Written by Archie O’Reilly
IndyCar’s newest race could be a massively important venture for the series.
I will be the first to admit I was sceptical about Penske Entertainment CEO Mark Miles’ plan to focus on targeting new urban markets above all else. It felt a little too narrow a way of thinking, eliminating the idea of visiting certain fan-favourite ovals or road courses. And to a certain degree that still does stand.
But with the recent unveiling of the Grand Prix of Arlington, set to join the schedule in March 2026, there is sure-fire evidence that IndyCar can make this way of thinking work - so long as its balance and diverse range of tracks is preserved.
Involving a first-of-its-kind collaboration across multiple different sporting entities, this is an event that has all of the hallmarks of something that could be very successful.
The intention of IndyCar targeting urban markets is to bring its product directly to popular destinations rather than sitting in places where you have to be sought out by others. And the signs are there that the series’ newest Texan event could be a good vehicle for growth.
It is, of course, a shame to see Texas Motors Speedway (TMS) fade as a viable option. IndyCar’s most recent event at the 1.5-mile oval in 2023 was one of the finest oval races the series has delivered in recent memory. And there no doubt remains a glaring need for another high-speed oval to supplement the Indianapolis 500.
In an ideal world, TMS would have been the race to plug that hole while also satisfying a much-needed market for IndyCar to visit. But that simply was not going to work out.
It has become abundantly clear where the priorities lie for those running TMS. And since the late Eddie Gossage retired in 2021 after a 25-year presidency of the track, IndyCar has felt less and less welcome.
The race was lost in 2024 due to scheduling clashes with NASCAR and has not returned for 2025 amid an evidently diminished valuation of IndyCar from the track’s behalf. And there is the significant factor of grandstands being largely empty for the IndyCar weekends at TMS.
The fact of the matter is that - as much as a return to TMS would be welcome from a product standpoint - the empty grandstands were a damaging look and far from beneficial for IndyCar. And given no seeming willingness from the track to house IndyCar, it is hard to believe track promotion of any prospective event would really be wholehearted.
Ultimately, IndyCar needs to go places where it is wanted and embraced.
With this latest street race comes the sort of innovation that IndyCar needs to utilise. There is nothing wrong with tapping into the old faithful - returns to the Milwaukee Mile and Nashville Superspeedway ovals at the end of 2024 were resounding successes - but that trusted old does to be combined with new ideas for IndyCar to evolve and grow.
The Grand Prix of Arlington feels like a perfect step in the direction, especially considering the status of some of the key players involved.
Teaming up with the National Football League (NFL)’s Dallas Cowboys and Major League Baseball (MLB)’s Texas Rangers - racing beside their respective stadiums - unites high-profile organisations and brings to the fore high-profile individuals.
Along with IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Team Penske owner Roger Penske - plus Rangers chief operating officer Neil Leibman - renowned Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been a figurehead of the event since its launch.
It is people such as Jones - a powerful and influential figure in American sport as respected owner of a five-time Super Bowl-winning organisation - that IndyCar needs to be involved in its events. And early signs hint that Jones is embracing what he has described as a “dream” opportunity.
Having two well-known sporting partners aiding the event’s set-up and promotion is also a major coup for IndyCar. All signs point to the fact that this is not a tenuous collaboration - shown by the launch event put on by all parties the day after the initial announcement.
By tapping into two sizable fanbases - those of the Cowboys and Rangers - IndyCar should be introduced to a new offering of people. And even a fraction of the teams’ followings taking an interest in IndyCar would be a marker of success.
Promotional efforts, despite the race being the best part of 18 months away, are already off to a good start. Maybe most encouragingly, watched on by many millions, new IndyCar broadcast partner FOX Sports gave an extended mention to the event during the Cowboys’ home NFL fixture with the Detroit Lions last weekend.
There was also a mention of the 2025 Indianapolis 500 as part of the promotional segment - a good start to FOX’s promised promotion of IndyCar months in advance of the 2025 season.
