Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
Francesco Bagnaia might have won the sprint race after Jorge Martín fell from the lead, but Martín took the victory in the grand prix from Indonesia. Daniel Ricciardo's departure was confirmed, and the Liam Lawson-era returns. There was some fog in Chile. Álex Palou will be driving a Mercedes. Miami International Autodrome has added some configurations for permanent use of the circuit. Alexander Rossi confirmed where he will be racing. Andretti Global sees Michael Andretti stepping back from ownership of the organization that bares his name. IndyCar might have a new race lined up for 2026, but it has not received a warm reception.
Not a Time to be Picky
It has been a rather busy IndyCar off season, as in less than two weeks a number of seats have been confirmed, the charter agreement was finalized and there was even some news pertaining 2026. Reports have come out that IndyCar is working on a street race in Arlington, Texas, around AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and team owner Jerry Jones would be involved in the project.
This was of course welcomed with complete disdain over the idea.
IndyCar has some history in the Dallas-area, as up until 2024 it had raced at Texas Motor Speedway in Denton, Texas, about 35 minutes north from the proposed venue in Arlington. IndyCar's time at Texas Motor Speedway was rather positive, known for action-packed races and full grandstands during the days of the Indy Racing League. It once was the only circuit on the schedule that hosted multiple races in a season and hosted the season finale. However, the circuits stranglehold of a spot on the IndyCar calendar started to weaken.
The crowds began to dwindle and the races suffered mightily after a track re-configuration ahead of the 2018 race. IndyCar wasn't the only series to suffer. NASCAR had woeful races and in an attempt to improve the action there, PJ1 traction compound was applied to the series. However, an abundance of applications stained the track surface and turned the higher lane in the corners into a sheet of ice for the Firestone tires IndyCar brought to the circuit. Races became single-file affairs and even fewer people decided to make the trip out to the 1.5-mile speedway.
It did end on a positive. The 2023 race was significantly better after three rather dreadful years at Texas, but with the NASCAR schedule changing, the IndyCar's trip in late March would need to be moved, and the series was not keen on moving Texas to the late summer where weather conditions would not be the friendliest to attendees, nor were there many open weekends in an already busy end of the season. With no suitable date available and the lack of a healthy crowd, 2024 ended up being the first year without a trip to Texas since 1996.
Considering the size and economic might of Texas, not having a race in the state with five of the 11 most-populous cities in the United States is just another scheduling blunder for IndyCar, a series that currently not have a race anywhere between St. Petersburg and Toronto on the eastern seaboard. There are over 7.6 million people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone with Texas boasting a total population of just over 30 million people. It is a land of opportunity, a chance to fish where the fish are, and not being there is a grave mistake.
A return could come in this race in Arlington, but instead of any excitement of IndyCar returning to the fourth-largest metropolitan market in the United States, it was met with backlash, mostly because it was perceived to be at the wrong place.
If there should be any return to Texas, it is believed it should be at Texas Motor Speedway. It doesn't quite work that way.
For starters, no one took anything away with Texas Motor Speedway falling off the IndyCar schedule. If the race could draw anything close to a respectable crowd, it likely would have stuck around, but over the final three years, the track couldn't draw close to 10,000 spectators to any of its races. That was for a number of reasons with fault on both sides of the series and the track, but IndyCar at Texas Motor Speedway was no longer the can't-miss-draw it was at the turn of the 21st century.
It will be repeated every time it comes up, but not many places are lining up to host IndyCar races. If the series is not wanted, it is not going to race there. This is why there is a race weekend at Thermal Club. Someone is willing to foot the bill. This is why we are looking at a potential street race in 2026 in Arlington. Someone wants to host an IndyCar race. Texas Motor Speedway could host an IndyCar race if it wanted to, but it doesn't. That doesn't mean the entire area is off limits. IndyCar found another dancing partner.
Skepticism is understandable because IndyCar street races do not have a long shelf life. For all that was celebrated in Nashville, it lasted only three years and could not survive once it was time for construction to begin on the new football stadium in the city. For all that was celebrated in Baltimore, it lasted only three years and could not find a way back after being put on hiatus for a conflicting football game on Labor Day weekend in the city.
Many other street races have disappeared in a flash for non-football reasons. See Houston three times, Miami three times, Denver twice, Las Vegas twice, San Jose and Boston didn't even get off the ground. If you are betting the over/under on number of years an Arlington street race will remain on the IndyCar schedule, take the under.
