Musings From the Weekend: Are We Too Smart For Our Own Good?

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

Rain did not ruin MotoGP's return to Brazil, neither did a poor track surface but it was not the most accommodating conditions at Goiânia. Despite the troubles, Marco Bezzecchi made it two wins on the spin to open 2026 and four consecutive dating back to last season. Marc Márquez got to keep this sprint victory. There was a team orders row in Sebring. There was also a spectacular comeback in GTD, though it was mostly self-inflicted. NASCAR had a phenomenal race from Darlington. Max Verstappen’s team won on the road at the Nürburgring but was disqualified for using one too many sets of tires. Sadly, Grand Prix of Long Beach president and CEO Jim Michaelian passed away, aged 83. With a little less action this weekend, it was a chance for reflection over what we are seeing in every competition. 

Are We Too Smart For Our Own Good?

March has kept us all occupied. Through four weekends, each weekend fills a little more lively. With IndyCar and Formula One off, it allowed for more time to think, and my mind drifted over what we have seen over the last few weeks. It is hard to ignore the displeasure. 

IndyCar caught a break in the last two races that were fairly active and Álex Palou did not win. After the first race in St. Petersburg, there was plenty of angst over how the season started and the remaining races to come. A stellar Phoenix race and a battle in Arlington has quieted the disgruntled… for now. Formula One has not been as fortunate. 

The first two races have started out well, and we have seen active opening stints, so far between Mercedes and Ferrari. Cars have passed at the start. Cars have run closer together. Then the Mercedes pull away. That has been the theme over the first two races. There are portions of close racing at the front, and then the last two-thirds, maybe half the race, is a forgone conclusion. If anything, the battles have remained semi-frequent in the middle of the field and for the other points positions. The DRS trains have been eradicated with the new active aerodynamic pieces.

We have action and at an above average level for Formula One through the first two races, and yet there has been a notable portion of viewers that have been dissatisfied with what we are saying. Drivers are feeling the same way. Max Verstappen is the leading driver who is not enthused with the new regulations. However, Lewis Hamilton might be the biggest proponent saying this is the best racing he has ever had in his career. I am also sure the Mercedes group is pleased.

Are we too smart for our our good? Do we know too much about racing, what is going on, why thinks are happening on track and how the cars are driven, and does that prevent us from having any enjoyment in what we are watching? 

Over the last few years, my mind has wondered to what it was like being a motorsports fan in the 1960s or 1970s or even the 1980s. Coverage was not this abundant. You got races on televisions occasionally. Practice sessions were not televised. Qualifying was not televised. There was National Speed Sport News and a few other publications, but there was no way to consume an endless flow of information of motorsports. You got your weekly, or perhaps monthly update. If something was big enough to crack a newspaper, you learned a little more. Fandom was more innocent but also more relaxed. Those fandoms could live on a little because not much more existed. 

The closest thing I can imagine what the 1960s or 1970s were like is when I go to a race track as a spectator, and I have no clue what is going on during the race. I like to wander around a course with my camera and take photographs from different vantage points. I am watching. I know who started at the front. I know who is still at the front and who had problems, but I know so little. I can see the gap, but I have no clue the exact time between the two cars. Some areas have a public address system and video boards. You get snippets of the broadcast and you know who is leading and how the cars are running, but you still have to form your own picture of what is happening, and sometimes you aren’t sure why a car lost five positions. You figure pit stops will happen, but you are not sure when everyone last stopped and how long a pit window can actually be. 

That was the normal viewing experience for practically the entire 20th century. And people loved it! 

Do not mistakes this for a call to return to being a Luddite. We have so much at our disposal, and we should be happy that so much information is available to us. We know what tire compound is being used and whether those tires are worn or not in every IndyCar race and we can follow along to the tire strategy through Firestone’s live timing. That is incredible, but I feel we are missing out and expecting more to love because we believe we know exactly how a race should be. We also believe we know everything that is wrong. 

There must have been a time 50 or 60 years ago when people went to the racetrack because they loved motorsports, and races didn't come around that often. Think about how many fewer races there were back then. If IndyCar was coming to town, it was the highlight of the spring or summer. You were going because you loved the engineering and cars pushing the limits. It was your one chance to see it. The same goes for Formula One. People weren't dissecting the racing. In a way, all they wanted to see was fast cars on is racetrack. They weren’t worried about passing and downforce creating dirty air or how tire wear would play a role. In a sense, racing then wasn't racing as you think about it today. 

We have created a myth about what happened even if there is actual documentation. Race broadcasts exist. We can see what it was like, and it was nothing like we have today, and I don't mean the past definitively had better races. 

The racing of the 1960s didn't have 10,000 passes every race. They were not wide-open affairs that anyone could win. Races were different, but people just wanted to see the cars on the track, fall in awe of the speed and the level the drivers were competing at, and perhaps feel close to something dangerous, thrill-seekers even if they didn’t want to admit it. Pit stops were nearly non-existent. Everyone would use one set of tires, no re-fueling and just go for 100 miles or 200 miles. No one was worried about fuel strategy even if teams back then had a harder limit on fuel they could use during a race. In some cases, teams didn't last long enough for fuel to be a factor. 

It is not better nor it is worse. It is just different. Take a race from 1976. People were not showing up expecting a two-stop strategy or maybe a three-stop strategy but an early caution would force cars to save fuel and dictate the strategy. Every car was saving fuel, especially in IndyCar. There was a limit each team had each race, but not everyone was going to make it. A car had to go long enough before that could become a concern. 

Pieces broke left-and-right. Some engines were not meant to go further than halfway. Cars were falling out of the race or running conservatively enough just to get the car further in the race that it isn't like today. Every car can make it to the end. Every car knows how many laps they must make on a stint to have the race be done in two stops. Everyone is effectively on the same strategy because what other choice is there and why do something wild and stupid? That is what makes a modern race feel more dull. 

Fifty years ago, anyone and everyone could break down and from any position. You never knew if a car had to be nursed home and if that would allow someone to take control of a race. There was not urgency from 25 teams to save fuel from the immediate start of the race. At least ten of the teams likely didn’t expect to make it the distance, and if nearly half the field has no belief it will see the checkered flag that changes the makeup of the race. Every race had its unknowns, and they were arguably greater than today. 

What we have today is an evolution, whether we want to admit it or not. Everyone is going to make it to the end. It becomes tougher to get ahead when everyone is running essentially the same strategy. Everyone is trying to hit the same fuel windows. The field doesn't get spread out. Teams are not nursing cars to the finish. It becomes stagnant quickly. Attempts have been made to mix it up, and we just end up hating it. 

Hello, alternate tires which may force a team to stop ten laps earlier than for fuel because a car does not have any grip and is losing time. Hello, movable aerodynamic parts to decrease drag and potentially allow a car to have an advantage in traffic. Hello, push-to-pass, energy deployment systems and the like and the push for road relevance in an increasingly electric automobile world. 

And we hate it because it is not "pure" but few think about what purity means in this context. If it was what happened 50 or 60 years ago, I think many would hate it more should it be reincarnated in the year 2026. 

We think we know what we want or what is good. Good is subjective and constantly changing. That is a problem, especially for series trying to keep up with the expectations of the viewer. How are they to know when we change of minds? 

Do we get in our own way? 

The first two races of this Formula One season might not be like last year or the first two races of 2006, but the anger and dissatisfaction over it not being what we previously saw, whether it be yesterday or 20 years ago, is a waste of sorts. 

This is what it is, and if you focus on what it is and how it is playing out, you can see action and excitement. 

It is different. It doesn't feel comfortable from what we know. Energy recovery and speeds slowing at the end of a straightaway is a notable difference, but everyone is working on energy recovery and energy deployment. This is the new strategy. If you are going to discredit all action as artificial because battles and passes are down to when teams are recovery and deploying energy at different times, you are bound to be miserable. Nothing will be good enough, but the racing of 20 years ago is not returning, and even if it was you might not even like that either.

We have constructed our past as perfect but we are likely boosting the best moments and glorifying those as how it always was. It wasn't. There were definitely good times. There might have been more good times back then compared to now, but the amount is unlikely to be substantially greater than what we have today. 

As we have completed a quarter of the 21st century, I wonder if we are spoiled and use the 20th century, especially the second half of it too much as a measuring stick for how things should be across all walks of life. Everyone just wants the 90s or 80s or 70s. Everyone wants Lolas and Reynards. Everyone wants V10s. Everyone wants the past. And yet, everyone wants a past where innovation was plentiful and the cars were inspiring. How can you go backward and yet continue to innovate?

Nothing says progress like looking and moving backward. 

Every series could give you exactly what the viewer wants. Every series could develop a car that has as many passes as possible and as much speed as possible. We all know the elements of closer racing and the conditions that keep cars together... and even if that was given, there would be a segment of the fanbase that would hate it! You could get exactly as you wish, and then everyone would complain about things being stale (Hello, DW12 chassis!). 

Are we smart or are inconsolable to a point of obnoxiousness? Are we the only barrier to our own enjoyment and happiness? Are we too stubborn?

Perhaps, the best decision would be to change our mindset, and have greater openness. Perhaps what will cure most of our saltiness is if we stopped trying to return to something that is long gone and something we don't even accurately recollect anyway, and come to terms with what is in front of us and how it is exciting in its own way. 

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez, but did you know...

The #7 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche of Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich won the 74th 12 Hours of Sebring. The #2 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson of Mikkel Jensen, Hunter McElrea and Phil Fayer won in LMP2. The #911 Manthey Racing Porsche of Klaus Bachler, Ricardo Feller and Thomas Preining won in GTD Pro. The #21 AF Corse Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Simon Mann and Lilou Wadoux won in GTD.

Daniel Holgado won the Moto2 race from Brazil. Máximo Quiles won the Moto3 race.

António Félix da Costa won the Madrid ePrix, his second consecutive victory.

Tyler Reddick won the NASCAR Cup race from Darlington, his fourth victory of the season. Justin Allgaier won the Grand National Series race, his second victory of the season. Corey Heim won the Truck race.

Hunter Lawrence won the Supercross race from Birmingham, his third victory of the season. Cole Davies won the 250cc East-West showdown race after Haiden Deegan received a penalty for cutting the course. 

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar keeps the Birmingham-area busy with its round at Barber Motorsports Park.

Formula One has the Japanese Grand Prix before an unexpected month off. 

MotoGP heads north to Austin, Texas.

NASCAR is at Martinsville.

World Superbike will be at Portimão.

GT World Challenge America opens its season at Sonoma.

Supercross will be in Detroit.

Track Analysis: Washington, D.C.

