Penske Entertainment, the Dallas Cowboys and REV Entertainment –  official events partner of the Texas Rangers announced a joint venture on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 to bring the NTT IndyCar Series to Arlington, Texas in 2026. (Courtesy photo)

By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio

FORT WORTH _ INDYCAR’s colorful and controversial 27-year history at Texas Motor Speedway officially has run full-circle with the confirmation of an NTT IndyCar Series street-race scheduled for Arlington’s Entertainment District in March 2026.

Penske Entertainment, the Dallas Cowboys and REV Entertainment _ official events partner of the Texas Rangers _ announced a joint venture Monday, Oct. 7, 2024 establishing and operating the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington in that springtime slot.

Santino Ferrucci of A.J. Foyt Racing at the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington announcement – Tuesday, October 8, 2024. (Courtesy photo)

A 2.73-mile course will be featured against the backdrop of a pair of sporting venues recognized by fans around the world _ AT&T Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers. The track will weave through Arlington’s core sports and entertainment district, which annually sells more than 1.6-million tickets to spectators.

A “celebration ceremony” was scheduled for Tuesday morning at Texas Live!, an entertainment center located between AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. The ceremony unveiled additional details about the proposed event, including a video showcasing the full track layout.

The new event will provide the City of Arlington and its organizers a national network television showcase, with FOX to provide live coverage via its recently unveiled partnership with INDYCAR.

“Through a truly remarkable and innovative partnership, we’re going to build racing’s next global spectacle,” Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Corporation and owner of the NTT IndyCar Series, said in a news release. “Everyone involved is fully committed to delivering an incredible and unique event weekend for the City of Arlington, anchored by the stars of the NTT IndyCar Series.

The team stadiums for the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys will serve as a backdrop for the 2.73-mile course. (Courtesy photo)

“We’re grateful to the Cowboys, Rangers and REV Entertainment for entering into this partnership with us, and, of course, to Arlington’s leadership team for their excitement and ongoing support.”

The NTT IndyCar Series is North America’s premier open-wheel racing competition, headlined by stars from across the globe competing at speeds faster than 230 mph. Along with hosting the prestigious Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the series boasts a mix of oval, temporary street circuit and permanent road-course races across North America.

The series is sanctioned by INDYCAR, a part of the Penske Entertainment family.

“We are thrilled to join forces with the Texas Rangers, Penske Entertainment and the City of Arlington to bring grand prix racing to the streets of the Arlington Entertainment District,” said Jerry Jones, Cowboys owner, president/general manager. “The collaboration between our organizations will make the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington special, providing a unique NTT IndyCar Series race experience for fans attending, while also creating a showcase with our friends at FOX and those watching around the world.

Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones and Roger Penske, chairman of Penske Corporation and owner of the NTT IndyCar Series at the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington announcement – Tuesday, October 8, 2024. (Courtesy photo)

“An event of this magnitude is another great reflection of what we imagined over 15 years ago that AT&T Stadium could be a part of.”

Planning and preparation for the race weekend is underway, with veteran motorsport industry executive Bill Miller announced as president of the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington. Miller brings more than three decades of experience to the role, including previously serving as president of California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., and senior vice president of operations at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a leading worldwide voice for more than 7,000 companies in the automotive aftermarket.

“Today is an historic day for the Texas Rangers and REV Entertainment,” said Neil Leibman, Texas Rangers chief operating officer. “We are proud to be at the forefront of the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington alongside such esteemed organizations in Penske Entertainment and the Dallas Cowboys. This event will set a new standard for the Arlington Entertainment District, and we look forward to welcoming fans from around the world to experience what Arlington has to offer.”

The INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington will provide a full weekend of racing and entertainment, with general admission, reserved seating, VIP hospitality and party zone areas available. Fans can register their interest by visiting the newly launched website: www.gparlington.com.

