The IndyCar Collection landed maybe its largest catch underneath the Penske Leisure period after asserting a return to Texas with a race on the streets of Arlington in 2026.
The importance of the announcement was within the partnerships shaped, with Penske Leisure teaming up with the Nationwide Soccer League’s Dallas Cowboys and REV Leisure, the official occasions accomplice of Main League Baseball’s Texas Rangers.
A 14-turn, 2.73-mile circuit will weave round AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Area, which function the respective properties of the Cowboys and Rangers, and thru the leisure district of a metropolis that sells 1.6 million tickets to spectators for varied occasions yearly.
Mark Miles, the president and CEO of Penske Leisure, which owns the IndyCar Collection, sat down with Motorsport.com to debate the occasion and the technique of the collection shifting ahead, in addition to how new broadcast accomplice FOX Sports activities will consider.
Let’s get the onerous query out of the way in which first: There are folks asking why this couldn’t work at Texas Motor Speedway, and why IndyCar is headed to Arlington?
Mark Miles: Properly, I suppose the very first thing is, as everyone I feel is aware of, we actually have not had success recently find a date that was going to be dependable over time, and that is essential to us. That created the chance to consider it as a result of we undoubtedly needed to be in North Texas. After which for a while we have had a dialogue — and for a shorter time, however a number of months, we have had loads of work between our crew and the Cowboys and the Rangers to discover the chances. I feel [the announcement] does communicate for itself. We have been articulating an occasion technique for a while, which is that primary, we’re not strolling away from the will to have an excellent mixture of the varied codecs of races for us; that features, after all, ovals and non permanent avenue races and highway programs.
So, that is first, and this does not symbolize any distance between that philosophy and the announcement. Then we have additionally mentioned we wish to search for excessive affect alternatives to be in scorching rising markets and to strategy them in two alternative ways. One is the place now we have develop into the promoter. By ’26, that would be the case for the 2 IndyCar races in Indy, in Detroit, for the race or races in Iowa, [and] Milwaukee. Now, by way of this partnership, we’re a part of the promoter group for Arlington — and I feel there will be one or two extra examples of that by 2026, if not earlier than. And we expect that is essential, each by way of the markets and our capability to actually management the hassle to improve our occasions.
We wish to try this by taking management of extra races ourselves and likewise by searching for alternatives for prime degree companions. What may very well be a better degree alternative, in that regard, than the Cowboys and the Rangers in Arlington at that facility? I hope that everyone will get an opportunity to have a look at the video that was completed to painting how the racetrack will look. I feel it will be an amazing racetrack. We’ve acquired nice companions. We’ve acquired time to do it proper within the first installment for ‘26 within the spring. That is, sort of, the very first conspicuous instance of that a part of the occasion technique. And once more, I feel there’ll be extra as time goes ahead. I additionally wish to say that this doesn’t symbolize strolling away from our philosophy of getting a wholesome mixture of three codecs of racing for IndyCar. It doesn’t imply that we aren’t going to have third social gathering promoters as we do now. We’re simply going to be opportunistic to search for occasions we will run ourselves and for alternatives to have excessive degree partnerships inside the promotion of our occasions.
The magnitude of taking IndyCar to a degree of involvement with main groups such because the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers was actually felt on the monitor unveiling at Texas Reside! on Tuesday. Speaking with Santino Ferrucci, Alex Palou, and Josef Newgarden, there was a big-fight really feel to this that actually had them buzzing in a means that made this really feel prefer it rivals Formulation 1’s Miami Grand Prix. What sort of stratosphere do you suppose this raises IndyCar to?
MM: Yeah, we expect IndyCar deserves to be understood to be a significant league sport, and I feel typically you might be judged by the corporate you retain. That’s one other approach to emphasize the technique of searching for these sorts of excessive degree partnerships. By the way in which, simply associated to selling occasions, but additionally in upgrading different issues we do, like advertising, communications, and hospitality. There are all types of companions on the market which are very succesful, very a lot main league and we’ll proceed to be very selective, however search for these alternatives in these and different capabilities of placing on massive occasions to up our sport and present everyone IndyCar’s main league sport.
Arlington Grand Prix monitor map
Picture by: Penske Leisure
What went into the small print of the monitor format?
MM: Properly, it took loads of work. Tony Cotman is the lead for us in designing tracks, however he has two roles for us: One is at all times the place we race to be sure that they’re secure, but additionally good racing and his different perform is to assist design them. We had this fabulous alternative to mainly take a white canvas. The leisure district there’s simply an enormous alternative to place our greatest foot ahead in the way in which we race. We might have a look at that entire house. It does not have lots of the issues or challenges that avenue races can have while you’re proper in the course of a downtown and it is loads of space that even issues just like the streetlights which are within the parking tons are typically additional aside than in loads of locations, which is helpful.