IndyCar has wrapped up three consecutive race weekends to open the 2026 season, and while we have seen three different winners from three different teams with each of those race winners leading the championship, there has been more than just the championship going on in IndyCar circles.

During this busy start to the season, IndyCar has also revealed the track layout for the inaugural Washington, D.C. race, which is scheduled to happen on August 23. The event was added to the schedule in late-January, a little less than eight months from the announcement to the green flag. It took a little more than a month , but a course layout was made public prior to the Grand Prix of Arlington weekend. 

The track will use part of the National Mall with the start/finish line in front of the United States Capitol building before using Pennsylvania Avenue and a combination of streets to complete the 1.7-mile track. 

It is not the most technical course. Of the seven turns, six are left-hand corners. It is a pretty condensed circuit. The longest straightaway is about a half-mile. It looks like a racetrack that was designed at the last minute and constricted to a very tight area. Some have expressed a lack of enthusiasm with the course design. We do not know how this track will run though, and just because it is not inspiring on paper does not mean it will not produce competitive racing.

We have seen enough street races in IndyCar that we can use the dimensions of the Washington, D.C. course and compare it to other tracks to set expectations. 

For starters, let's use the longest straightaway. Running from turn one to turn two, this part of the track will also host the pit lane on the inside. It is list as 0.4 miles in length. For context, the main straightaway at St. Petersburg is about 0.4 miles in length before a tight right-hand corner. This straightaway is nearly a mirror image of the opening part of the St. Petersburg course. That part of St. Petersburg generates a good amount of passing, but that is coming from a slower hairpin corner and this straightaway in Washington will follow a less tight corner, which could help carry more speed and allow cars to get a better run into the corner. 

After turn two, the course becomes pretty choppy. The run from turn two to turn three on 9th Street and the run from turn three to turn four on Constitution Avenue will each be a tenth of a mile in length. It is unlikely we will see much action there. A comparable section would be Toronto from turn four through turn six. It is a 90-degree left-hander between two straightaways that are each around a tenth of a mile in length. We saw passes in turn five of Toronto though not a crazy amount. This part of the Washington, D.C. course could see some action, though it is not likely.

The only saving grace could be if a car can hold the outside of turn two and turn three in Washington, D.C. it could form an advantage of having the inside of turn four. The cars will likely be going slow enough that it could stick. We saw drivers at Toronto be on the outside of turn three and have it turn into an advantage of being the inside of turn five. The difference though is turn four at Toronto was a slight left-hand corner and not a 90-degree left-hander like turn three in Washington, which should make it tougher to stick such an outside move.

The next portion of the course opens up, and the run from turn four to turn five, 7th Street, will be about 0.3 miles, not the longest run on the track, but not short either. At St. Petersburg, the straightaway from turn three to turn four is about a quarter-mile in length, and we see passes there, though they are less plentiful. They happen but we also know that part of St. Petersburg is not long enough that we constant passes there. Will the Washington, D.C. course benefit from that extra 0.05 miles heading to turn five? Maybe.

The next straightaway, Independence Avenue, is also about 0.3 miles in length from turns five to turn six, but the issue is turn six is barely a turn and it leads to what is barely a straightaway. Maryland Avenue is a blink from turn six to the final turn on the course, turn seven. It is less than a tenth of a mile in length. 

Think of Long Beach and the section exiting the fountain to the right-handed turn four or that brief straightaway at St. Petersburg from turn eight to turn nine. The only difference is at Long Beach and St. Petersburg there are slow corners leading to those brief straightaways while at Washington, D.C. it will come after a proper straightaway. I imagine cars will be lifting and coasting onto Maryland Avenue before having to brake for the final corner of the circuit, the left-hander onto 3rd Street.

It could be an active section where if the inside is open, a driver would have the opportunity to dive into turn seven to get a spot. It is also a portion of the track that is currently occupied with a fair amount of road furniture. There is a complete traffic island in the middle of the street that likely will need to be cleared. In its current configuration, it is not practical to race on, and it would be purely single-file. Turn six would be an actual corner if the island is still there, but there is no way two cars could fit side-by-side. A pass would need to be completed before corner entry. Any accident there would cause a red flag for track blockage. 

Outside of the island currently in the middle of turn six on Maryland Avenue, the only other street furniture that will need to be seriously addressed is a much smaller island in the middle of turn two. There are bollards and traffic lights that will need to be removed on Pennsylvania Avenue, which is likely a hassle and will require re-instillation after the race, but those will not require jackhammers and paving equipment. The work in turn two and turn six would require that. 

Taking what we see and know from the Washington, D.C. course and comparing it to similar elements on other recent IndyCar street courses, what can we expect?

There is possibly one good passing area and another decent one, but outside of that, it could be tight and lead to less action. 

Turn two and turn five are where we will likely see passes. Everyone thinks turn two is the one part of the course where drivers can make moves. Turn five will be another spot where it would not be surprising to see passes. We could see some type of passes attempted in turn six or turn seven depending on the road work that is done. The straightaway on Independence Avenue is long enough that someone could make an attempt, but the issue is how quick turn six will be and how tight will that section of the course be. If the island is cleared and paved over it could widen the track significantly enough that turn seven becomes a possible passing area. We must wait and see on that. 

It is a track that is probably most similar to St. Petersburg, minus the longer section of the course with the kink between turns nine and ten. The shorter straightaways are something basically every street course has in common. The difference is the combination of corners and what leads to those straightaways. 

Turn two through turn four will likely be slower and one of the slower sections of a track in IndyCar. The concern is that section of the course funneling everyone into a single-file line and it becoming more difficult to get a run to pass someone into turn five. If everyone is going 45 mph or slower for nearly a quarter-mile, the speed is not going to be great enough heading into turn five for a pass to be attempted. If you cannot make a pass there, you are likely not getting another chance at position until you are entering turn two again on the next lap. 

It is March and IndyCar is just about to have its first off-weekend of the season. There is still a long time between now and then, and we would think over the next few months we will see progress made toward setting up this event. They aren't going to start tomorrow. If you think about most street courses, the construction doesn't start until about two months prior to the race. Long Beach's course is constructed in 50 days. Long Beach is also an event with 50 years of history and has developed a rhythm. 

We shouldn't start wondering about progress and track construction until the start of June. With this race being thrown together so late and IndyCar's involved as it is essentially another series-promoted race, I don't think the ball will really get moving in Washington, D.C. until after Detroit, another series-promoted race. 

Based on what we know, we can set some sort of expectations. We reserve the right to adjust those based on how things are developing as we get into summer and closer to the actual race weekend.

Musings From the Weekend: Mo-Mo-Momentum

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...

It was a sprint weekend in China, and a near 20-year drought ended. Formula One's April opened up as the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia rounds were postponed due to conflict in the Middle East. Max Verstappen confirmed his Nürburgring 24 Hour program with Mercedes-AMG. F1 the movie won the Academy Award for Best Sound. Conor Daly will drive for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing at the Indianapolis 500. It was a generally positive weekend in Arlington where Kyle Kirkwood took victory, and IndyCar has concluded a three-week swing to start the season where it saw some actual momentum.

Mo-Mo-Momentum

Three weeks, three races, and IndyCar feels like it has established itself in 2026, something that would not be the case in the recent past. It has been well-covered IndyCar's struggles with scheduling, and for a long-time the start of the season has been disjointed. There would be St. Petersburg, but then there would be three weeks or four weeks until the next race, and then there might be another two weeks to the race after that. Even before the third race of this streak, IndyCar was seeing the benefit of being present. 

Viewership did not fall off the cliff from race one to race two as we saw in 2025, and for a Saturday afternoon race in Phoenix, viewership exceeded expectations. It is still early in the season, but IndyCar announced its presences to start 2026. It has not been hidden, and there is slim chance if you have been following either IndyCar or NASCAR or any Fox propety that you did not know IndyCar was back. The only question is what took so long? 

Some aspects of scheduling have been out of IndyCar's control, but IndyCar also made a choice not prioritizing a greater balance at the start of its season and making sure it was regularly active and available. It didn't necessarily need to be a weekly thing for the first part of March, it just had to be more present, and not go missing for a handful of weeks while NASCAR and Formula One were running at a consistent rate and the rest of the sports world remained busy. 

How long will this last? And this question covers two fronts.

In the macro, IndyCar's start to 2026 will need to carry over the entire season. Even for NASCAR, the viewership does not remain at the same level from the opening portion of the season to the very end. NASCAR has a great opening month or so, but viewership dips as spring starts and continues a decline into the summer. There are periods where it levels out. Even at the end of the season, the final races are pretty even, but far from where they started. 

IndyCar has actually been pretty consistent in comparison. The difference is the viewership is pretty low. IndyCar is aiming for a million viewers each race while NASCAR is somewhere in the four million range before dropping to the three million range and then settling the finish of its season somewhere in the two million range. 

Some IndyCar races hit a million. Some races falls short. For the opening two races to be over 1.2 million viewers is a big change for the series, and it is the level IndyCar should be looking for. It needs incremental growth. Last year was bolstered because of a big rise in the Indianapolis 500, but plenty of races were down, and there were eight consecutive races where IndyCar did not draw over 800,000 viewers from Gateway in June until the Nashville season finale. It needs more races to be over a million and in that 1.2 million range. If it can have half the races at that level, it will be a great season, and it will show how important a good start will be. 

Now, how long will this last? 

IndyCar was able to have three consecutive weeks of races to open 2026 and four race weekends during the five weekends of March, but it will not always line up that way. The Phoenix race was a combination weekend with NASCAR. Everyone was positive about the experience but that doesn't mean it will continue. That also doesn't mean NASCAR will not move Phoenix. If Phoenix is moved to late February, will IndyCar still tag along and have its season opener be on a NASCAR weekend when it will be third on the totem pole? What if Phoenix moves to the same weekend as St. Petersburg or Arlington? This is where you must be careful with what you wish for. It is an event IndyCar has no control over and it must make accommodations should NASCAR want it to continue. 

Even if it isn't three races on the spin, IndyCar needs to be around and keep people engaged, though I would argue a pair of races to start would be a good thing. It is a six-month off season. To have a race and then have it followed with a week off is not the start IndyCar needs. It would be good to return and remain around for a minute. People need to get back in the flow of the season. They have already have enough of a break. Some up and stick around for a while. Disappearing, even if only for a week, should be avoided. 

If there is anything to learn from this three-week period is IndyCar should make it a priority to be around. Some aspects of scheduling are out of its control, but it is ultimately IndyCar's choice how present it wants to be. Not being around for most of March should no longer be a choice. Even without Phoenix, it has three parts. We know we can trust on St. Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park being around. Arlington just completed year one and street courses do not have long shelf lives, but the pieces are at least there for 2027, and IndyCar can make a choice to prioritizing filling the start of the season when considering future venues.