“We are truly thankful to our partners for their vision and dedication to bringing the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington here to ‘The American Dream City,’^” Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said. “I can’t think of a more beautiful and vibrant backdrop for this competition than Arlington’s world-class Entertainment District, which has proven again and again to be a premier destination for sports and entertainment.

“This announcement is an economic win for North Texas, and we’re looking forward to welcoming this incredible racing series and its fans for an unforgettable experience.”

March 19, 2022; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; NTT IndyCar Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48), Chip Ganassi Racing in practice session #1 for the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway. Michael C. Johnson

Conversely, INDYCAR’s move to Arlington represents a fatal blow to TMS and parent company Speedway Motorsports. TMS’ high-banked/1.5-mile oval was dropped from the NTT IndyCar Series’ 17-race schedule in 2024 after a run that began under President/General Manager Eddie Gossage during the track’s initial season in 1997.

Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden won the series’ PPG 375 at TMS on April 1, 2023 _ the first race of a reported new, three-year contract between sanctioning body INDYCAR and Speedway Motorsports. No mention of TMS’ exit, or the contract, was included in the official INDYCAR release announcing the 2024 schedule.

Noting that NASCAR had moved its race weekend date from September to April in 2024, TMS Executive Vice President/General Manager Mark Faber said track management and INDYCAR were unable to reach an agreement on a date that worked for both parties.  

TMS’ absence from the 2024 INDYCAR calendar was shocking, in that the April race played to highly positive reviews by several star drivers. Newgarden’s 26th career INDYCAR victory ended under caution. But that fact easily was overlooked after Newgarden, a two-time series champion; runnerup Pato O’Ward of Mexico and Arrow McLaren and third-place finisher Alex Palou of Spain and Chip Ganassi Racing sliced-and-diced within inches of one another at 220-plus mph during the frenetic closing 57 laps.

Despite a troubling decline in on-site attendance, the outcome validated the new contract between INDYCAR and TMS’ parent company one year after the event’s future clearly was placed on life-support. INDYCAR’s most recent events at “The Great American Speedway” had been reduced to a single-file parade, largely due to NASCAR’s use of a traction compound/resin laid down in the corners to create a second lane for its Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series races run on Goodyear Eagle radials.

Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward – PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway – By: Joe Skibinski

INDYCAR’s lighter, spec Dallara chassis and Firestone Firehawk radials typically treated NASCAR’s compound like ice. Australian Will Power, a two-time series champion from Team Penske, launched a vocal campaign in 2021 that finally led to an optional “rubber-in-only” practice before the 2022 spring race, during which drivers received an extra set of tires to run exclusively in the second, or high-line, groove.

The 2022 PPG 375 subsequently was won by Newgarden, who overhauled Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin of New Zealand to win by 0.0669-seconds. The margin of victory proved to be the closest of the 17-race season.

Armed with its new three-year contract and a largely positive vibe emanating from the paddock, TMS was poised to continue its position as the “Second Home of INDYCAR Racing.” That tag was among several marketing brands developed by Gossage, TMS’ first president/general manager and promoter extraordinaire, during his 25-year tenure.

With the blessing of Speedway Motorsports founder O. Bruton Smith, Gossage aligned a still-under-construction TMS with Tony George’s all-oval Indy Racing League in the summer of 1996 during its bitter sanctioning turf war with the established Championship Auto Racing Teams.

Scott Dixon with an emphatic celebration in Victory Lane after winning the DXC Technology 600 at Texas Motor Speedway — Photo by: Chris Owens

In his role as promoter, Gossage staged the first nighttime INDYCAR race in history, the True Value 500k on June 7, 1997. The IRL event ended in controversy and a skirmish between team-owner and open-wheel legend A.J. Foyt Jr. of Houston and driver Arie Luyendyk in Victory Lane. Billy Boat, Foyt’s driver, was celebrating his apparent win when Luyendyk marched in to protest the result and claim the victory. An incensed Foyt slapped the Dutchman across the face, knocking him to the pavement. The incident thrust TMS and the fledgling series into the national news spotlight.

