Gearing Up: Plenty of Excitement, Unknowns for Arlington Debut

The first of three new NTT INDYCAR SERIES street races is deep in the heart of Texas this weekend.

The Java House Grand Prix of Arlington is a much-anticipated collaboration between INDYCAR, the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers. A 2.73-mile street circuit will work its way around the two team’s stadiums, creating a visual unlike anything the sport has scene in recent years.

SEE: Arlington Event Details

As usual, storylines abound this weekend, but the event itself is the featured attraction. Drivers have done simulations, but it will be fascinating to see how the strategies play out, especially in the technical horseshoe section next to the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium and a long front straightaway. As in Detroit, pit lane is double-sided, allowing a full view of the important servicing by the teams.

The other new street races on this year’s calendar are on consecutive August weekends. The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham will be held Sunday, Aug. 16 in Markham, Ontario, while the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C. is set for Sunday, Aug. 23.

From a competition standpoint, the INDYCAR SERIES is in a rare place with three-time defending champion Alex Palou not leading the point standings. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver had led since the eighth race of the 2024 season when he won at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but he’s fifth after contact at the start/finish line early in last weekend’s Good Ranchers 250 at Phoenix Raceway. Still, he is only 19 points out of the lead.

Team Penske is back in what it believes is its rightful place at the top of the standings by virtue of Josef Newgarden’s victory in Phoenix. Newgarden, a two-time series champion, last was in this position early in the 2022 season after winning in Long Beach. He has won two of the past three races over the past two seasons, a rebound, for sure, after 2025 presented him with an assortment of challenges.

Newgarden holds a five-point lead over Kyle Kirkwood, the Andretti Global driver who followed him across the finish line in Saturday’s ultra-competitive desert race. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin is third, 12 points in arrears. With David Malukas finishing third in Phoenix, Team Penske has earned three of the six podium finishes to open the season.

Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward is fourth in the standings – 15 points behind Newgarden – and will again be popular among the fan base as this event is the closest the Mexican driver has to a home race.

INDYCAR has a long and storied history of racing in Texas, including an oval race at Texas Motor Speedway, a road course event at Circuit of The Americas and a street circuit in Houston. But Arlington represents a new challenge, and it will be fascinating to see it come together.

The drivers will get their first hot laps at 4 p.m. ET Friday (FS2). Saturday’s action features the weekend’s second practice at 9:30 a.m. (FS1) followed by qualifying for the NTT P1 Award at 2:30 p.m. (FS2). For the first time in series history, drivers in the Firestone Fast Six will make their runs individually on a street circuit. All these sessions also will be broadcast on FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls.

Sunday’s pre-race practice is at 10 a.m. ET (FS1) followed by the 70-lap race at 12:30 p.m. (FOX, FOX Deportes, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio, powered by OnlyBulls).