There is still an upcoming break. There is a week off before Barber on March 29, but then there will be two weeks off until Long Beach. One of those is Easter and there is a general acceptance that no race is going to draw well on Easter. It is a built in off-week. Is taking the following week off going to be too much? We will have to wait and see, but the difference from 2025 to 2026 is IndyCar will have four races in the bag by the time we get to Long Beach unlike last year when it had only two races in the six weeks prior.

We will see how far this momentum goes. Long Beach is the final race before the month of May, and Kyle Larson is not walking through that door. We will find out how well Arlington did soon enough and maybe we will find it fell back down to earth and was level to where things were in 2025. In that case, the work will continue, but if things carry over for another race, there will be good reason to feel positive. The hard part will be keeping it up over remainder of the season. It isn't supposed to be easy.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Kyle Kirkwood, but did you know...

Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Chinese Grand Prix, his first career victory. George Russell won the sprint race. 

Max Taylor won the Indy Lights race from Arlington. Leonardo Escarpioni and Jeff Jeffers split the USF Pro 2000 races.

Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup race from Las Vegas, his 61st career victory. Kyle Larson won the Grand National Series race.

Takamoto Katsuta won Safari Rally Kenya, his first career victory.

Coming Up This Weekend

MotoGP makes its first trip to Brazil in over two decades.

It is 12 Hours of Sebring weekend.

NASCAR is not throwing it back in Darlington.

Formula E has its first race at Jarama.

Supercross returns from its week off with a round in Birmingham.

First Impressions: Arlington 2026

1. After missing out on the final round of qualifying yesterday for the Grand Prix of Arlington, Kyle Kirkwood looked poised to move forward, but with how difficult competition can be in IndyCar, sacrificing four or five spots on the grid can be too much to overcome for victory. He was always going to head forward, and with Álex Palou starting second, Palou was going to be the final boss Kirkwood would have to beat. In Kirkwood's case, seventh was not too much. 

After the final pit cycle, Palou led Kirkwood and Kirkwood had just come off his third slow pit stop of the race. However, despite the woes with tire changers, Kirkwood had the fastest car today, and with 21 laps remaining on the final stint, there was plenty of time for Kirkwood to close the two-second gap to Palou. It happened in no time, and it looked inevitable Kirkwood would get the top spot. He took the lead with plenty of laps to spare with a bold move to the inside of turn 14, reminiscent of what Andretti Global's Indy Lights driver Max Taylor pulled off to win the junior series race earlier in the day. Like Taylor, Kirkwood took the lead and then drove into the distance.

A late restart added a wrinkle, but Kirkwood's victory was never in doubt, thanks to Nolan Siegel running into the back of Romain Grosjean, but even before then, it was unlikely Palou or anyone else was going to surpass Kirkwood's pace in a 2.73-mile sprint to the finish. 

This is the type of start to the season Kirkwood needed, especially after how 2025 ended with no top five finishes in the second half of the season. Three consecutive top five finishes has Kirkwood in the championship lead. 

There are still plenty of areas where this team must improve. The qualifying pace was there in Arlington after two shoddy weekends, but the team botched the strategy and it was all due to poor communication and Kirkwood not knowing he was supposed to run a third lap on his final run. It wasn't the end of the world, but starting seventh versus potentially starting on pole position is a big setback. We have seen fast cars have to start in the middle of the top ten and then have to settle for a podium finish. It is also a point lost. Pole position pays a point, and we have seen championships decided by less. 

Then there was the pit stop problem. I cannot remember the last time a team had three sloppy pit stops under green flag conditions on a street course and won it. The team did Kirkwood no favors today, and Andretti Global has a history of this (see a handful of races Colton Herta lost due to poor pit stops). The team can celebrate but the debrief tomorrow will likely highlight where this race was nearly lost. It was a good day, but far from great.

2. Álex Palou was second-best today. So what? Palou was second-best to Kirkwood last year in the third race of the season. Who won the championship? 

We know Palou will be fine. The pressure will be on Kirkwood. Palou is going to probably finish in the top five in ten more races this year. Can Kirkwood keep up? This year, Kirkwood leaves the third race with a 24-point championship lead on the rest of the field. Is that going to be enough to hold off Palou? Probably not. 

Palou ran well today. He looked like he was toying with Marcus Ericsson on the first stint. It felt like Palou was just waiting to take the lead during the pit cycle. That is what happened. Palou was stuck behind Will Power during second-third of the race as Power ran a two-stop strategy and dragged out the alternate tires as long as he could. It worked. While Palou did take the lead as Power lost time with a slow pit stop, Palou being stuck behind Power allowed Kirkwood to close in and it allowed Kirkwood to win the race as the deficit was not as great as it could have been.

What Palou needed was to take the lead from Power on the track and run about five or six laps in the lead to open a gap that would have been too much for Kirkwood to overcome. It wasn't anything Palou did wrong. Power deserves praise for how he drove on the alternate tire. It sounded like Palou ran with extra downforce today, and on the long straightaways that was the difference and allowed Kirkwood to come out on top. 

Oh well. Palou is likely going to win in two weeks at Barber Motorsports Park. How is Kirkwood going to do? 

3. Will Power was the only driver to pull off the two-stop strategy and running a 22-lap stint and a 24-lap stint on the alternate tire allowed him to finish third. It was a bold strategy for a car starting fourth, and after the first stint, it felt dicey that it would work. Stretching one stint is manageable, but there was a reason no other team attempted to stretch two stints. To be honest, no one stratevch these tires like Power did. Power had the setup that allowed it and he didn't lose significant time. I was surprised he held onto the lead when Palou was in his wake. 

Power had his own slow stop. Without it, Power possibly comes out ahead of Palou and Kirkwood. I doubt that because both those drivers ran three laps longer. Power exited the pit lane behind Patricio O'Ward, which cost him time. Then he ran wide in a corner and that allowed David Malukas through when Malukas still had to make his final pit stop. Power still ran well today and he got a good result when he had one get away from him last week. Third is a great day for this group.

4. Even though he started on pole position, there was no expectation that Marcus Ericsson was going to win this race. I didn't even think Ericsson would be in contention for the podium. He really wasn't, but he remained in the top five. He had good pace in the opening stint, but he clearly did not have a race-winning car. He lost spots on the first pit stop, as was the case for every Andretti driver today, but Ericsson did not slip further than that.

After last season, Ericsson just needs good days. Being the third-best Andretti driver in a race doesn't sound great, but when it is third-out-of-three and you finish fourth, that is nearly a perfect day for the team, especially when the team was woeful across the board on the pit lane. The three drivers bailed out the organization today. It isn't often that every driver bailed out a performance of every pit crew. It is usually the other way around. 

5. Patricio O'Ward had another quiet day lead to a fifth-place finish. O'Ward was in the top five the entire race, but he was never a factor. He was never pushing Palou or the Andretti drivers. Fifth is right for him today. It is a third consecutive top five finish to start the season. These are good results. These are the results a driver needs if he wants to defeat Palou for the championship.

We know O'Ward can win races on a variety of disciplines, and he can be consistent throughout the season. He feels like a bigger threat to Palou than Kirkwood at this moment. This is a good start and we know O'Ward will find his own as we get on ovals and run some more familiar tracks.

6. David Malukas was moved up to sixth after Felix Rosenqvist was penalized for jumping the only restart, which we will cover in a moment, but Malukas had spent much of that final stint in sixth. He was in the top ten all day. He was the top Penske finisher in his third start with the team. It is good. He still doesn't have a top five finish on a road or street course and didn't look to be a threat for one today, but he got a sixth-place finish when he probably should have finished sixth. It is better than being seventh.

7. Moving up to seventh was Christian Lundgaard after the penalty for Rosenqvist. Lundgaard overcame a spin at the start when he was hit from behind. He earned this result and he looked strong despite the setback. He was still starting 18th today. Even without the contact, this is likely as good as it would have been. It is still a good recovery after a bad qualifying result.

8. Scott Dixon did the first four laps on the alternate tire and then did 11 laps on the alternate tire and satisfied the two-stint alternate tire requirement before the top three finishers even made their first pit stops. Dixon was on a four-stopper and he turned it into an eighth-place finish. He even had a set of new alternate tires for the final 11 laps. 

I think there is some surprise more teams didn't try this strategy. A few tried it, but I think the alternate tire did better than expected, and instead of teams being desperate to get off them in less than ten laps, teams could go 15 laps, or in Power's case, a full fuel stint. Dixon had to employ this strategy because he started 20th. Qualifying results are what this team must work on.

9. Alexander Rossi started tenth and he finished ninth. Rossi didn't do anything notable in this race. If anything, he caught a break that his Ed Carpenter Racing teammate Christian Rasmussen broke down four laps to the finish and there was an attempted restart, which immediately caused an accident and led to Felix Rosenqvist receiving a 14-spot penalty. Rossi was gifted a position, as was everyone that finished seventh to 20th. 

10. One Meyer Shank Racing driver's misfortune is another Meyer Shank Racing driver's reward, as Rosenqvist's penalty lifted Marcus Armstrong to tenth though Armstrong was probably one of the ten best drivers today. He might have been even better than that. Armstrong had to stop immediate at the start of the race due to a tire puncture. It set him back, but he was on a charge for this entire race. He was basically forced to the Scott Dixon strategy, except Armstrong had to end on the primary tire. He was pushing for tenth before the cautions at the end of the race. Without those, I think Armstrong was going to finish tenth. Even if he ended 11th, that would have been a fine result considering how his race started.

11. An argument can be made that Kirkwood, Armstrong or Scott McLaughlin had the best drive today. McLaughlin started last and he was a force in the first stint. He ran two quick stints on the alternate tire in the middle of the race. He was on the verge of the top ten at that point, and then his race stalled out. Once Armstrong was on fresher tires, McLaughlin had to play defense. Eleventh is a good day for McLaughlin. He might have had the best Penske car.

12. Let's breeze through the order: Caio Collet was 12th, the top rookie. Collet didn't do anything flashy, but he was hanging with Rossi, Armstrong and McLaughlin. That is a good race for Collet. 

Louis Foster was 13th after starting 13th. Foster ran the final three stints on the alternate tire. That isn't a bad strategy because all three of those were new sets but what must Foster do to get a top ten finish? Twenty starts and still no top ten finishes in his IndyCar career. That isn't good.

Rinus VeeKay was 14th. That is fine. There will be plenty of these races where VeeKay is 14th or 15th and that is the best Juncos Hollinger Racing was going to do. He did seven laps on his opening stint on the alternate tire. Then he did 20 laps on the alternate tire on the next stint. The team was committed to the strategy but adjusted when it saw Power running longer. The bed was made though.