If FOX also promotes the season as a whole - raising awareness that the Indy 500 is one of a 17-race offering - then IndyCar has a large part of what it needs from its new television deal.
Arlington does not mark a brand-spanking new market given TMS is within an hour’s drive. But this taps into the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex like it never has before.
It is an event vastly different to that hosted at TMS - and with seemingly much more momentum behind it already. It may not be a downtown Dallas race but is not even half-an-hour from central Dallas.
And maybe the ‘Grand Prix of Arlington’ does not grab the attention like a ‘Grand Prix of Dallas’ may have done, but it is probably right that IndyCar is not pretending this is a race in the heart of Dallas.
Even being in Arlington, IndyCar is not out of sight and out of mind as it sometimes felt as though it was at TMS. The race will be run around an extremely popular and well-attended ‘world’ of sport and entertainment, encompassing the Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, the Rangers’ Globe Life Field and the Texas Live entertainment centre.
It is a leading facility that sells over 1.6 million tickets to spectators for its various events year-long. And it does seem that valuable emphasis is being put on the Grand Prix of Arlington being an event as well as simply a race.
Ticket offerings range from regular seating to hospitality and parties. And suggestions from Jones and company are that the event could well attract some important guests, which is yet more good news for IndyCar’s exposure.
As Josef Newgarden said at the launch event, it feels like a non-Indy 500 race - similar to the likes of Long Beach - that drivers will really want to put on their bucket list for winning.
From the initial showcases, the track looks conducive to producing a good race. Drivers have been positive about the layout, which features a season-longest 0.9-mile straight, high-speed sections - with possible speeds of up to 200 miles per hour - and multiple good passing opportunities through a variety of corner types.
There is a risk that, particularly by placing emphasis on targeting urban races, variation could start to lack between IndyCar’s street events. Recent additions in Nashville and Detroit both drew up similar complaints as tight tracks with a lot of 90-degree corners, leading to races with a lot of crashes.
But the Arlington track offers something new and maintains some of the track-to-track diversity that IndyCar should pride itself on. This is not a ‘same old’ street circuit or a track maligned for being built in a ‘parking lot’.
There is plenty to love about the rawness of IndyCar’s traditional street tracks, whether the bumps or their general punishing nature. It is one of the great appeals that differentiates IndyCar - with its much-loved old-school USP - from its Formula One counterparts.
Street races such as St. Petersburg and Long Beach are iconic and an integral part of the IndyCar furniture. But if too many similar street tracks overload the calendar, these esteemed events risk losing their uniqueness.
Arlington offers something fresh - almost more like what has been successful in F1. And without overdoing it, there should be no reason for IndyCar not to do something more on this ‘modern’ front.
From early renders, it is easy to imagine the resources behind the event. Runoff zones painted with Cowboys or Rangers badges make a change from untouched city streets, while the track does seem a little smoother, posing a different challenge for drivers.
From a schedule standpoint, the event importantly fills IndyCar’s early-season gap. Typically, St. Pete has kicked off the season but has been followed by multi-week breaks until momentum really picks up across the Month of May and beyond.
But being run in March, whether being added at the expense of another race or not, the deficit in races at the start of the year should hopefully be reduced. And given the sort of event it seems to be panning out to be, it should be a good tool to allow the start-of-season ‘hype’ to be prolonged where it may have petered out in the past.
IndyCar needs more eyes on the series. And it feels as though the best way to grow is to throw itself into settings such as Arlington and its vast entertainment district.
It is all well and good visiting trusted ovals or road courses that would guarantee a good racing product. But you will only get so far in terms of overall prosperity if the awareness of these races remains as limited as it has been.
Sometimes it is good to take a risk. And this collaboration certainly offers the chance for plenty of attention and should open up IndyCar to a whole new demographic.
This is what the series needs right now.
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