And don't be sold just because there is a big name in Jerry Jones behind the project that makes it bulletproof. It wasn't that long ago the Steinbrenner family was entering IndyCar as team owners, and everyone was sold it was a big sign for the series. Remember, Justin Timberlake and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were both named in the ownership group for the Music City Grand Prix. How did that serve the event?
There might be a suitable venue in Dallas-area, but it had IndyCar for decades, experienced the highs but also ending at an all-time low. We did see IndyCar return to Milwaukee, a race that was marginally better than where Texas was when it last hosted IndyCar, draw a respectable crowd on its return this year, and that was with no billboards promoting the race. If IndyCar could do that in the 31st most-populous city, what could it do in one ranked in the top five? Texas Motor Speedway could return and see a boost in IndyCar attendance, drawing more people out than the race had been drawing in the area for the last ten years, but the people who want a race in the area have their own slice of real estate and are willing to shut down a few blocks to host a party.
That isn't a bad thing.
This is not an oval vs. street course thing. It is a survival thing for IndyCar. One party is looking to host a race and IndyCar isn't going to say no on some nonsensical principle that would not benefit the series in the slightest. It has a chance of drawing more spectators and people who likewise had no clue IndyCar had raced in the area for decades and that is not a negative for the series. Viewers are viewers no matter how you get them. There is a chance over three days, a street race in Arlington could draw 80,000 people, which is much more than IndyCar drew in its final three years at Texas Motor Speedway. It might even be more than what the oval attracted in its final six years.
There are not that many IndyCar weekends that draw over 80,000 people. If it has a chance of tapping into a Texas market it otherwise was not maximizing at a different venue then it must go for it. If anything, it would show it was not getting the most out of where it was competing previously.
I understand the desire to return to something that was beloved, and I understand the desire for more oval races. I understand the hesitation for believing this street race will outlast many that came before it, and I understand the frustration with Mark Miles and IndyCar leadership, but this isn't a time to be picky.
In the last two years, arguably ever since 2020, there has been a narrowing focal point in IndyCar fandom over what is good for the series, and too often does it feel like the masses are wearing blinders. Any chance to do something different and new is met with hostility. If Texas Motor Speedway was the answer, IndyCar would be at Texas Motor Speedway, but it wasn't.
IndyCar has a complex identity. For all the clamoring for heritage and tradition and that being ovals, it neglects how many of its most successful events are street courses and road courses. We tried an all-oval series, and even that realized it needed some road courses and street courses. There must be a little bit of everything, but there is a limit on how many places IndyCar can race at.
It needs a few more oval races, but it cannot add six more oval races. Street courses have their tendencies not to last, but there is a place for them and they can positive events for the series.
Regardless of where the race is being held, IndyCar needs positive events. It doesn't matter if it is the streets of Dallas or Texas Motor Speedway. IndyCar needs to go to a place and draw a healthy crowd that impressive sponsors, makes money and makes people want to return. That is what IndyCar needs, track discipline be damned.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about some MotoGP results, but did you know...
Ross Chastain won the NASCAR Cup Series race from Kansas. Aric Almirola won the Grand National Series race, his second victory of the season. Corey Heim won the Truck race, his sixth victory of the season.
Arón Canet won the Moto2 race from Indonesia, his second victory of the season. David Alonso won the Moto3 race, his ninth victory of the season.
Andrea Iannone (race one) and Álvaro Bautista (SuperPole race and race two) split the World Superbike races from Aragón. Adrián Huertas and Yari Montella split the World Supersport races.
The #9 Iron Lynx - Proton Oreca-Gibsn of Jonas Ried, Macéo Capietto and Matteo Cairoli won the 4 Hours of Mugello. The #8 Team Virage Ligeri-Nissan of Julien Gerbi, Bernardo Pinheiro and Gillian Henrion won in LMP3. The #57 Kessel Racing Takeshi Kimura, Esteban Masson and Daniel Serra won in LMGT3.
Mirko Bortolotti and René Rast split the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters races from the Red Bull Ring.
Kalle Rovanperä won Rally Chile, his fourth victory of the season.
Coming Up This Weekend
The Indianapolis 8 Hours closes out the Intercontinental GT World Challenge season.
MotoGP heads up to Motegi.
NASCAR heads down to Talladega.
