IndyCar reveals much-needed new street race

IndyCar’s long-rumoured new city track will be in Dallas, with the series announcing that the new Grand Prix of Arlington will take place in the Texan city starting from 2026.

IndyCar lost its newest street race - in Nashville - for 2024 due to planning issues with holding the race downtown and the rebuilding of the Tennessee Titans NFL football stadium affecting the circuit location.

Why IndyCar had to give up its wildest race

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But now the Dallas Cowboys’ enormous AT&T stadium in Dallas will step in and provide a base for this new venture joining the calendar in 2026.

The circuit will be 2.73 miles long and as well as the home of the Cowboys - which cost over $1billion to build and can hold over 100,000 people - it will run past the stadium of the city’s Major League Baseball team, the Texas Rangers, too.

“Through a truly remarkable and innovative partnership, we’re going to build racing’s next global spectacle,” said Roger Penske, the chairman of the Penske Corporation which owns IndyCar and fields a three-car team in it.

“Everyone involved is fully committed to delivering an incredible and unique event weekend for the city of Arlington, anchored by the stars of the NTT IndyCar Series.”

Veteran motorsport industry executive Bill Miller has been announced as the president of the event, which doesn't have an exact date yet but will feature sometime in March of 2026.

Tony Cotman, IndyCar's go-to track designer in recent times, has worked on the layout here, too.

A ceremony held on October 8 revealed more about the new circuit, which features the longest straight on the calendar at 0.9 miles as well as being the longest street circuit on the calendar generally.

That massive straight between Turns 9 and 10 should lead to the cars reaching over 180mph.

The circuit has 14 turns and two areas where the circuit goes underneath hospitality areas.

Turns 5-7 feature a "horseshoe" style "carousel", and the pitlane is also double-sided.

Looking at the track map, Turns 1, 10, 12 and 14 all look like obvious overtaking spots, but there is work to be done on the ground so we won't get a full picture for how it will race until the event.

The Race says

It was extremely embarrassing for IndyCar to announce the Nashville street race (pictured above) was going to be bigger and better than before and taking in one of the city’s most famous streets, only for it to turn out that not enough planning had been done and the race had to be moved to the nearby oval where it will likely stay through 2026.

But now IndyCar has added a huge event incorporating one of America’s most popular sports teams in the Dallas Cowboys and one of the most impressive sports facilities in the world with their recently-built stadium playing a key role in IndyCar’s arrival as the Tenessee Titans stadium had in Nashville.

And crucially, in a March slot, it won't be gazumped by the NFL as its season runs September to February.

With Jerry Jones - one of the most famous and recognisable faces in sports in America of Cowboys fame - and Neil Leibman of the Texas Rangers MLB team both quoted in the press release and their teams having a huge presence in the launch, you get the feeling this is the kind of co-operation needed to make the event a success despite the inevitable logistical challenges.

IndyCar has been discussing needing a new race in city markets - and it lost its Texas Motor Speedway race for this year as part of scheduling conflicts with the circuit, IndyCar and NASCAR - so getting a new street track in Texas is a massive move in terms of the event itself and for IndyCar’s TV presence in the area.

The series has been kicked plenty over this season for many things including a perceived lack of investment in certain areas. This glitzy street race appears to buck that trend and gives the championship a much-needed boost heading into the off season.

It's not time to sweep other problems under the rug, but this is something that can provide a positive springboard.

The only reservation now is that we haven’t yet seen the track layout, and whether the location has allowed a suitable enough mix balancing the fact that it's in an unusual area for motorsport while creating enough of a racing test to present a good on-track spectacle.

IndyCar rarely struggles in that department though, as even a straightforward street layout like Nashville's course provided fireworks.