13. Josef Newgarden probably should have been in the top ten, but exiting pit lane Newgarden had contact with David Malukas in turn three and it cost him a bunch of spots. It was innocuous, but it spun Newgarden sideways and it took him a while to get pointed forward. It felt like it was only going to cost him five or six spots and he would just outside the top ten. Instead, he was barely inside the top twenty. I feel like this screwed up the team's strategy because he went onto a used set of primary tire after that and then finished on a new alternate set. It got him a few spots, but it did not lead to a quick recovery.

14. Dennis Hauger was 16th. He did nothing special, but it was good he completed laps. 

Santino Ferrucci was a little fortunate to make the second round of qualifying yesterday. Ferrucci slid backward during the race. His car wasn't that great and he finished 17th. 

Graham Rahal had a rough weekend on a street course. That isn't new. The pace was not there. He started 24th and finished 18th. It could have been worse.

Kyffin Simpson hit his own tire on his first pit stop, and it ricochetted into Scott Dixon's crew as Dixon made a pit stop. It didn't really slow Dixon's crew down, but it was a hazard Simpson caused. It led to a penalty, and he never overcame that. He ended up finishing 19th and was a non-factor all race.

15. And we make it to Felix Rosenqvist! Rosenqvist was in for a solid top ten finish, and that is where he spent the entire race. However, in IndyCar's attempt for a restart with one lap to go, Rosenqvist saw an opportunity to get a spot. Unfortunately, Rosenqvist passed David Malukas before the restart line after the exit of turn 14. About five seconds later, Nolan Siegel plowed into the back of Romain Grosjean, and last ditch sprint was over in a blink. 

Rosenqvist passed Malukas before the restart line. Absolutely. It should not have been a 14-spot penalty and relegated him from what should have been seventh to 20th. Redress the positions. Move Malukas back to sixth and place Rosenqvist in seventh. If Rosenqvist had made this move and put Malukas into the tires and cost Malukas more positions beyond one, then yes, send Rosenqvist to the back of the order. That didn't happen.

IndyCar rushed to have a restart. Kirkwood was not behind the pace car when he started two laps to go. Cars were still on the long straightaway even when Kirkwood reached the pace car. Anyone watching knew there was going to be an accident in an attempt to run one more lap when the race result was already decided. There was too much bite in this penalty. We have seen far worse on-track contact not lead to such a penalty. Flip the spots but penalizing Rosenqvist 14 spots is like giving a prison sentence for jaywalking while vehicular homicide gets overlooked.

16. As for the lapped cars. Sting Ray Robb was 21st and did nothing. Mick Schumacher wasn't have a great race, and when he spun after a pit stop after a slight touch from Josef Newgarden, nearly a mirror image to what happened to Newgarden on the previous pit cycle, it was a gut-punch at the end of a tough day. These have been three challenging circuits for Schumacher to start his IndyCar career. He should feel better at Barber.

It appears Nolan Siegel plowed into the back of Romain Grosjean. Neither driver had a great race prior to that. Siegel just rubbed salt in both their wounds. Grosjean is likely not pleased. Siegel is another race closer to his dismal.

Does Siegel make it to the Indianapolis 500? Think about it! Would Arrow McLaren be better off with someone else in that car? McLaren has Patricio O'Ward, Christian Lundgaard was respectable last year, and it added Ryan Hunter-Reay. It has three contenders. It very well could find a fourth. There is no way you can believe in Siegel at this point. 

17. Christian Rasmussen was not having a great day either prior to his car breaking down with four laps remaining. Throw in his Phoenix result, and the first three races look worse than they actually have been for Rasmussen. 

Could we have just ignored his parked car with three to go? Rasmussen was stopped, but turns one through three were pretty slow. He wasn't in a position where he could easily be hit. If he was hit, it would have been another car spinning at 60 mph. He was right at pit exit. 

This is why IndyCar should have virtual safety car. If they could attempt to make a restart with one lap to go in this scenario, it could have virtual safety car, slow the field down and just pushed Rasmussen aside. It was basically what IndyCar did except it packed up the field and gave Siegel an easier target to hit. 

There could even be a modified virtual safety car. IndyCar could slow the section of the course where the car is stopped, in this case it could have been from the exit of turn 14 through turn three and the rest of the course could have been open for racing. That is essentially what Code 60 is in a handful of sports car championships. 

We have been talking about virtual safety car for over a decade, and IndyCar has made zero effort to adopt it even if it would help the series and allow for more green flag racing and less of a hassle with fully slowing down the field. It isn't happening. Though IndyCar did just attempted single-car runs for the final round of qualifying, so maybe it is possible. We will see it in 2035. 

18. It was a good race and a good weekend for Arlington. Where were all these people for the final five years of the Texas Motor Speedway event? Again, Texas Motor Speedway didn't go away because of the racing... it partially went away because of the racing (Do you remember how bad the high-line was those last few years?) It mostly went away because no one was there. Did no one show up because it was an oval? Because of the start time? Because of the lack of promotion? Some combination? 

Either way, it is another case of IndyCar returning to a market and immediately seeing a massive crowd in a new location. We saw it a decade ago when Road America returned. All of a sudden 50,000 people were there on race day when Milwaukee struggled to get 15,000. All that changed was where the race was held and who was promoting it. 

A great effort was put into Arlington. The race was good, and a crowd showed up. That is all you need. No one was complaining about cost, yet. Let's give it another year. Street courses do not last long. The tide can turn quickly. However, it was a strong start, and IndyCar should be racing in the state of Texas. This was the best option. 

19. And now we get an off-week. 

This was a fun start to the start. We saw the best driver in IndyCar beat down the field when it didn't look like it was going to happen, we saw a thrilling oval race that went to the closing laps, and we saw a high-speed street race where the winner worked his way forward from the middle of the top ten in a race that was practically caution-free until the very end. 

That is a pretty solid start to the season. Take a breather before heading to Barber. 

Morning Warm-Up: Arlington 2026

For the first time in his IndyCar career, Marcus Ericsson will start on pole position as Ericsson had the fastest lap at 94.3562 seconds in the final round of qualifying for the Grand Prix of Arlington. At 117 races, this is the fourth-longest wait for a first career pole position in IndyCar history. This is the eighth time in IndyCar history a driver has taken over 100 races to get his first pole position. It is Ericsson's first pole position in any series since June 29, 2013 when he started first for the GP2 feature race from Silverstone. Ericsson's last three top ten finishes have come on street courses. Unfortunately, he has 16 finishes outside the top ten in that time span. It has been 52 starts since Ericsson's most recent victory at the 2023 St. Petersburg season opener.

Álex Palou takes second on the grid after coming 0.4618 seconds shy of Ericsson's time. This is the 21st time in his career Palou is starting on the front row, however, he has only won from the second starting position once previously. It came last season at Road America. Palou has finished in the top five of the third race of the season every year in his career. His finishes in the third race of the season are third, fourth, third, fifth, fifth and second. 

Patricio O’Ward will start third, and O'Ward was 0.0273 seconds off making the front row. O'Ward was the only Chevrolet to make the Fast Six. This is his tenth consecutive race starting in the top ten. He is looking for his third consecutive top five finish. He has never had three consecutive top five finishes to open a season. With his fourth-place finish at Phoenix, O'Ward now has 50 top five finishes in his career and 70 top ten finishes.

Will Power has his best starting position of the season in fourth position. This is Power's first race staring in the top ten this season. After finishing 22nd and 16th in the first two races, Power is on the verge of his first season without a top ten finish in the first three races since 2017. Only one of Power's last 17 victories has come on a street course. That was Belle Isle in 2022. He has not won one of the first three races in a season since he won the 2014 season opener.

Felix Rosenqvist will lead an all-Meyer Shank Racing row three. Rosenqvist has finished 12th in the first two races of the season. It is the first time Rosenqvist has finished in the same position in consecutive races since he was tenth at Barber Motorsports Park and Long Beach in 2019, his third and fourth starts in IndyCar. Rosenqvist has not had a top five finish since he was runner-up at Road America, ten races ago.

Marcus Armstrong is on the outside of his teammate Rosenqvist. This is Armstrong's best start of the season, and it is his sixth consecutive time at least making the second round of qualifying on a street course. He has always made it out of the first round on a street course while driving for Meyer Shank Racing. Despite this, his best street course finish with the team is sixth, and he has failed to finish in the top ten in four of five street course starts at MSR.

Kyle Kirkwood fell 0.0415 seconds short of making it to the final round of qualifying, and Kirkwood will start seventh at Arlington. This is his 11th consecutive race without a top five start. Kirkwood was fastest in each practice session ahead of qualifying. He did win from eighth on the streets of Nashville in 2023. In the third race of the season, Kirkwood has finished tenth, first, tenth and first over his first four IndyCar seasons. 

Christian Rasmussen matches his career-best starting position of eighth, and it is his best starting position on a street course. He started eighth at Mid-Ohio in 2024. This is only the fourth time in the Dane's career he is starting in the top ten. Last week, Rasmussen led 69 laps at Phoenix. Entering that race, he had led only 46 laps in his career. Twenty-one of those laps were at Detroit last year, the only time he has led a street race.

David Malukas is the top Team Penske starter in ninth. This extends Malukas' top ten start streak to seven consecutive races. Two drivers had their first career Team Penske victory come in their their start with the team. Al Unser, Jr. did it in 1994 at Long Beach and Josef Newgarden did it in 2017 at Barber Motorsports Park. Malukas has led six laps in his career on a road or street course. He has never led more than two laps in a single road/street race. 

Alexander Rossi takes tenth on the grid. Rossi only started in the top ten once on a street course last season. He has four top ten finishes in his last five starts. He started sixth and finished sixth last week at Phoenix. Rossi has not had a top five finish on a street course since he was fifth at Detroit in 2024. He has not won on a street course since Long Beach in 2019.

Josef Newgarden overcame an accident in Saturday morning practice to qualify 11th. With a seventh at St. Petersburg and a victory at Phoenix, Newgarden could open a season with three consecutive top ten finishes for the first time since 2019 when he had four top five finishes to open the season. That is also Newgarden's most recent championship season. He has won previously from 11th on the grid. That was in 2015 at Toronto, his second career victory.

Santino Ferrucci rounds out the top twelve, however, this is Ferrucci's eighth consecutive race starting outside the top ten. Ferrucci has not completed a lap in a street course race since he finished second at Detroit last June. He missed the Toronto race after an accident in warm-up and the team could not get the car repaired in time for the race. At St. Petersburg, Ferrucci was collected in the opening lap accident and his car did not make it beyond the fourth corner.

