IndyCar unveils circuit for new Arlington Grand Prix
A new 2.73-mile temporary racing circuit adjacent to the stadiums of the Dallas Cowboys and the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers was unveiled Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers on hand predicted the action will be fast and flowing.
Initially projections call for speeds faster than 180 mph, and cars might exceed that in stretches.
“I think you’ll be going to be over 200 miles per hour looking at the straights,” said Josef Newgarden, the Team Penske driver who has won the past two Indianapolis 500s presented by Gainbridge. “So, it’s going to be a very fast track. It’s a good layout, a lot of visibility with the way they’ve laid it out.
“Yeah, be here because it’s going to be a big show.”
The straightaway that most caught the attention of Newgarden and reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing is nearly a mile in length, which will make it the longest of those used during the season. The circuit will pass through and around the sports and entertainment district that is home to the stadiums just south of I-30.
Penske Entertainment’s partnership with the Cowboys, Rangers and the city of Arlington is expected to go a long way to making it a successful event. Tuesday’s official unveiling at Texas Live! was attended by longtime friends Roger Penske and Cowboys CEO Jerry Jones (photo, left), plus Rangers co-owner Ray Davis, Cowboys legend DeMarcus Ware, who like Jones is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Rangers catcher Pudge Rodriguez, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Jones said this event was years in the making, something he could have never dreamed of when the Cowboys moved to Arlington in 2009 and opened AT&T Stadium, a massive facility that seats 100,000. Globe Life Field, which has been home to the Rangers since 2020, sits a few blocks to the east and seats 40,300.
The 14-turn circuit designed by longtime INDYCAR track designer Tony Cotman will race alongside AT&T Stadium and around Globe Life Field. In between them will be the double-sided pit lane like the one used for Detroit’s downtown street circuit that debuted in 2023 with the Penske-promoted Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear.
There should be four enticing passing zones: Turn 1, Turn 10, Turn 12 and Turn 14. There will be two areas where the track goes underneath circuit hospitality and suites, and there will be two coliseum-like atmospheres, including a horseshoe-like carousel at Turn 6.
The circuit figures to be aesthetically pleasing and uniquely demanding.
“I have to pinch myself,” Jones said. “I really don’t think I could have dreamed, as big as our imagination was, that we could be sitting here … with Roger Penske, one of my true role models about how to involve sports in a way that it works and does the business that we see today. I couldn’t have imagined that.
“The Dallas Cowboys jumped to be with the Rangers and Ray Davis (and) the great city of Arlington to get a chance to be part of this great event.”
Jones added that games at AT&T Stadium aren’t just for those who attend; they’re also for the millions of people who watch on television, and he expects FOX, INDYCAR’s new multiyear television partner, to deliver a large audience for all of those involved.
“(Broadcasters) Al Michaels and the great John Madden would say (on football games), ‘Folks, you ought to be here, you ought to see this place, you ought to be a part of it,’” Jones said. “That’s going to happen here in Arlington.”
Penske apologized to Jones for not wearing boots to an event in Texas, but he vowed to see this become a showcase event.
“We are so thrilled to have our brand next to your brand in this great opportunity,” Penske said. “It’s magic. It’s an opportunity for us to showcase our sport around the world and certainly to bring the best racing to Arlington.
“I look at this as history and opportunity coming together. No place in the United States where we race to have this kind of a community – a diverse community – but also sports fans. Like my son Greg (Penske) says, we’re going to have a lot of guests coming to Arlington, so thanks for the opportunity.”
The event will be led by Bill Miller, a former Penske employee who presided over Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and Nazareth (Pennsylvania) Speedway.
“This is a big deal,” Newgarden said. “When I was a young kid and I wanted to be a race car driver, I dreamed of winning iconic events like the Indianapolis 500. I think the Grand Prix of Arlington will be one of those events that you circle that you want to win every single year. So, this is a big opportunity for us in INDYCAR.
“Really, it’s an honor for us to come race here in Arlington. To be part of an iconic brand like the Cowboys and the Rangers, we want to be here, and I think we’re going to put on a good show. But more importantly, as a driver I’m focused on how we’re going to win it because I know it’s going to be a big deal, (and) that’s what you show up for: the pressure to win these big events.”
Added Palou: “It’s going to be fast, (and) I’m ready. It’s a shame that we’re not starting like next week. I would be ready to race it.”
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