ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) 鈥� Roger Penske and IndyCar found a Texas-sized 鈥減layground鈥� in Jerry Jones鈥� neighborhood for a temporary street course to bring the series back to the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
Nearly three years after IndyCar last ran on the fast 1 1/2-mile oval at Texas Motor Speedway about 30 miles away, the will race Sunday on a 2.73-mile, 14-turn circuit on the streets of Arlington around the home stadiums of the NFL鈥檚 Dallas Cowboys and MLB鈥檚 Texas Rangers.
鈥淚t鈥檚 iconic because we are here between the Cowboys and the Rangers real estate. To have this as our playground, you might call it, for a weekend is amazing,鈥� Penske said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have this kind of commitment any place that we go as we do here. The investment by the partners along with IndyCar is amazing.鈥�
The Grand Prix of Arlington is the first of three new street races on the IndyCar schedule this season. It is also the start of a that came together with the involvement of a pair of successful businessmen and showmen. Their relationships goes back to when Penske was chairman of the host committee for the Super Bowl played in Detroit in 2006, five years before one in Jones’ then sparkling-new stadium.
A powerhouse partnership
The 89-year-old Penske acquired the racing series in January 2020 and this year marks his , with more than 650 major race wins and 48 championships across multiple series. is a three-time Super Bowl champion owner, though the most recent title came three decades ago. whose Cowboys play in the stadium referred to as 鈥淛erryWorld鈥� because of his desire for big events there.
AT&T Stadium was the site of the in the College Football Playoff era, an NCAA men鈥檚 Final Four and an NBA All-Star Game. This inaugural race comes three months before the first of nine scheduled there, the most for any of the 16 host markets this year for the world鈥檚 most-watched sporting event, and while work goes on inside the stadium to prepare for the installation of a grass field.
鈥淐ertainly we know what the World Cup鈥檚 going to be. But it is amazing what we鈥檙e going to do with IndyCar,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way to that you can present any better, any classier, with any more fan-friendly presentation that鈥檚 been put right out here.鈥�
Racing around the stadiums
During a ribbon-cutting this week for IndyCar’s longest street course, Jones said he couldn鈥檛 believe what he was seeing and how everything came together 鈥� from the track trimmed with paint schemes recognizing the NFL and MLB franchises partnering with IndyCar, to the grandstands and hospitality areas throughout Arlington鈥檚 entertainment district. The area is just off Interstate 30 halfway between the downtown areas of Dallas and Fort Worth, a metroplex with more than 8 million residents.
鈥淭his thing has been done first class. And no detail has been spared,鈥� said Jones, who also expressed his excitement for the event’s future. “One thing for sure, Roger Penske, they wanted first impressions to be the right one.”
A double-sided pit is set up on the road between AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, where the Rangers are about to begin their seventh season. There are a couple of curves into a horseshoe turn in the Cowboys’ parking lot that will lead drivers into a 0.9-mile straight where speeds could reach 190 mph and goes between the MLB team’s current and old stadiums. Both of those baseball venues have .
鈥淚 think this is the new standard, this is what IndyCar needs to stick to,鈥� six-time series champion Scott Dixon said.
鈥淭he build of the track, it鈥檚 all the attention to detail here. I think it鈥檚 very, very impressive,鈥� driver Marcus Ericsson said. 鈥淚 think this really raises the standard of IndyCar racing.”
IndyCar has extensive history in DFW market
Texas Motor Speedway hosted 36 IndyCar races from the track’s opening in 1997 until April 2, 2023 鈥� and also the previous one in 2022. The series raced on that high-banked track twice a year from 1998-2004, including six season finales in a row.
The five drivers who combined to win the last 10 IndyCar races at TMS, where laps could be more than 200 mph, are racing in Arlington.
鈥淚’ve got a lot of fond memories obviously,” said Dixon, who won three of those races, and five overall at the track.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be back. I loved the Texas Motor Speedway. Selfishly as a driver, I wish you could go everywhere,鈥� said three-time TMS winner Newgarden, who also in Phoenix. 鈥淚 would love to race there and here. But if we鈥檙e not going to be there, I鈥檓 happy that we have this event. I鈥檓 certainly really pleased with what they鈥檝e put on here.鈥�
Pole and earlier start
Ericsson, in his eighth IndyCar season and making his 117th start, will be on the pole for the first time after a lap of 104.158 mph in the final round of qualifying Saturday. He never had a pole in 97 F1 races from 2014-18.
The green flag for Sunday’s race was moved up to 11 a.m. local time (CDT), from 12:20 p.m., because of the forecast of 25-35 mph winds later in the day, with the potential for gusts of 40 mph or more.
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