Louis Foster fell short on getting out of group one in round one by 0.0972 seconds, and Foster will start 13th. Foster enters this weekend for his 20th start, and he has yet to score his first career top ten finish. Nine drivers have taken 20 starts or more to get their first career top ten finish in IndyCar history. Kyffin Simpson had his first career top ten finish come last year in his 20th start, which was also the third race of the season. 

Speaking of Kyffin Simpson, he missed out on advancing to the second round of qualifying by 0.0496 seconds, and he will join Foster on row two. At Toronto last year, Simpson went from 13th to third. He also went from 19th to fifth at Detroit and 17th to tenth at Long Beach. Simpson is looking for his second consecutive top ten finish after he was tenth at Phoenix last week.

Romain Grosjean takes 15th on the grid. This is the third time Grosjean will start 15th in his career, however, the first two times each came at Portland in 2022 and 2023. In both of those races, he finished worse than 15th. Due to a clutch issue, Grosjean was unable to start the Phoenix race. Two of his six career podium finishes have come on street courses, both of those were runner-up finishes at Long Beach.

Caio Collet has his best career starting position in 16th. Collet started 24th and 23rd in his first two races. This is the first time he has been the top starting rookie this season. In his two seasons Indy Lights, Collet never won a street course race. He had three podium finishes in four street course starts.

Mick Schumacher will start the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington from 17th. Schumacher started fourth last week at Phoenix, his maiden oval start, but he ended up finish 18th, two laps down. He is still looking for his first lead lap finish in IndyCar.

For the third consecutive time this season, Christian Lundgaard is starting outside the top ten as Lundgaard takes 18th on the grid. This is the fifth time in the last ten races the Dane is starting outside the top fifteen. Only once last season did Lundgaard go consecutive races without a top ten finish. He was 14th at Gateway and 24th at Road America. Lundgaard was 13th last week at Phoenix.

Dennis Hauger starts directly behind his fellow 2026 rookie Schumacher in 19th. Hauger won in both his street course starts in Indy Lights. Both of those starts came from pole position. Hauger led three laps at Phoenix during a pit cycle, the first laps led in his career.

Scott Dixon rolls off from 20th on the grid, his worst starting position of the season. This is the 22nd time in the last 37 races Dixon is starting outside the top ten. Without a top five finish in his last five starts, this is Dixon's longest top five finish drought since 2004-05 when he went 27 starts between top five finishes from fifth at Motegi in 2004 to his 2005 Watkins Glen victory.

Rinus VeeKay is starting 21st. At St. Petersburg, VeeKay went from 19th to ninth. Six of his last eight top ten finishes have come after starting outside the top ten. VeeKay has never finished in the top ten in the third race of the season. His finishes in the third race of the season are 13th, 20th, 13th, 26th, 17th and 19th. 

Nolan Siegel starts 22nd for the second time this season. Siegel started 22nd at St. Petersburg, but finished 20th, two laps down. He has finished 20th in each of the first two races this season. Siegel has finished outside the top fifteen in eight consecutive starts. He has failed to finish on the lead lap in the last four races. In seven career street course starts, his only lead lap finish was at Long Beach last year.

Sting Ray Robb was the slowest driver in group one of qualifying, and Robb will start 23rd, directly behind his Juncos Hollinger Racing teammate. This snaps a streak of five consecutive top twenty start for Robb. Robb has finished 21st in the first two races. It is the second consecutive season he has opened the season with consecutive results outside the top twenty. 

Graham Rahal's qualifying run left him 24th on the grid. This is the 13th time in the last 15 street course races Rahal is starting outside the top ten. Both his top ten starts in this stretch were at Toronto. A top ten finish this weekend will be the 150th of his IndyCar career. He has finished in the top ten at Toronto the last three seasons. His most recent street course top ten finish that was other than Toronto was sixth at St. Petersburg in 2023.

After clipping the barrier and drawing a red flag in the second group in round one, Scott McLaughlin will start last in 25th. This is the fifth time since the start of last season McLaughlin is starting outside the top twenty. In three of the four races he started outside the top twenty last season, McLaughlin ended up finishing outside the top twenty. In his three previous races in the state of Texas, McLaughlin has an average finish of 3.333. He was twice runner-up at Texas Motor Speedway and sixth in his other start.

Fox’s coverage of the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington begins at 11:30 p.m. ET with green flag scheduled for 12:17 p.m. ET. The race start was moved up an hour due to anticipated high winds in the Arlington area in the afternoon. Wind gusts are expected up to 40 mph. The race is scheduled for 70 laps.

Track Walk: Arlington 2026

The third round of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season sees a new event as for the first time the Grand Prix of Arlington will take place. Cutting through the streets and parking lots around the stadiums for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers, IndyCar will run 70 laps on the 2.73-mile course, the longest street course for modern IndyCar since running on the 2.795-mile Surfers Paradise course on the Gold Coast of Australia. The course will be comprised of 14 corners, nine right-hand corners and five left-handers. This is IndyCar's first trip to Texas since it last visited Texas Motor Speedway in 2023. Arlington will become eighth venue in the Lone Star State to host an IndyCar round.

Coverage

Time: Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday March 15 with green flag scheduled for 1:17 p.m. ET.
Channel: Fox
Announcers: Will Buxton, Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe will be in the booth. Kevin Lee, Georgia Henneberry and Jack Harvey will work pit lane.

IndyCar Weekend Schedule

Friday:

First Practice: 4:05 p.m. ET (75 minutes)

Saturday:

Second Practice: 9:35 a.m. ET (75 minutes)
Qualifying: 2:35 p.m. ET 
Sunday:
Warm-up: 10:05 a.m. ET (30 minutes)
Race: 1:17 p.m. ET (70 laps)

Newgarden's Need For a Good Day on the Streets

Josef Newgarden is not only the most recent winner of a Texas IndyCar race, he is also the most recent IndyCar winner. After taking tires under the final caution in the Phoenix race last Saturday, Newgarden drove through the top ten to take his first victory of the season with only eight laps led. It was the 33rd victory in Newgarden's career, and eight laps led are his fewest in a victory since he won his first Indianapolis 500 in 2023 leading only five circuits. His Phoenix triumph gave Newgarden the championship lead for the first time since after his 2022 Long Beach victory.

However, that Long Beach victory remains Newgarden's most recent street course win, and Newgarden's last ten victories have come on ovals. His most recent non-oval victory was at Road America in 2022. 

If Newgarden has any hope of claiming his third championship, he will need to succeed on road and street courses, places where his form has dipped over the last few seasons. In 2024, while he was first on the road at St. Petersburg, he was disqualified after his team was found to have violated push-to-pass regulations. He did have three top five finishes on road and street courses, but did not win again. Newgarden had one top five finish on road and street courses last season, and that was third in the St. Petersburg season opener. In the other three street course races held, he had an average finish of 20th.

From 2017 through 2022, Newgarden had an average finish of 6.8636 in 66 road and street course starts. Over that time, he won 12 of those races, stood on the podium 38 times, had 34 top five finishes and 53 top ten finishes. Newgarden had only three finishes outside the top twenty in those 66 starts. 

In the 34 road/street course races since 2023, Newgarden has only finished on the podium four times with eight top five finishes and 14 top ten finishes. He has finished outside the top twenty in ten of those 34 races.

Newgarden's qualifying form has not been much better. Last season, he made the Fast Six only twice, and his best tarting position was fourth. He had five total appearances in the second round of qualifying in 11 road/street course races. His last front row start for a road or street course was the 2024 St. Petersburg race where Newgarden started on pole position before being disqualified. 

Entering Arlington, Newgarden has four consecutive top ten finishes, his longest top ten finish streak since the summer of 2023 when he was fifth at Toronto, swept the Iowa races and then was fourth at Nashville. His last five-race top ten finish streak was over the final five races of 2022. In each of his championship seasons, Newgarden won at least two on road and street courses, and his average finish on that discipline in those seasons was 4.818 and 6.5 respectively.

With his victory last week at Phoenix, it was the 12th consecutive season where Newgarden has won a race. That is the third-longest streak in IndyCar history behind only Scott Dixon's active 21-season streak and Will Power's 16-season streak from 2007 to 2022.

Palou's Unfamiliar Place

While Newgarden was in a familiar place when the Phoenix race was over, victory lane, Álex Palou left the desert in a different spot than we are used to seeing him. His accident from contact with Rinus VeeKay left Palou 24th in the final result, and Palou lost the championship lead for the first time since after the 2024 Road America race. The Catalan driver had held the championship lead since he won the Laguna Seca race on June 23, 2004. It was a streak of 621 consecutive days. 

Phoenix was the first time Palou had retired from a race since Detroit last June when David Malukas bumped Palou into the barrier in turn one. It was only his sixth retirement in 86 races with Chip Ganassi Racing. Twenty-one laps completed are Palou's fewest completed in a race since the second race of the 2020 Mid-Ohio doubleheader, where he was caught in an opening lap accident and only completed two laps over that race. 

Palou did not drop far in the standings. He is still fifth in the championship and he is only 19 points behind Newgarden. Palou has been ranked in the top five of the championship for 52 consecutive races, and he just made his 100th start at Phoenix last week. He has been ranked in the top five of the championship after 82 of his 100 career starts. After 59 of those races, he has been ranked in the top three of the championship. He has led the championship after 54 races, and he has led the championship after at least one race in each of the last six seasons.

While Arlington will be an unknown for everyone, Palou should find comfort fairly quickly. He has won at least one street course race in three of the last four seasons, including this season as he has already won at St. Petersburg. He has finished on the podium at all six street courses he has contested in his IndyCar career. In 25 street course starts, Palou has 11 podium finishes and 15 top five finishes. He was on the podium in eight of 12 road/street course races last season, and he has scored the most points on road and street courses in four of the last five seasons. 

Palou has not been outside the top five of the championship since the 2023 season opener when he was eighth in the championship after finishing eighth at St. Petersburg. He has never been outside the top ten of the championship while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. He ended the 2020 season 16th in the championship while driving for Dale Coyne Racing. 

Entering Phoenix, Palou had 18 consecutive top ten finishes. He has not had consecutive finishes outside the top ten since the final two races of the 2024 season. He has not had consecutive finishes outside the top fifteen since 2021 when he was 27th in the August race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and 20th at Gateway. Palou has never had consecutive finishes outside the top twenty in his IndyCar career. 

Unappreciated Starts

Through two races, two names have gotten a fair amount of the attention, and we have covered them above. Newgarden and Palou aren't the only two drivers to have good starts this season.

Two drivers have started the season with a pair of top five finishes. Those drivers would be Kyle Kirkwood and Patricio O'Ward.

