IndyCar is in the middle of a busy race weekend on a brand new street course in Arlington, Texas, and the drivers are already singing its praises.
The event, which has backing from Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and is taking place on the stadium’s property, has been assembled with such care and precision that it is already being pegged as one of the series’ marquee events.
Pato O’Ward considers this his new home race, since a potential event in Mexico City did not materialize, and feels this is one of the best facilities around.
“I think everybody involved in this Arlington GP has done a phenomenal job with track layout and how everything looks,” said O’Ward.
“The paddock suites, pit lane, everything looks as it should. I can share the feeling of being impressed with everyone in the paddock.
“Kudos to Jerry Jones, Roger Penske, the Texas Rangers, they all really went above and beyond to make sure this place looks as it should.”
No growing pains
Promoters of temporary street courses, as opposed to permanent race facilities, have a tough task in order to create a quality race track from the ground up for each race weekend.
The task is even tougher for brand new events because there are many different considerations to keep in mind when planning the build.
Early assessments indicate that this particular track in Arlington has been built remarkably well, with even the veteran Scott Dixon remarking that this could be the new benchmark going forward.
“I think how they’re done this and what IndyCar does at street racing and how they’ve activated here is epic,” said Dixon. “I’m always excited to be in Texas.
“I think this is the new standard. This is what IndyCar need to stick to.”
Kyle Kirkwood largely echoed his thoughts, and also praised the ability of organizers to quickly address small changes that were needed.
The fifth year driver mentioned the few problem areas that drivers identified, such as the placement of the curbs at Turn 10, but confirmed that they have all been taken care of before cars even took to the track.
“It looks beautiful,” said Kirkwood. “I think this is one of the best track builds I’ve ever seen for IndyCar.
“This is what IndyCar racing should look like. The hospitality, the hype around this place, where we’re at, the build looks beautiful, the branding on all the walls looks perfect.
“It’s what a marquee event should look like for us in IndyCar.”
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