hopes of keeping his dominance in the state. Newgarden won the last two INDYCAR SERIES races in the state – claiming oval wins at Texas Motor Speedway in 2022 and 2023

.Pole Showdown debuts in Texas: INDYCAR will use an updated race qualifying format on the streets of Arlington, Texas. For NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying, while the “knockout” format of Segments 1 and 2 will remain unchanged, the Firestone Fast Six segment will be adjusted to single-car, single-lap qualifying beginning with the sixth-fastest qualifier from Segment 2 and working toward the fastest from the previous round. During the Firestone Fast Six at Arlington, drivers will leave pit lane and get an opportunity for one lap – starting and ending at the alternate start/finish line. Once the car enters pit lane following that driver’s attempt, the next car will be released for its attempt. Tire allotments and tire rules will remain unchanged throughout the event.

Lone Star Links: Even though there aren’t any native Texans in the field for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, there are several ties to Texas throughout the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field
.Santino Ferrucci lives in Dallas and races for Lone Star State legend A.J. Foyt.Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward and his family moved to San Antonio when he was a boy, and he lived there through high school, attending Texas Military Institute in San Antonio.
Will Power is a Texan by marriage, as his wife, Liz, hails from Plano.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes: The Java House Grand Prix of Arlington will be the first NTT INDYCAR SERIES event on the streets of Arlington. However, it’s not the first time that INDYCAR SERIES cars have raced in Arlington, Texas. Arlington Downs Racetrack, a 1-mile dirt oval whose site is less than a half-mile from the current racetrack, held three points-paying races and two non-championship sweepstakes races from 1947 to 1950.The Streets of Arlington is the fourth road or street circuit to debut on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar since 2021. Chip Ganassi Racing drivers won the previous three debut races. 
Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville in 2021. Alex Palou won the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear when it debuted its new course in downtown Detroit in 2023 and at The Thermal Club in 2025.The Java House Grand Prix of Arlington is the second of six temporary street course races on the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. Alex Palou won the first street race of the season at St. Petersburg on March 1. The other street course events are scheduled for the Streets of Long Beach on April 19, Streets of Detroit on May 31, the Streets of Markham, Ontario, on Aug. 16 and the Streets of Washington, D.C., on Aug. 23.

Milestones: Scott Dixon is expected to make his 422nd INDYCAR SERIES start, extending his INDYCAR SERIES record. Dixon has made 358 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, which is the longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Rinus VeeKay is scheduled to make his 100th INDYCAR SERIES start in Arlington…Josef Newgarden needs to lead 58 laps to pass Dario Franchitti for ninth on the INDYCAR SERIES all-time laps led list.

INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:Lone Star State Return: INDY NXT by Firestone returns to Texas for the first time since 2019 with a race on the streets of Arlington. INDY NXT by Firestone has raced in the Lone Star State at both Texas Motor Speedway (2001-05) and Circuit of the Americas (2019).

Local favorites: Neither Nicholas Monteiro nor Alessandro de Tullio are native Texans, but the young drivers might be the local favorites. Both youngsters race for one of the Lone Star State’s legendary figures – four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt. The man nicknamed “Super Tex” is a native of Houston, and his team’s headquarters is in Waller, Texas. He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1967 and has numerous wins in his home state, including an INDY NXT by Firestone win with grandson A.J. Foyt IV at Texas Motor Speedway in 2002
.International flair: This weekend’s race will feature drivers representing nine countries. A total of 13 drivers represent the United States. There are three drivers from Australia, two from Mexico and one each from Brazil, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Scotland.