Kirkwood's finishes of fourth and second have him second in the championship on 73 points, five behind Newgarden. This pair of finishes is the first time Kirkwood has had consecutive top five finishes since last June when he won at Detroit and Gateway and then was fourth at Road America. Kirkwood has finished in the top ten in the last ten street course races dating back to his Nashville street course victory in 2023, and that includes four top five finishes in the last five street course races with his worst finish over that span being sixth. Four of Kirkwood's five career victories have come on street courses. 

O'Ward was fifth in St. Petersburg and fourth in Phoenix. This places O'Ward fourth in the championship on 63 points. Dating back to last season, he has eight top five finishes in the last ten races, and nine top five finishes in the last 12 races. O'Ward ended the street course portion of last season with a victory at Toronto. It was his second consecutive season in which he scored a victory on a street course. 

Sandwiched between Kirkwood and O'Ward in the championship is Scott McLaughlin. While he was not in the top five at Phoenix, that eighth combined with his runner-up finish at St. Petersburg has McLaughlin on 66 points. He had three consecutive podium finishes prior to Phoenix, but his streak of top ten finishes continues and it is now up to six consecutive races, his longest streak since he ended the 2024 season with five consecutive top ten results and then opened the 2025 season with a fourth at St. Petersburg. 

David Malukas' third-place finish at Phoenix has lifted him with sixth in the championship on 56 points, three behind Palou. Phoenix was the fourth podium finish for Malukas in his IndyCar career, and it was his sixth top five finish. All of those results have come on ovals. He has yet to finish in the top five on a road or street course. Last season, his best street course finish was ninth. In 16 street course starts, his average finish is 16.375.

Phoenix was not the greatest race for Christian Lundgaard, as Lundgaard started 17th and finished 13th in a race where he spent majority of the race outside the top ten. The Dane did lead eight laps, but those were all during a pit cycle. However, Lundgaard was third at St. Petersburg and he is placed seventh in the championship with 54 points. He does have three podium finishes in the last six races. 

Seldom mentioned, Marcus Armstrong is eighth in the championship after the first two races with 50 points, but he was fifth at Phoenix, Armstrong's seventh top five finish in his career, but it was his second career top five finish on an oval. He as third in the second Iowa race last season. Armstrong was 11th at St. Petersburg after starting seventh. While he had 11 top ten finishes last season, only one of those was on a street course. He was sixth at Detroit. 

Inaugural Race

While the 2026 IndyCar calendar has a few new events compared to the 2025 season, Arlington is an inaugural event, never contested before. It is actually the second consecutive season IndyCar has an inaugural event. Last year, it raced at Thermal Club located in Thermal, California for the first time, one year after the circuit held an exhibition event. Álex Palou won both the exhibition race and the lone championship race at Thermal.

IndyCar has had a few new tracks in recent seasons. 

Though not original, the new Detroit street course is different from the Renaissance Center course CART used from 1989 to 1991. Palou also won that inaugural event when IndyCar returned to downtown Detroit in 2023. Prior to that, IndyCar raced on the street of Nashville for the first time in 2021. In a chaotic affair, it was Marcus Ericsson taking the victory despite contact that lifted the Swede's front tires off the ground at one point. 

For those observant readers, you will realize the last three inaugural races in IndyCar history have been victories for Chip Ganassi Racing. 

The last inaugural event that Chip Ganassi Racing did not win was IndyCar's only race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. That is famously remembered for Colton Herta's first career victory only a week prior to his 19th birthday and it was Herta's third career IndyCar start. 

There have been only two other inaugural IndyCar events during the DW12-era. Prior to Austin, it was NOLA Motorsports Park, which saw an infamous race where weather disrupted the weekend and saw a clunky race in which 26 of 47 laps were run under caution. James Hinchcliffe took the victory. 

The only other inaugural event since 2012 was the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis in 2014. The first race on the IMS road course is remembered for an accident at the start as IndyCar was experimenting with standing starts at a few races. Sebastián Saavedra had started on pole position, but he stalled and collected Carlos Muñoz and Mikhail Alehsin. Simon Pagenaud took the victory in the first Grand Prix of Indianapolis for Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports. 

If you have remained observant you will realize that none of the last six inaugural events have seen a Team Penske victory. Don't worry, you don't have to go back any further than that because the next most recent inaugural race was the Grand Prix of Baltimore, and Will Power won that for Penske. 

There have been three other inaugural tracks since reunification in 2008, plus one event that saw a new circuit layout used while competing on the same property of an existing race. IndyCar made maiden trips to São Paulo and Barber Motorsports Park, it ran the Twin Ring Motegi road course in 2011 after damage to the oval from the Tōhoku earthquake required the change. Then there was Edmonton, which adopted a new circuit layout in 2011. 

Team Penske won three of those four events. Power won at São Paulo and the inaugural race on the second Edmonton layout. Hélio Castroneves won the inaugural Barber race. The only non-Penske victory was Motegi where Scott Dixon came home in first at Motegi, which happened after the first Baltimore race, meaning Team Penske has not won the last seven inaugural races in IndyCar.

If you have remained observant, you will notice a fair number of this inaugural events did not last long. Thermal, Austin and NOLA all lasted only one year. Motegi was only going to be one year as the 2011 race was already declared to be the last race of the event prior to the damage on the oval. Baltimore and Nashville each only made it three years. São Paulo got a fourth edition. Barber, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and Detroit all currently remain on the schedule. 

Road to Indy

Two Road to Indy series, one of which will be opening its 2026 season, will join IndyCar for the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington.

For Indy Lights, this will be the second round of the season. Nikita Johnson took victory in St. Petersburg leading all 42 laps. It was Johnson's first career victory in his fourth Indy Lights start. He had not run an Indy Lights race since the Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend last season. It was the first Indy Lights victory for Cape Motorsports powered by ECR.

Max Taylor was second from pole position at St. Petersburg while Tymek Kucharczyk was third on podium on his debut, and Kucharczyk was the best finishing HMD Motorsports driver in the opener. Sebastian Murray and Lochie Hughes rounded out the top five making it three Andretti Global drivers in the top five along with Taylor. 

Myles Rowe and Josh Pierson were sixth and seventh ahead of Salvador de Alba while Juan Manuel Correa was ninth. Three rookies took the next three spots in the finishing order. Alessandro de Tullio rounded out the top ten ahead of Jack Beeton and Max Garcia.

Indy Lights will race at Arlington will be 27 laps or 55 minutes. The green flag is scheduled for 11:06 a.m. ET on Sunday March 15.

USF Pro 2000 will be opening its 2026 season with a doubleheader in Arlington. It is the first race weekend of the season, a doubleheader in an 18-race calendar. Twenty-one cars are entered for the season opener. 

Exclusive Autosport has four cars entered with 2025 U.S. F2000 champion Jack Jeffers leading the group with Evan Cooley and Anthony Martella and Joey Brienza. VRD Racing has Teddy Musella, second in U.S. F2000 last year, in its three-car lineup with Colan Aitken and Frankie Mossman. Jacob Douglas is the top returning driver from last year's USF Pro 2000 championship and he will be Pabst Racing. G3 Argyros will be Douglas' teammate.

Michael Costello was eighth in the championship last year and he will be back with Turn 3 Motorsport in a five-car lineup. Tyke Durst is also back as is Sebastian Manson. Leonardo Escorpioni is running this weekend as the Brazilian competes in combination with the U.S. F2000 season. Escorpioni was third in both U.S. F2000 races at St. Petersburg. Brady Colan will be in the fifth car.

Andrés Cárdenas had good pace in testing and he leads the three-car Jay Howard Driver Development powered by ECR stable with Tanner DeFabis and JT Hoskins. Christian Cameron was also one of the quickest in testing and one of three TJ Speed Motorsports drivers alongside Thomas Schrage and Leandro Juncos, son of Juncos Hollinger Racing co-owner Ricardo Juncos. Logan Adams is back with Comet/NCMP Racing. 

The first race of the USF Pro 2000 season all be at 1:25 p.m. ET on Saturday March 14. The second race will be later that day at 5:55 p.m. ET. Both races will have a 40-minute time limit.

Fast Facts

This will be the third IndyCar race on March 15 and the first since 1998 when Michael Andretti won at Homestead. 

The only other March 15 race was in 1919. Cliff Durant won a 34-lap race in Santa Monica, which was held on a 7.36-mile course. It was the 15th and final race held on the streets of Santa Monica. The first 14 races took place on a 8.417-mile course. 

Two of those Santa Monica races were the American Grand Prix, the predecessor of the United States Grand Prix. Eddie Pullen won it in 1914. Howdy Wilcox and Johnny Aitken were co-drivers that won the 1916 edition. 

This will be the first IndyCar round to use single-car runs in the final round of qualifying. Each of the six participants will have one lap in the final round of qualifying to run for pole position, starting with sixth-fastest from the previous round and ending with the fastest car. The first two rounds of qualifying remain unchanged.

If the final round of qualifying should be disrupted due to weather or conditions that significantly change the track surface, IndyCar will have the option to revert to the standard procedure of a six-minute session with all six cars competing, or it can use results from the second round of qualifying to determine the starting lineup.

An Andretti Global driver or Scott McLaughlin have combined to win the last seven pole positions on street courses. 

The pole-sitter has won only two of the last seven street course races (Colton Herta at Toronto in 2024, Kyle Kirkwood at Long Beach in 2025).

Twenty-five consecutive races have been won from a top ten starting position, 16 of those have been a top five starting position. 

Honda has won seven of the last nine street course races, and Patricio O'Ward is responsible for the two Chevrolet victories. One of those was the 2024 St. Petersburg race, where O'Ward inherited the victory after Josef Newgarden was disqualified. The other was last year at Toronto where O'Ward won from tenth.

Dating back to 2023, Honda has won 12 of 14 street course races

Team Penske has not won a street course races since Belle Isle in 2022 with Will Power, the final Belle Isle race prior to the Detroit Grand Prix moving back to the downtown location. Team Penske had won the first three street courses in the 2022 season with Scott McLaughlin winning at St. Petersburg and Josef Newgarden winning at Long Beach. 

This will be the 67 IndyCar race held in the state of Texas.

The first race held in the state of Texas was July 28, 1913 in Galveston on a five-mile beach course. Louis Disbrow won the 100-mile race. There were two more races held over the next two days, both of which were also 100 miles. Amour Ferguson won the second day with Disbrow in second. Disbrow won the third and final race.

Scott Dixon has the most victories in the state with six. Dixon won five times at Texas Motor Speedway and once on the Reliant Park street course in Houston. 

A.J. Foyt and Hélio Castroneves are tied for second in state of Texas victories with four apiece. All four of Foyt's victories were at Texas World Speedway and all four of Castroneves' victories were at Texas Motor Speedway.

