Arlington, Texas – As the sun rose over the streets of Arlington on race day morning, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers hit the track for their final warmup session before the highly anticipated inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

This new street circuit, weaving through the Entertainment District around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field, has already proven to be a challenging and exciting addition to the 2026 calendar as the third round of the season.

In a session marked by razor-thin margins at the top, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyffin Simpson laid down the fastest lap of 1m34.7588 seconds, achieving a top speed of 103.716 mph over his 10 laps. The young Cayman Islands driver edged out Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Rinus VeeKay by a mere 0.0116 seconds, showcasing the intense competition expected in today’s race.

Veteran Scott Dixon, also from Chip Ganassi Racing, rounded out the top three with a time of 1m34.8027s, just 0.0439s off Simpson’s pace. Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden followed closely in fourth, while Dale Coyne Racing’s Dennis Hauger impressed in fifth, highlighting a strong showing from the rookies and newcomers on this unfamiliar layout.

The top 10 was incredibly tight, with less than 0.54 seconds separating the leader from tenth-placed Alex Palou. Notable performances included Christian Rasmussen in sixth for Ed Carpenter Racing (but later Rasmussen sustained damage to his No. 21 ending warmup) and Kyle Kirkwood in seventh for Andretti Global. However, some big names struggled: Championship contender Will Power could only manage 17th, while Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was down in 21st. At the back, Mick Schumacher, making his INDYCAR debut with Rahal Letteman Lanigan, finished 25th, 3.4742s off the pace as he continues to adapt to the series.

This warmup sets the stage for an unpredictable race on the 2.73-mile, 14-turn street course, where tire management and traffic will be key. With Marcus Ericsson on pole from yesterday’s qualifying, expect fireworks when the green flag drops at 12:17 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for full coverage as INDYCAR makes history in Arlington!

Sunday Morning Warmup Times for Java House GP of Arlington

Pos
No
Name
Time
Behind
Gap
Speed
Laps

1
8
Kyffin Simpson
1m34.7588s
0.000s
0.000s
103.716
10

2
76
Rinus VeeKay
1m34.7704s
0.0116
0.0116
103.703
11

3
9
Scott Dixon
1m34.8027s
0.0439
0.0323
103.668
11

4
2
Josef Newgarden
1m34.8199s
0.0611
0.0172
103.649
11

5
19
Dennis Hauger
1m34.8615s
0.1027
0.0416
103.604
11

6
21
Christian Rasmussen
1m34.9619s
0.2031
0.1004
103.494
11

7
27
Kyle Kirkwood
1m35.0107s
0.2519
0.0488
103.441
11

8
4
Caio Collet
1m35.1173s
0.3585
0.1066
103.325
11

10
10
Alex Palou
1m35.2963s
0.5375
0.1790
103.131
10

11
45
Louis Foster
1m35.3445s
0.5857
0.0482
103.079
11

12
15
Graham Rahal
1m35.5083s
0.7495
0.1638
102.902
8

13
12
David Malukas
1m35.7039s
0.9451
0.1956
102.692
10

14
28
Marcus Ericsson
1m35.7443s
0.9855
0.0404
102.648
11

15
66
Marcus Armstrong
1m35.7590s
1.0002
0.0147
102.633
11

16
7
Christian Lundgaard
1m35.7609s
1.0021
0.0019
102.631
11

17
26
Will Power
1m35.9067s
1.1479
0.1458
102.475
11

18
60
Felix Rosenqvist
1m35.9553s
1.1965
0.0486
102.423
11

19
20
Alexander Rossi
1m35.9781s
1.2193
0.0228
102.398
6

20
6
Nolan Siegel
1m36.0505s
1.2917
0.0724
102.321
10

21
5
Pato O’Ward
1m36.0834s
1.3246
0.0329
102.286
11

22
14
Santino Ferrucci
1m36.1671s
1.4083
0.0837
102.197
11

23
3
Scott McLaughlin
1m36.2564s
1.4976
0.0893
102.102
11

24
77
Sting Ray Robb
1m36.3796s
1.6208
0.1232
101.972
11

25
47
Mick Schumacher
1m38.2330s
3.4742
1.8534
100.048
11