There are many positives Arrow McLaren driver Pato O’Ward sees with the IndyCar Collection returning to Texas in March 2026 with the inaugural Grand Prix of Arlington, nevertheless it’s additionally not with out its issues.
The occasion was introduced by the sequence earlier this month, in partnership with the Nationwide Soccer League’s Dallas Cowboys and REV Leisure, the official leisure companion of Main League Baseball’s Texas Rangers. The two.73-mile non permanent road circuit, will run round Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium and Rangers’ Globe Life Area, in addition to via the sports activities and leisure district that sells greater than 1.6 million tickets to spectators for varied occasions yearly. To date, it has obtained loads of reward, with a number of drivers within the paddock noting its similarities to one thing seen in Components 1.
The Lone Star State is acquainted territory for O’Ward, who’s a local of Monterrey, Mexico, but in addition grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He additionally received his first profession IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in 2021. IndyCar competed at TMS from 1997-2023.
Total, O’Ward is hoping the occasion will push the game to new heights.
Arlington Grand Prix monitor map
Photograph by: Penske Leisure
“I feel that occasion goes to be an enormous check to what new markets and what we will finally attain when it comes to a bit extra upscale than a number of the different tracks, different occasions that we have now on the calendar,” O’Ward instructed Motorsport.com.
“The venue appears actually cool. Jerry Jones (Cowboys proprietor) is a really well-known title and he owns some of the insane franchises within the NFL; one of many groups within the NFL that clearly attracts a whole lot of eyes, a whole lot of public (curiosity). I don’t know, man. Till we try this first occasion, we’ll actually see what that may finally deliver to the sequence. Texas is a big market. We have been lacking out on that market and I’m glad that it’s again on the calendar. I feel it’ll be large for the sequence but in addition a check on simply having an thought on how a lot additional we will go when it comes to experiences, what are individuals keen to pay for that have?”
And the price issue is the place O’Ward, who has seven profession IndyCar victories, stays apprehensive.
“I feel there’s a whole lot of inquiries to be requested if that occasion is a large success and I feel that may finally elevate the sequence to a special stage,” O’Ward mentioned. “However, there’s all the time the opportunity of having it the opposite approach and that’s undoubtedly one thing we don’t need. I’m a bit fearful on the pricing of all the things. I’ve spent hundreds of {dollars} of my very own cash to create experiences for individuals and typically a whole lot of these do come out at a loss as a result of in IndyCar’s market, individuals aren’t keen to pay over $1,000 for a paddock ticket. And there undoubtedly is the market to do this as a result of individuals pay $10,000 to $15,000 in Components 1, however can we faucet into that market? I don’t know.”
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