Four other active drivers have victories in Texas. Josef Newgarden and Will Power have each won three times. Graham Rahal and Patricio O'Ward each have won once. 

Thirty-nine drivers have won a race in the state of Texas.

Predictions

Álex Palou is going to win from a top five starting position, and if it isn't Álex Palou it will be Kyle Kirkwood from the front row. Palou still gets the championship lead back but Josef Newgarden does finish in the top ten. Newgarden will not be the best Team Penske finisher as Scott McLaughlin takes a podium position. Christian Lundgaard bests his Arrow McLaren teammate Patricio O'Ward in both qualifying and the race. There will be an opening lap accident but it will not be in turn one, it will be in turn four. Romain Grosjean will see the green flag this weekend. Mick Schumacher rises from lat in the championship and picks ip at least three spots. Will Power gains the most spots in the championship after this race. Sleeper: Felix Rosenqvist.

Musings From the Weekend: How Often Do You Want To Do This?

Here is a rundown of what got me thinking…

People are mad. Racing was good but not good in the right ways, and this is all over the globe. The Formula One season started and it had more passing at Albert Park, but that is not what people want even though they say it is. They want it in a different way. Don’t ask how! Colton Herta didn’t have the worst Formula Two debut, though it started poorly. Oscar Piastri had another forgettable home weekend. I guess it was a weekend of sharing as Supercars also raced in Melbourne. Team Penske showed power belongs to the biggest teams. It won the IndyCar race with Josef Newgarden. It won the NASCAR Cup race with Ryan Blaney. The weekend in Phoenix was seen as a big success. Now we have one question to ask…

How Often Do You Want To Do This?

In the aftermath of IndyCar and NASCAR sharing a weekend at Phoenix Raceway, there was a large call for such weekends to occur more often. IndyCar raced in front of practically a full grandstand on an oval that wasn't Indianapolis. The race itself was rather wonderful, a big change from the last time IndyCar ran at Phoenix. In the immediate aftermath, many were asking when they could do it again at other venues.

For a segment of the IndyCar fanbase, desperate for more oval events, they will take them however they can get them, and if IndyCar is not going to be holding events on its own, running with NASCAR is a means to an end. If it worked in Phoenix, why couldn't it be IndyCar's way back to Pocono, Michigan, Richmond, Loudon and/or Chicagoland? 

But how often do we want to do this?

Phoenix looked good. Good crowd. Good race. What else could you want? That is what IndyCar needs. It needed a race that was full of spectators and had action from start to finish. It looks good. IndyCar needs to look good, even if it is because it is standing on the shoulders of another series. The general belief is this weekend benefited both series, but we must wait and see. IndyCar needs more than one great crowd. It needs it at every race. We need to wait and see if this weekend does anything in terms of regular viewership of the series. It is doubtful it will lead to much change, but it is an attempt at increased exposure. 

More people turned out on Saturday in Phoenix than for a Saturday on a typical NASCAR weekend. That is partially because a number of fans who were only interested in IndyCar showed up, but it likely drew some people who like both and felt it had a better deal with two races on Saturday with NASCAR’s second division closing out the night. Why wouldn't NASCAR want to boost its Saturday crowd and why wouldn't IndyCar want to race in front of packed grandstands? It is a mutually beneficial relationship, but there comes a point where both will want to stand on their own. 

This worked because IndyCar had nothing else going on. It isn't always going to be that way. 

People want Michigan back. NASCAR races at Michigan during the Gateway weekend. It is also a week after the Detroit round.

People want Pocono back. NASCAR races at Pocono on Le Mans weekend, a time when IndyCar fans like off because there is a chance one or two guys will drive in LMP2 and could theoretically improve the series' status on an international stage. It would also mean IndyCar would be competing at a racetrack for seven consecutive weeks as it has three weeks on track at Indianapolis in May, then Detroit and Gateway follow that, and if ran Pocono it would fill the off weekend before the Road America round. That would be a monstrous two months, something IndyCar teams are not built for. 

Races could be moved around, but IndyCar events are highly unstable. We have seen races bounced around to different months and the crowds suffer. Then the races go away. Is IndyCar willing to make that gamble to have more events where it will not control the makeup of the weekend?

NASCAR is going to dictate the terms of these weekends. IndyCar is not getting any say. It isn't getting any beneficial television window. How much does IndyCar want to move its schedule around because NASCAR says so? NASCAR holds all the power here and be careful what you wish for. IndyCar has its own races, and it already has a history of shuffling its deck too often at the detriment of existing races. Graham Rahal loves to refers robbing Peter to pay Paul, and that is exactly what IndyCar is faced with. 

How often can we do this?

Besides the conflicts that exist above, this was a Fox pushed event. When IndyCar and NASCAR first did it for four years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was when both were competing on NBC. If it isn't a Fox NASCAR weekend, it is unlikely to happen. This season Michigan and Pocono are both Amazon Prime races. Chicagoland will be on TNT, and Richmond is on USA. There are slim pickings after Phoenix in the Fox portion of the NASCAR schedule.

IndyCar isn't going to start its season racing with NASCAR, and it also isn't going to run at Daytona or Atlanta. Darlington, Martinsville, Bristol, Talladega and Dover are not going to happen, and IndyCar just left Texas Motor Speedway and has a new event in Arlington I am sure it would love to develop without much competition in the area. 

If you take those all out of play, the only remaining oval weekends where IndyCar and NASCAR could race together are Las Vegas, which in IndyCar circles remains a forbidden place and perhaps wrongly so but this group cannot get pass Dan Wheldon’s fatal accident, and Kansas. There are also Austin and Watkins Glen, two venues IndyCar would likely love to be at, but it isn't hurting on the road course weekends even if those two venues were places where IndyCar could not get a race to stick. 

Remember the logistics in these weekends and one rainy weekend would turn a weekend of unity into a bitter relationship quickly. It is risky to do this on an oval because you cannot race through the rain. A washout on Saturday would mean IndyCar would be racing at best after the Cup race on Sunday, but that would be a full 24 hours after it was scheduled. If NASCAR’s second division also had a race rained out, there is a chance IndyCar is waiting until Monday, and at that point it will be racing in front of an empty house. There would be far less cheer than we had this weekend if that were to happen. Just remember that IndyCar will be a distant third should any disruption occur on any of these weekends. Don’t say you were not warned. 

There is also the sheer limit of race weekends IndyCar can have. It has been stuck on 17 races for years, and that may change by one in 2026, but IndyCar has shown an avoidance to schedule growth. Even if they are shared weekends, it doesn't save any money for the teams. It would still be more weekends competing, and IndyCar isn't going to give up existing events to run with NASCAR another two or three times. It would be foolish to drop Barber Motorsports Park, Mid-Ohio and Milwaukee because it has a chance to race with NASCAR at Michigan, Pocono and Richmond. 

Phoenix was a good weekend, but IndyCar cannot sacrifice its existing races and the identity it has to chase being the third-wheel on a few NASCAR weekends, even if they are at places fans, drivers and teams wish to be. It cannot trade its headline events to be the opening act on a Saturday afternoon. Running with NASCAR is good as a one-off, but IndyCar isn't growing if it is only leeching off a bigger series. That would essentially be giving up and admitting it is never going to grow to the size on its own.

Winners From the Weekend

You know about Josef Newgarden and Ryan Blaney, but did you know…

George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix.

Brodie Kostecki (races one, two and four) and Broc Feeney (race three) split the Supercars races from Melbourne.

Joshua Dürksen (sprint) and Nikola Tsolov (feature) split the Formula Two races from Melbourne.

Justin Allgaier won the NASCAR Grand National Series race from Phoenix. 

Hunter Lawrence won the Supercross Triple Crown round from Indianapolis with finishes of second, fourth and first. Ken Roczen and Justin Cooper won the other two races. Cole Davies won the 250cc round after he swept the races.

Coming Up This Weekend

IndyCar continues the start of its season with a third consecutive race and a new event, the Grand Prix of Arlington.

NASCAR will be in Las Vegas.

Formula One has its first sprint weekend in the second round of the season from China.

The World Rally Championship will run the Safari Rally from Kenya. 

First Impressions: Phoenix 2026

1. Tires, tires, tires. IndyCar's return at Phoenix came down to a decision after the caution came out when Will Power slowed on circuit with a cut tire from contact with Christian Rasmussen while battling for the lead. There were about 40 laps to go, and with how tires wore during the race, a 20-lap difference could be a deciding factor at the end of a long run. 

Josef Newgarden's team decided to stop while eight of the 15 cars on the lead lap decided to stay out. Newgarden had work to do, but he had just under 40 laps to work with when the race restarted. The advantage would come late in the stint. He was not going to move from ninth to first in three laps.

When the tire advantage swung in Newgaden's favor, it swung mightily. Rasmussen faded after a second brush with the barrier exiting turn two. Kyle Kirkwood tried again to pull out a victory with an alternate strategy, but Newgarden had the speed and was no match. 

It was not a beat down performance as we have become accustomed to seeing from Newgarden on a short oval, but he remained alive when the race bunched up at the end. Newgarden had been here before and taking tires was an offensive move. Prior to the caution, it was going to be a top five finish. Staying out was not going to get him the victory. With a set of tires to burn, Newgarden went for it, and though he had been snake-bitten taking chances over the last few seasons, it was worth the gamble. 

Newgarden didn't rush. He let the tires come to him and made moves. He first had to pass O'Ward, who also stopped under that final caution. For a moment, it looked like O'Ward was going to be the challenger, but O'Ward's car did not work as well in traffic. Newgarden's did, and once ahead of O'Ward, the Tennessean had a clear view at the lead.

The victory gives Newgarden the championship lead, but as he pointed out in his victory lane interview, it is still early. He should be pleased though. For two years, things have spiraled on Newgarden and his rough days have been particularly deflating. We have seen a different Newgarden in recent years. This season is starting on the right track.

2. Kyle Kirkwood's team went slightly off-strategy again, and in the middle of the race, Kirkwood's team did not come in under a caution when the team had just changed tires 13 laps earlier. That was the sweet spot. A team could run most of a stint and hold on with about ten-lap older tires. Kirkwood remained at the front as the final pit window approached. Kirkwood had done well, but he had to take a leap to get to the front. It worked, and the car held its own. 

After Rasmussen's contact with the wall, it looked like Kirkwood had a better chance to pull out a victory, but he did not pull ahead of Rasmussen immediately, and when he finally took the lead, Newgarden was too close. Kirkwood could not hold off the Penske driver. 

You would think Kirkwood would be disappointed with this result, but like St. Petersburg where fourth was better than it could have been, second is much better than it was likely going to turn out had he not taken a risk. Qualifying can still be improved upon, but in two races this team has not let a bad start get them down. 