After reviewing the event’s timing and scoring overnight, officials of the sanctioning U.S. Auto Club stripped Boat of the win and handed it to Luyendyk _ a decision Foyt never has accepted. Faber, in fact, alluded to the incident in an email to racedaySA.com.

“INDYCAR had a rich and storied history at Texas Motor Speedway for nearly 30 years,” Faber said, “beginning with the post-race fireworks with A.J. Foyt and Arie Luyendyk after the inaugural race in 1997 and concluding with Josef Newgarden’s spectacular last-lap, last-turn pass for the win in 2023. There will always be a special place in the hearts of our race fans for INDYCAR at Texas Motor Speedway.

“INDYCAR’s move toward more temporary street circuits in 2026 in no way affects our commitment to provide Texas Motor Speedway race fans with the best in motorsports and entertainment opportunities at one of the premier venues in the world.”

Alexander Rossi driver of the #98 Castrol Edge/Curb Honda leads Helio Castroneves driver of the #3 AAA Insurance Team Penske Chevrolet during the Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway on August 27, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Mike Stone/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)

A TMS media representative added neither Faber nor Marcus Smith, president/CEO of Speedway Motorsports and Bruton Smith’s son, would be available for additional comment.

Through the years TMS played host to a series of breathtaking, wheel-to-wheel “pack racing” INDYCAR events that emerged as must-see TV. Among those races was Al Unser Jr.’s victory over Brazilian Tony Kanaan by 0.081-seconds in the Bombardier Learjet 500k on June 7, 2003. That proved to be the final victory in the star-crossed, open-wheel career of “Little Al.”

Gossage was instrumental in promoting Danica Patrick’s INDYCAR career after her sensational fourth-place start/finish en route to Rookie of the Year honors in the 2005 Indy 500 for Rahal Letterman Racing. Patrick’s finish transcended the motorsports world after she posted the highest finish by a woman in the race’s 89-year history; became the first woman to lead a lap in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and 19 of 200 laps overall and the first woman to finish the race on the lead-lap.

Patrick took the lead from eventual winner Dan Wheldon of Great Britain and Andretti Green Racing on a Lap 189 restart, but subsequently was forced to slow to conserve fuel. Patrick was passed by Wheldon for the lead on Lap 194.

Gossage capitalized on “Danicamania” with a promotion led by a “Dan vs. Danica” Tale of the Tape modeled after those commonly used in world championship boxing matches. Kanaan, meanwhile, added to the fun factor by issuing a t-shirt to his Andretti Green Racing teammate that read: “I actually WON the Indy 500.”

TMS also played host to an innovative same-day/night INDYCAR doubleheader, with Scotsman Dario Franchitti of Chip Ganassi Racing and Penske’s Power each scoring wins in the inaugural Firestone Twin 275s.

The 375-miler in April 2023 was the 36th INDYCAR event staged at TMS. Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s famed 2.5-mile oval and TMS are the only venues to have been constants on the INDYCAR schedule since the series made its debut as the all-oval IRL in 1996. No track has hosted more INDYCAR races during that span than TMS, aka “No Limits, Texas.”

Penske Entertainment is a leading provider of world-class sports and entertainment, comprised of INDYCAR, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IMS Productions. INDYCAR is the Indianapolis-based governing body for North America’s premier open-wheel auto racing series, the NTT IndyCar Series, and its developmental series, INDY NXT.

REV Entertainment is a full-service company with the goal of producing first-class sports and entertainment events nationwide. REV Entertainment serves as official events partner of the Texas Rangers, including as official booking agent for both Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

REV Entertainment also has created and produced several original concepts, including the Shriners Children’s College Baseball Showdown, one of the highest-attended tournaments in college baseball. REV Entertainment includes several entities focused on enhancing the events and entertainment business nationwide, including REV Production Services, REV Sports Management, REV Food Service and REV Sports Marketing. For more information, visit REVEntertainment.com.