IndyCar tackled the new street track in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, with plenty of action rewarding those in attendance.
As the race entered its final stint, it was Alex Palou in front of Kyle Kirkwood and the rest of the Andretti Global crew.
Kirkwood had started seventh, had already overcome multiple pit stop issues, and had fought his way forward all race.
READ MORE: IndyCar Arlington – Full Race Results
He was on a mission, and made bold move diving to the inside of the final corner with just 15 laps to go.
Palou gave him space, and attempted to keep up but quickly fell more than five seconds behind.
A late caution led to a single-lap shootout, but Kirkwood got a good start and held the lead until the caution flew again on the final lap due to an issue at the back of the pack.
Kirkwood’s win was the sixth of his IndyCar career, and the fifth on street courses, showing just how good he is on difficult surfaces.
The 27-year-old also leaves Arlington with the points lead, setting him on course for one of his best seasons to date.
Palou crossed the line in second, rebounding from his poor result in Phoenix and boosting him back up to second in the points standings.
The four-time champion was a little sad to see the final lap cut short, but admitted he would have had a hard time actually passing Kirkwood for the win.
Andretti dominance in Texas
Strategies were mostly in line with one another, with only one team opting to make two pit stops while everyone else opted for three.
The driver that made two stops was Will Power, who crossed the line in third despite Team Penske misjudging which strategy was best.
He was happy to see that his Andretti Honda can be easy on fuel if needed, but it was simply not the fastest strategy for this weekend and he could not challenge for the lead.
A banker weekend of Andretti was capped off with Marcus Ericsson in fourth after starting from pole.
The result also ensured Honda snagged the entirety of the top four positions. A thrilling result for the Japanese manufacturer for sure.
Pato O’Ward was fifth across the line, with David Malukas sixth in the Team Penske entry.
Scott McLaughlin roared through the field after starting in the final grid position, climbing from 25th all the way up to 11th by the checkered flag.
All drivers were a bit happier than usual after climbing from their cars on account of how much fun they had wheeling their cars around the new course.
With 14 turns, a nearly one-mile long straight where speeds exceeded 190 MPH, and a split pit lane that afforded a small amount of lost time each stop, drivers had a blast.
Mostly clean race
Despite the potential for a messy race, the first event held on the streets of Arlington ended up being a mostly clean affair.
Cars were bouncing all over on the bumps and there were a few spins, but only a couple late cautions resulted and the 70 laps flew by in a flash.
Josef Newgarden had a few run-ins on the tight pit exit, which did not help his day at all.
The first was contact with his team-mate David Malukas, which sent the two-time champion spinning. He was able to recover with only a little time lost.
The second light collision happened when Newgarden himself was exiting pits, and Mick Schumacher had to spin to avoid a bigger incident.
Newgarden eventually finished 15th, but it was not the day he was hoping for.
Schumacher for his part had a penalty for a different incident in addition to the spin near Newgarden, which meant he finished in 22nd.
Though the course was tough on man and machine, nearly everyone survived the full race distance. There were only a couple retirements due to incidents late in the race.
Christian Rasmussen was the first one out when he lost power a few laps from the finish.
The late restart came with just one lap remaining, but the green flag was short lived.
Nolan Siegel ran straight into Romain Grosjean while coming to the green, with both drivers not even able to complete the final lap.
After three consecutive weeks to start the year, drivers now have a one week break before tackling Barber Motorsports Park on March 29.
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