This weekend, cars will weave through Arlington’s Entertainment District. In an unusual circumstance, the drivers won’t be facing rush hour traffic.
As the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington takes over downtown, competing cars are projected to top out at 180 miles per hour, a far cry from the posted speed limit of 35 mph.
(Courtesy | Java House Grand Prix of Arlington)
Bill Miller, the president and general manager of the event, said the project has been in discussion for a while, but the most deliberate planning took place over the last two years.
Over the past month, around 150 workers worked day and night to help prepare the viewing areas and 2.73-mile track, Miller said. In that time, the Entertainment District has transformed, with grandstands taking the place of parking lots and barriers lining Stadium Drive.
The track for the Grand Prix of Arlington continues to be set up on Feb. 23, 2026, around the AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
“There’s something like 28 million pounds of material that has gone into the construction of the barrier system, the concrete and the different things building out this facility,” Miller said.
In the year leading up to the race, contractors also made road improvements, particularly at some intersections.
In areas where bricks were used for the road or crosswalks, stamped concrete was put into place to prevent the road from rising under the pressure and weight of Indy cars.
At some points, construction workers used diamond grinding, a concrete rehabilitation technique, to smooth out bumps in the road that will now be part of the raceway.
What roads will be affected by the races?
According to the Arlington Police Department, the following roads will face closures:
North Collins Street
Randol Mill Road
AT&T Way
Cowboys Way
Stadium Drive/Ballpark Way
Nolan Ryan Expressway
“What is a small bump in a passenger car is a large bump in a car with the ground effects package (Indy cars) have,” Miller said.
The district’s unique setup, with multiple professional sports teams’ stadiums in close proximity to each other, will lead to views unseen at other IndyCar series races, Miller said.
For instance, grandstands have been set up across from Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium, in front of a turn Miller has coined the “speed trap” at the intersection of Stadium Drive and Randol Mill Parkway.
The track for the Grand Prix of Arlington is being set up on Feb. 23, 2026, around the AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
The speed trap is one of three “primary zones” of the track, Miller said. The other two are the pit and paddock area on each side of AT&T Way between Globe Life Field and AT&T Stadium and the “horseshoe” in the northwest parking lot of AT&T Stadium.
Miller said the width of the roads in the Entertainment District made it easy for track designer Tony Cotman to create wide sweeping turns, like the speed trap.
“It’s a beautiful canvas to develop a world-class racing facility,” Miller said.
(Courtesy | Java House Grand Prix of Arlington)
While the main race will take place on Sunday, the action starts on Friday.
At 9 a.m., practice laps for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Cup series will begin, and its corresponding qualifying session will begin at 4:45 p.m.
The Toyota race, along with the USF Pro 2000 Championship series races, will take place throughout the weekend as the IndyCar race approaches.
The events will also include a concert series, featuring emo darlings All Time Low and world-renowned rapper T-Pain.
Miller said the organizers wanted to “reimagine” the way they promote events and showcase the IndyCar series.
“You take this canvas you have, you’ve got this epic footprint, and we wanted to create different experiences that were not in any other track,” Miller said.
For more information on how to buy tickets or the events, click here.
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
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