Inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington Debuted to Praise from the Field for Infrastructure; Drivers Gained Valuable Experience in Practice 1

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Java House Grand Prix of Arlington
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
PRACTICE NOTES / QUOTES – March 13, 2026

Inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington Debuted To Praise from the Field for the Event Infrastructure and More; Drivers Gained Valuable Experience in Practice 1

1) Scott McLaughlin 1:34.8926 / 103.570 mph
11) Graham Rahal 1:36.1392 / 102.227 mph
19) Louis Foster 1:36.5075 / 101.837 mph
21) Mick Schumacher 1:37.3287 / 100.977 mph

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Mobil 1 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I love the track; it was super fun for me. It’s bumpy on the back straight but it’s not that bumpy everywhere else. It’s just bumpy in the wrong spots at times like into the brake zones. I actually don’t mind that challenge, I just wish we had a little more in the race car to manage that better. We’re not far off the field other than McLaughlin though. We’re quite close to everybody else. We’ll work to close the gap and get the Mobil 1 car further forward.”
FAST FACTS: Will compete in his first race in Arlington but has an INDYCAR win in the state of Texas… The third-generation race car driver won at the Texas Motor Speedway oval in 2016. The originally scheduled June 11, 2016 and then June 12 Firestone 600 was postponed to August 27 due to rain. Once the race resumed, Rahal emerged victorious with a dramatic, last lap pass to win in the closest finish in TMS history — a mere 0.0080-seconds ahead of James Hinchcliffe. Has SIX INDYCAR SERIES wins (2008 – St. Pete street course; 2015 – Fontana Super Speedway, Mid-Ohio road course; 2016 – Texas Super Speedway; 2017 Detroit Race 1, Detroit Race 2; 2023 – IMS road, Portland road) and five poles (2009 – St. Pete street course, Kansas oval; 2017 – Detroit Race 1 street; 2023 – IMS road, Portland road) and his highest series season-ending standing is fourth place in 2015.
LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Droplight Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I think it is a cool track; I think the layout is awesome. I really enjoy it. It’s very bumpy obviously down the backstraight and it might be worthwhile looking at smoothing out some bumps overnight but we’ll have to wait to see what INDYCAR decides to do. We’re a bit off the pace right now and have some pace to find so we’re going to do that overnight.”
FAST FACTS: The 2024 INDY NXT Champion earned the 2025 Rookie of the Year honors last year and is in the midst of his sophomore season in 2026. He has earned one INDYCAR POLE (Road America 2025) and his career best finish to date is ninth place, which he earned at the season opener St. Pete this year.
MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 ENVE Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “If I thought St. Pete was bumpy, this is a whole new story of bumpiness. We’re shaking through pretty well; it was pretty incredible. There are lots of things to clean up on our side. It was good to get a first taste of what the track is like, but we have a lot of work to do.”
FAST FACTS: The event is considered the closest thing to a home race this season for Schumacher as his family has a ranch north of DFW Airport. Earned his top series start of fourth place last weekend in his oval racing debut at Phoenix as well as his top finish to date of 18th place. He was running in 11th place when his outside front tire changer’s wheel gun malfunctioned on the first of three pit stops, which dropped him to 22nd. The Swiss-born son of legendary seven-time Formula One champion, Michael Schumacher, brings with him an impressive resume that includes 43 Formula One starts and a best finish of sixth place, along with three podiums in WEC competition, where he competed in 2024 and 2025 for Alpine.
NEXT UP: Practice 2 will take place from 9:35 – 10:55 a.m. ET tomorrow (FS1) and qualifying will take place from 2:35 – 4:10 p.m. (FS2). The Java House Grand Prix of Arlington will be televised live on FOX beginning at 12:30 PM ET on Sunday, March 15.