3. It felt like this weekend was destined for David Malukas, and pole position was the first step to a memorable weekend. Malukas had a good first stint, but he lost time on the first stint running long, and it buried him in the middle of the top ten. That is where he spent most of the race. Malukas didn't stop for tires under the final caution to gain a few more spots, and it worked out to be a podium finish. 

It could have been worse. I don't think the race is a major missed opportunity. However, I don't know if Malukas could have done what Newgarden did. That car was hooked up and Newgarden has a level of confidence to overcome such a deficit in the closing stages. Not every race will turn out this way, but Malukas stood out in his first oval weekend with Team Penske, and that was expected.

4. For a moment, Patricio O'Ward was lined up to steal the show. It had been a good day, but it did not feel like a race O'Ward was going to win until he was ahead of Newgarden after the final restart. Leading the drivers on the freshest tires, O'Ward was on point to drive to the lead. It was working until he hit fourth, and then he stalled out. He could not get ahead of Malukas, and Newgarden had the legs to keep moving forward. 

It is not that big of a loss because O'Ward should have been happy with a top five from the start, but with how the final laps lined up, it could have been more. It was a good race for O'Ward.

5. Marcus Armstrong will not get enough love for this result, but he drove well all race. Armstrong had good pace at the end of stints. It allowed him to maintain track position as he was better on his tires. A slow final stop nearly cost him, but he stayed out on the final caution and was looking for a better result playing defense. It worked. 

We have seen how Armstrong races and how he has found a good foundation in the middle of the top ten. He does a good job getting a little more out of equipment. Can the day come where he takes a sixth-place car and put it in a fight for victory? He drives smart. It could come sooner than we realize. 

6. This was an odd day for Alexander Rossi because he lost ground early and it was looking as if this would be a disappointing result. The late caution gave Rossi new life as he took on tires, and it was his only choice to salvage a result. He made some passes and ended up taking sixth. 

It should sting that he could not keep up with his Ed Carpenter Racing teammate Rasmussen despite starting 12 spots ahead of him in sixth. It mirrored Milwaukee in the sense Rossi had a good car, but he could not keep up with his teammate when the car was clearly there. He isn't the lead driver at ECR, and I don't think he can wrestle back that spot.

7. Scott Dixon tried a few different things on strategy and it netted him a seventh-place finish. Dixon didn't have a great car today, but he can drive smart and use strategy to his favor. After how St. Petersburg ended, Dixon needed a complete race and a good result. He got that in Phoenix. 

8. Scott McLaughlin was not a factor in this race, and that was a surprise. Even during the pit cycles where drivers came and went and ground could be made stopping early, McLaughlin never found an advantage. Even though he took tires under the final caution and he did drive to eighth, he didn't have what it took to blitz through the field. It was a little odd that he wasn't closer to his teammates in this one.

9. Graham Rahal had a good day to finish ninth. Rahal spent most of the race in the top ten. He lost ground from starting third, but last season there was no prayer of a Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car spending this much time in the top ten on an oval. This should be a cheerful weekend for RLLR and a move in the right direction. 

10. I don't know how Kyffin Simpson finished tenth. He took tires under the final caution, that is how, but he didn't have a great race. Most of it was spent outside the top ten. He held onto the lead lap, and it allowed him to get a few extra spots in the final stint. Take them anyway you can get them.

11. It was a little stunning how far off A.J. Foyt Racing was this weekend. To their credit, Santino Ferrucci got better over every stint of the race, but this team starts behind and makes up ground regularly. There is a limit on how well it will finish if it is always starting between 16th and 22nd. Ferrucci stayed out under the final caution because it lifted him to a top five spot, but he was a sitting duck. Eleventh is about right. 

12. Felix Rosenqvist didn't do much today, but considering how yesterday started, not doing much, avoiding trouble and being able to finish on the lead lap in 12th is a good day. 

13. Christian Lundgaard was nowhere this weekend. Qualifying 17th, he never factored in for a top ten finishing position. Lundgaard's oval form has improved, but it is still a weak spot, and he is not at a point where he can go to a new oval and be quick. Ovals take longer for him to learn. I would expect him to make a step forward at Phoenix next year.

14. And we reach Christian Rasmussen, who was probably the driver of the day. Rasmussen was incredible early driving to the front from 18th on the grid. He had the best car, and in the later stints, he was cutting through the field. It didn't matter that four cars leap-frogged ahead by 2.5 seconds because they stopped a half-dozen laps earlier, Rasmussen was going to pass them with ease. 

Rasmussen got into a battle with Will Power, who was trying to hold him off on older tires, and exiting turn two, they touched. Power didn't give Rasmussen any room on the outside, and Power gave the Dane an option of lift or make contact. He chose contact, which didn't harm Rasmussen as much as it did Power, as Power suffered a cut tire. Rasmussen's car was damaged, but it was holding on after the restart and he wasn't losing spots. 

Rasmussen didn't lose this race because of the contact with Power. Not taking tires was going to be his downfall. Newgarden had the edge. Rasmussen's car was damaged, and then he brushed the wall again. He was on the edge doing all he could to win the race when the car was not as good as those around him with fresher tires. 

Even if he doesn't brush the wall the first time after the contact with Power, in the same circumstances, I think tires win and Newgarden takes the victory. Maybe Rasmussen isn't slipping over the edge and hitting the wall a second time. Maybe he can take second while Newgarden wins. 

It stings because Rasmussen was the best driver today, and even though he found something that clicks with ECR, there is no guarantee this speed will last, and Rasmussen knows it. After the second hit with the wall, it all unraveled, and he dropped to 14th.

15. Let's talk about Power because he did finish 16th and only lost a lap. Power was on the same strategy as Kirkwood, and Power looked poised to get a better finish than Kirkwood. 

It was not the cleanest move on Rasmussen, but it wasn't dirty. Power didn't drive Rasmussen into the wall. Power forced Rasmussen to make a choice that was never going to be beneficial to Rasmussen, and that is what the leader can do to a driver trying to make a pass late on the outside. Rasmussen was a little ambitious, and could have waited until he was more alongside on the outside in a lap or two, or waited and found a way to the inside, perhaps going into turn one. 

Power is a veteran and he rolled the dice thinking he could get a young driver to blink. Rasmussen didn't, but in the end, neither won the race, and that was the best of the bad outcomes Power had in mind.

Prior to the accident, Power looked better compared to St. Petersburg. He was running well. The strategy choice allowed him to run at the front, but he was probably going to finish on the podium if the contact didn't occur. These are points lost, a too common result in the last few seasons for Power. It should also be a confidence boost for Arlington. 

16. It feels wrong to skip Dennis Hauger, but Hauger spun early exiting turn two, kept it off the wall and drove backward down the back straightaway and then resumed the race. It was an impressive example of car control and most veterans couldn't do that let alone a rookie. He was able to finish on the lead lap in 15th. That is all he could ask for. He got in 250 laps and learned something. 

When Hauger spun, it felt like the day was going to be a disaster for Dale Coyne Racing as Romain Grosjean was unable to start the race when his car had a clutch failure on the grid. This is a moral victory for DCR.

17. There are a handful of drivers we don't need to talk about. 

Marcus Ericsson didn't run well and his dice roll on strategy put him a lap down. 

At least Caio Collet didn't get into the wall. He didn't do anything great, but he didn't do anything wrong either. 

Nolan Siegel was nowhere to be seen all race and finished 20th. Siegel did have a drive-through penalty for blocking, and he was already a lap down. The penalty didn't help his day, but it wasn't going great before that. Does he make it to Mid-Ohio? 

Sting Ray Robb could not do much with his career best starting position of 12th and he finished three laps down in 21st. 

Louis Foster also brushed the wall and that ended his race, placing him in 23rd. Foster needs to get a top ten finish someday. It wasn't going to be today. Foster wasn't competitive. We know he is quick on road and street courses. It is time to get a result. 

18. You would think the Rasmussen-Power incident would be the most notable one of the race, but 20 laps in, Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay touched exiting turn four and approaching the start/finish line. Palou spun into the barrier and his race was over. VeeKay was damaged, but continued to finish four laps down in 21st. 

With this result, Palou dropped out of the championship lead for the first time since June 2024. Palou had a great start to the race, but he was bogged down a little in traffic after the first restart. VeeKay had a run to the outside. Palou was moving up the track. 

I don't think anyone was to blame, but making such a move to the outside was a low percentage move for VeeKay. It wasn't the worst move we have ever seen, but 20 laps into the race, I don't think it was worth the risk at that time. 

Palou is going to be fine. He had a bad race. He is going to be fine at Arlington and probably win the race.

19. There was some worry heading into this race because IndyCar's last trip to Phoenix was a failure. IndyCar went there for three years, didn't do anything to improve the racing after a processional race the first time, it failed to attract any interest in the market, and it was gone in a blink when it needed an oval event to develop. The good news is this race replicated what we saw at Milwaukee last year and what we have seen at Gateway where tires can wear, cars can start passing, and teams can take swings on strategy. No one felt stuck in traffic in this race, and that is the last thing you want to hear from drivers. 

Now, IndyCar must keep this package. This is how the short ovals should race. It had it at Iowa prior to the awful re-pave that only resurfaced the inside lane in the turns. IndyCar must keep this at Gateway, Milwaukee and Phoenix. Don't try to do more. Don't try to play with the downforce. Keep Firestone from dicking around with the tires. 

When the tires started to wear, we saw some teams rise and others fall. Teams could roll the dice and stop early to get ground, but then fade. That is fine. If IndyCar is chasing non-stop passing from the drop of the green flag on a short oval, it isn't going to happen, but we saw abundance today because the drivers had to manhandle the cars more and teams took risks hoping to find a better strategy later in a stint.

This was good. It is up to IndyCar not to screw it up. 

20. We need to have a deeper conversation about sharing the weekend with NASCAR. More people turned out today than probably showed up for the three IndyCar races between 2016 and 2018 combined. Check one for IndyCar. People showed up. Are they going to continue watching next week at Arlington? Are they going to continue to follow beyond May and into the summer? It looked like 40,000 people showed up when IndyCar couldn't get half of that eight years ago. It is exposure but IndyCar needs exposure to turn into reliable viewers who are going to be there when NASCAR is not around and IndyCar is on its own. 

It is a short-gain. How can IndyCar turn it into long-term success?

21. And now another new event. On paper, Arlington appears to be IndyCar's step into the 21st century when it comes to street races. It is a course that is mirroring what Formula One has been doing for the last decade. Spirits have been high for over a year since the event was announced. Now we find out if it is as good as what is being sold. We will find out in eight days.