Arlington, TX – A late-race caution at INDYCAR’s inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington set up a breathtaking shootout between leader Kyle Kirkwood and Alex Palou with just two laps to go. The sell-out crowd saw the Floridian pass the Spaniard on Lap 55 before pulling away on the Lap 68 restart. Following Palou was Will Power in third, Marcus Ericsson fourth, and Pato O’Ward fifth, in a race that ended under caution.
“Incredible car,” said Kirkwood, thanking his Andretti Global team over the radio as he took the checkered flag. “This car was a rocket ship all weekend. We had some pace. All the guys on my team gave me the tools today to win. It’s because of team work. First, third, and fourth for Andretti, which is an absolutely incredible result. (On street courses) the car suits me and I suit the car.
“Today was all or nothing,” explained Kirkwood, who struggled in qualifying to start seventh, overcoming two slow pit stops to clearly show that he had the fastest car in the race. “We were a lot quicker. Through turns four through nine, it was too hard to get to Palou’s gear box to be in position for a pass on the straight. Palou’s car was bottoming more than mine. Once I got close, I made a late lunge where I surprised him. Palou’s very smart. If I waited until the next lap to pass him, he would have defended. Palou is very trustworthy to race against, as we both are aware of our surroundings. You can count on him to race clean.”
Asked if he could’ve re-passed Kirkwood, Palou, who led 16 of 70 laps, answered, “Not today. I tried really hard but Kirkwood was very fast. I was pushing hard on the second and third stint using overtake to get a gap but he was closing three to four tenths a lap. He passed me with an awesome pass. I didn’t have much for him. Hats off to Kirkwood. We’ll get him in a couple weeks.
“It was pretty impressive,” continued Palou, who earned his 46th career podium in 101 races. “I defended in Turn 10 (at end of longest straightaway against a challenge from Kirkwood). I was faster in the corners but Kirkwood was more trimmed out than us. That is why he was catching us on the straights. I used my overtake and my hybrid out of Turn 12 when he was very close. He lunged and made the pass. We had less downforce so I couldn’t get the balance I wanted. We needed more track time to find that.”
Power made a two-stop strategy work (while most drivers made three) to earn his first podium of the season after contact with the wall at the St. Petersburg street course and contact with Christian Rasmussen while leading at the Phoenix short oval.
“I just wanted to have a clean weekend,” revealed Power, who earned his 109th career podium, fourth on the all-time list, and led 15 laps. “I’m happy to finish third and not do anything crazy. I couldn’t keep the guys behind me with the fuel strategy of only two stops. It wasn’t the quickest strategy but we looked after our tires. I had a great car and good fuel mileage.
“Kirkwood didn’t get it right in qualifying but I knew he’d be fast on black tires in the race,” added Power. “He does his homework and works hard. He has won in every series from karting on up. He should be tough to beat for the championship this year. I’m happy with my new team (after 17 years at Team Penske). Andretti has so much room to improve. It’s now good on short ovals. We’ll be fighting for wins. This is the team to beat this year.”
Everything is bigger in Texas and that is certainly true of the new venue that is a 14-turn, 2.73-mile temporary street circuit. The track is laid out around the Dallas Cowboys’ and Texas Rangers’ stadiums in Arlington, TX, located about a 20-minute drive south of the DFW airport.
The track includes a 40-mph hairpin (slowest speed) and six straights, allowing for many passing opportunities on a very wide track. The longest straight is the 0.9-mile backstretch between Turns 9 and 10, where drivers attain 185 mph before braking on the bumpy and uneven surface. Most of the racers had a blast driving on the new challenging course.
The new venue meant that every driver was starting from a level playing field and it was up to each team to figure out the best setup and race strategy, only able to guess until actual on-track sessions. The Chip Ganassi Racing team had won on the last three new street courses before the Andretti team dominated in this event.
The new 2026 street course rule requires drivers to use two sets of alternate, red (softer) tires and one set of primaries (harder, black sidewall) for a minimum of two laps. The 70-lap (191 miles) race could have been managed by making two pit stops on fuel, with some help from a few caution laps.
Competing on a street course, cautions were expected to be the norm. But it was all green flag racing, with a few local yellows, until the final two laps. Tire degradation on the mostly abrasive cement racing surface caused most drivers to pit three times, running less laps on the alternates and using two sets of primaries that could last the full fuel stint of 21 laps (fuel tank of 18.5 gallons of Shell E85 renewable fuel).
“That was all we had today,” said Pato O’Ward, driving for Arrow McLaren as the highest-finishing Chevy in fifth. “We executed extremely well in qualifying. Street courses take a lot of work. All in all, we know we will be stronger some weekends. This was such a great event and weekend for everyone involved. The general admission and grandstands were packed. This event set a new standard of what all INDYCAR races should look like every weekend.”
Power agreed, “This track set a new standard. Every stand was full. The track looked amazing and like a big event.”
Kirkwood, who earned three wins to Palou’s eight last season, now leads the 2026 title fight with 126 points to Palou’s 100, followed by Josef Newgarden (finished 15th) and Pato O’Ward tied with 93 points, then Scott McLaughlin with 85 points (finished 11th). The title fight continues on the first permanent road course of the season at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL on March 29.