Kirkwood Claims Inaugural Arlington Grand Prix

Kyle Kirkwood celebrates on the podium after taking the victory in the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. (Photo: Hannah Spagnoletti | The Podium Finish)

ARLINGTON, Texas – In front of packed, sold-out grandstands, Kyle Kirkwood lassoed and reeled in Alex Palou in the final stages of the 70-lap event to claim his first victory of 2026 in the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington and takes over the lead in the NTT IndyCar Series championship.

“That was so incredible,” said Kirkwood. “Man did we had some pace, right? It’s because of this race car that we won today, and because of teamwork.”

“One-three-four for Andretti, that’s absolutely incredible. Hats off to these guys, we’re definitely going to celebrate well tonight.”

Four-time and defending NTT IndyCar champion Palou came in second place in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, while Kirkwood’s new teammate Will Power rounded out the Arlington podium with a much-needed third-place finish in the No. 26 TWG AI Andretti Global Honda.

Will Power navigates the streets of Arlington on his way to his first podium of the season in the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

NTT P1 Award winner Marcus Ericsson capped off the dominating top five performance by Andretti Global by finishing fourth in the No. 28 InPwr Honda. Pato O’Ward was the highest-finishing Chevrolet after mustering a fifth-place finish in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, moving him into third place in the championship standings with finishes of fifth, fourth, and fifth in the first three races of the season.

“Very good car,” said Power. “Great fuel mileage from Honda. He (Kirkwood) was going to be hard to beat no matter what, he was just so fast.”

“This Andretti Honda camp is fricking strong on street courses,” said O’Ward. “We’ve got a lot of work to do if we want to start winning races on outright pace against them.”

For the first time, the NTT IndyCar Series tackled the unique 2.73-mile, 14-turn street circuit that races around AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers.

Kirkwood, who started seventh in his No. 27 JM Bullion Andretti Global Honda, masterfully executed an overcut strategy and made his final pit stop on Lap 49, three laps after his teammate Power. The only issue for Kirkwood was when Palou entered pit lane at the same time as they were running first and second, respectively. After a sluggish stop on the No. 27 right-rear due to a wheel nut coming loose, Kirkwood lost nearly 1.5 seconds on pit lane, which equated to a mere two-second deficit behind Palou.

Palou’s lead lasted only five laps as Kirkwood aggressively sliced into it and made a daring late-entry pass into Turn 15 on Lap 55. It was the outright pace that Kirkwood showed in the first practice session on Friday, along with fresh primary Firestone tires, that helped him open up a lead of more than five seconds over Palou.

The lead for Kirkwood lasted only 13 laps as a full-course yellow was displayed for Christian Rasmussen’s stalled No. 21 Java House ECR Chevrolet near the pit-exit tire barrier on Lap 68.

As a result of that yellow, the field bunched up for a one-lap sprint to the finish. Kirkwood mashed the accelerator on the green-white flag and began to put a little breathing room between himself and Palou. That lasted only a couple of corners when the full-course yellow was displayed for an incident between Romain Grosjean in the No. 18 BMax Dale Coyne Racing Honda and the No. 6 Smartshop McLaren Chevrolet of Nolan Siegel, ultimately ending the race.

When Palou was asked in post-race interviews if he could have run down and passed Kirkwood, he said “[n]ot today. I was pushing really hard on the first and second stint, and I could see that the 27 (Kirkwood) and the 12 (Power) were a little bit faster than us.”

Alex Palou shares his thoughts in the media center after his runner-up finish in the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny | The Podium Finish)

The first race on the streets of Arlington offered differing pit strategies due to the unknown nature of how the Firestone alternate and primary tires would react to the new surface. As a result, the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington saw Kirkwood, Palou, and Power each leading a race-high 16 laps.

Top-finishing rookie Caio Collet brought it home in an impressive 12th position in the No. 4 Combitrans A.J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet.

The NTT IndyCar Series will get a deserving week off next week after a strong start to the season before resuming with the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst on March 29 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Race Results: