2026 Grand Prix of Arlington

Pretty cool track and it was a much cleaner race than anyone anticipated. I’d call that one a success.
Eh, I'm still not a street course fan. I'd rather see a dedicated road course.

Still, it will be interesting to compare this first-time circuit with DC later this year.
 
Eh, I'm still not a street course fan. I'd rather see a dedicated road course.

Still, it will be interesting to compare this first-time circuit with DC later this year.
No way DC can compare to an event that had a couple years to prepare. I'm just going to enjoy DC for what it is. Another race with a lot of patriotism thrown in.
 
Eh, I'm still not a street course fan. I'd rather see a dedicated road course.

Still, it will be interesting to compare this first-time circuit with DC later this year.
COTA would be nice but they’ve been there, done that, and it’s as saturated as ever between NASCAR, MotoGP, WEC, and F1 weekends. It’s obviously very important that IndyCar race in Texas and they found some great partners with a lot of financial and promotional might in the Rangers and Cowboys. So far the weekend reviews have been pretty good.

A better comp is probably Markham since it’s not in a city proper but is also going to be around for at least the medium term.
 
The only real issue is the backstretch start (an issue in both NXT and Indy) and Turn 14 (again, both NXT and Indy).

If they move the SF line closer to Turn 1, put the restart line where the SF was, and do the initial start at the SF, I think that will work.

And they need to move the driveway that was Turn 14 so that it's a 90 degree turn onto the SF straight with an exit to pit lane, instead of the other way around. I know they wanted no 90's, but that hairpin was a crapshoot. I was waiting for somebody to get hip-checked into the pit wall barrier.

Also, if they took away some paint and made the turn from Randoll Mill (back straight) onto AT&T Way more arced, I think they could carry WAY more speed into Ranger Right and made it an even better dive-bomb corner.
 
The only real issue is the backstretch start (an issue in both NXT and Indy) and Turn 14 (again, both NXT and Indy).

If they move the SF line closer to Turn 1, put the restart line where the SF was, and do the initial start at the SF, I think that will work.

And they need to move the driveway that was Turn 14 so that it's a 90 degree turn onto the SF straight with an exit to pit lane, instead of the other way around. I know they wanted no 90's, but that hairpin was a crapshoot. I was waiting for somebody to get hip-checked into the pit wall barrier.

Also, if they took away some paint and made the turn from Randoll Mill (back straight) onto AT&T Way more arced, I think they could carry WAY more speed into Ranger Right and made it an even better dive-bomb corner.
I’m curious to see whether they decide to grind down (or fill in) parts of the back straight just because of how easy it is to unsettle the car over the bumps at such high speeds. It makes it especially treacherous to try to pass, especially with it having a few bends to it unlike than a true ‘straight’.





The restart zone was a mess, made only clumsier by the restart line (where you’re allowed to begin passing) being after the final turn. Fortunately they only had to deal with that once at the very end of the race, but it wasn’t pretty and seemed to cause a lot of confusion when to go and not to go.
 
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