When IndyCar reached out to the Dallas Cowboys about possibly hosting a street race in Texas, Jerry Jones was eager to make a deal after seeing that Roger Penske was involved.
The trust between these two businessmen dates back to when Penske successfully convinced the NFL to hold the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit. Penske was the chairman of the host committee for that game, proving that the NFL could hold its biggest event in colder cities. This effort helped Cowboys owner Jones secure the Super Bowl for Dallas in 2011.
“Bottom line is that Roger has really been a model for me in terms of how he has taken competitive racing and nailed that into an economic scenario that works,” Jones told The Associated Press. “He is my sports man.
He changed that mentality of needing (the NFL) to go where you can have sunshine and the ocean. He changed that concept and was very effective.”
Now, the two are teaming up again, along with the Texas Rangers, to create a new street race that will be added to the IndyCar calendar in 2026. The IndyCar Arlington Grand Prix will take place on a 2.73-mile track at Texas Live!, the entertainment venue next to Globe Life Field and directly across from AT&T Stadium.
Promotion for the event and IndyCar will kick off right away during Fox Sports’ coverage of Sunday’s NFL game between the Cowboys and the Detroit Lions. Fox Sports will be IndyCar’s new broadcast partner starting next season.
The course layout and other details were revealed on Tuesday at a lively event in Arlington that featured Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, members of the Texas Rangers Six Shooters Squad, Pro Football Hall of Fame player DeMarcus Ware, a former Cowboy, and Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, a former Ranger.
Also present were three-time IndyCar champion Alex Palou and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Josef Newgarden, who mentioned that the Arlington Grand Prix adds another important event to the series.
“When I was a young kid and I wanted to be a race car driver, I dreamed of winning iconic events like the Indianapolis 500. And I think the Grand Prix of Arlington will be one of those events that you want to circle that you have to win every single year,” Newgarden said. “It’s an honor for us to come race here in Arlington, to be a part of an iconic brand like the Cowboys and the Rangers.”
The Arlington sports district is located just off Interstate 30, halfway between downtown Dallas and Fort Worth. IndyCar held races at Texas Motor Speedway from its first season in 1997 until 2023. Texas Motor Speedway was a major supporter of IndyCar until a change in track leadership in 2021 led to the track being removed from IndyCar’s schedule this season.
However, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area is still very important to the series, with a population of 8,100,037 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Jones also mentioned that 1,000 of the Cowboys’ season-ticket holders are from Monterrey, Mexico, which is home to popular IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward.
“They’ll all be here for this race and we’ll make sure they know about it,” Jones said.
Penske highlighted that the Arlington circuit will be the longest street course on the IndyCar schedule, featuring the longest straightaway at 0.9 miles. Speeds are expected to exceed 180 miles per hour on the 14-turn track, which includes sweeping curves and challenging sections.
The track will pass underneath hospitality and suite areas twice and will have a double-sided pit lane, along with a horseshoe-style carousel in Turn 6.
Having the Cowboys and Rangers as partners on this project gives Penske the kind of high-profile event he wants to add to the schedule. The Indianapolis 500 is the main event, and the Grand Prix of Long Beach is a key highlight, but Penske is looking for more must-attend events like these.