“We might see how we might have a nine-tenths of a mile straightaway, which clearly will get us up, we expect, 200-plus miles per hour. That is an enormous a part of our velocity, clearly an enormous a part of our racing and our model that then instantly goes into a tough right-hand flip and we might engineer a monitor accordingly. It is also large. There are a pair locations the place we’re nonetheless engaged on how large it may be, however an excellent instance of the width is that straightaway. So, it was sort of a clean canvas and Tony and our crew, folks like Michael Montri, who’ve the expertise of laying out that monitor in Detroit and elsewhere, might actually go to city and profit from the actual property that is there.
When you may have large companions which are part of one thing like this, I feel the most important curiosity is the promotional ingredient. With that, what sort of activations – and we’ve heard rumblings FOX may very well be selling it as early as this weekend’s NFL sport between the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions – needs to be anticipated?
MM: Properly, FOX has a deep relationship with each our accomplice organizations and so they’re completely all-in and supportive of this innovation for us. But additionally, I feel the 2 organizations and their form of property, together with our capability to supply focus by way of the creation of the grand prix committee that will probably be targeted on a regular basis on simply that, is potent. So, Invoice Miller (President of the Grand Prix of Arlington) will probably be placing collectively the crew. Will probably be small, however waking up each morning desirous about the grand prix there. However we even have these nice relationships with the Cowboys and the Rangers and their sponsor lists, these relationships, their suite prospects, their season ticket prospects, their membership prospects, and that’s a fairly wonderful base from which to exit and begin to promote. So, we’ll have the main focus of a devoted workers proper there in Dallas, with clearly the complete cooperation of the Cowboys and the Rangers. I feel that it’s only a exceptional constellation of property that we hope to profit from.
Grand Prix of Arlington rendering
Picture by: Penske Leisure
Does asserting this occasion, with the potential of different occasion bulletins looming, alter the expectation for the variety of races on the brand new FOX deal? Can the quantity develop to, say 20, or is there a cap restrict to the variety of races that may be broadcast, per se?
MM: Our settlement with FOX requires us to supply them 17 races which are championship races within the regular season because it’s structured now. And we just like the quantity 17, that is why it is in our settlement with FOX. It is not a restrict. It is what we count on to do. However whether or not it is for us and the homeowners and the drivers or for FOX or our sponsors, we see one other nice alternative, I feel we’ll pursue it. If which means one much less doubleheader or another adjustment on the calendar, we’ll take issues case by case and and act accordingly. I do not suppose folks ought to have a look at us as having an ambition to get to twenty, for instance, which is sort of implicit in your query. Seventeen is, we expect the candy spot, however we have talked about it and if there’s such a factor as one other Arlington on the market, and which means all issues thought-about all of the races on the calendar, the most effective factor to do to go is to go to 18, then we’ll have a look at that. However there are most likely methods even within the brief time period so as to add and nonetheless keep at about 17.
2007 Mexico Metropolis race winner Sebastien Bourdais, Newman Haas Lanigan Racing
Picture by: Dan R. Boyd / Motorsport Photos
Do you anticipate, whether or not it’s subsequent yr or in 2026, FOX Deportes for all the schedule or a choose variety of races to assist generate curiosity of the Hispanic viewers whether or not on this southern area of america, Mexico, and so on.?
MM: Properly, the chance to succeed in extra Hispanic followers and make extra Hispanic followers is essential to us and our companions in Arlington vis-a-vis FOX. FOX Deportes is contractually dedicated to take three races. The plan is the primary race of the season, St. Pete, the Indy 500 and the finale, however that is not a cap both. That is actually a minimal. And as we get nearer to creating the ’26 schedule and Deportes sees how they do with the three races that they will have subsequent yr, I feel it is fully doable that they might add occasions. And given the significance of Hispanic inhabitants in that market in North Texas, it is an apparent place to look. Nevertheless it’s not nearly FOX. In speaking with [Dallas Cowboys’ owner] Jerry Jones [on Tuesday], he was telling us about how essential advertising to Hispanic folks is.
He instructed us concerning the excursions he’s completed in Mexico to do earned media occasions and to publicize the Cowboys in Mexico itself, not simply the southern a part of america. And that’s music to our ears. We talked to him about Pato [O’Ward] and the way he’s a pure star and the way he can be completely happy to be engaged on this occasion and do all he can, as he did at Texas Motor Speedway to assist promote and develop the occasion. I don’t wish to say an excessive amount of about it, but it surely’s conceivable that we might find yourself with an occasion in Mexico within the subsequent few years. And if we did that, it could actually be within the spring. So, a connection between an occasion in Arlington and an occasion in Mexico can be a strong alternative to bridge and cross promote the varied sports activities to the Hispanic followers simply south of the border and within the southern United States. I feel it’s an enormous alternative for us, and the Cowboys and the Rangers see it as a possibility for them, to strengthen our attraction to Hispanic followers.
