The Starting Grid is Set for the Inaugural Java House GP of Arlington; Foster to Start 13th, Schumacher 17th and Rahal 24th

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Java House Grand Prix of Arlington
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
QUALIFYING NOTES / QUOTES – March 14, 2026

The Starting Grid Is Set for the Inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington; Foster to Start 13th, Schumacher 17th and Rahal 24th

1)         Marcus Ericsson         1:34.3562 / 104.158 mph          Group 1 / Round 3
13)       Louis Foster                1:36.6639 / 103.820 mph          Group 1 / Round 1
17)       Mick Schumacher        1:34.8391 / 103.628 mph          Group 1 / Round 1
24)       Graham Rahal              1:35.3159 / 103.110 mph          Group 2 / Round 1

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Mobil 1 Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We are just missing a little bit of everything. The car was disconnected, there was no forward drive and power-down wasn’t good either. I expected Louis and mick to get through to Round 2 but they struggled to. We’ve got some work to do to figure this place out.”

• 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 we knew it was an uphill battle since we did the first few laps in practice. And playing catch up on a new circuit is a tough one to drag yourself out so props to the boys for putting all their hard work into it. As for qualifying, we maybe could have slipped through into the Fast 12 had I put a better lap together, had the car been a bit more in the window. It was one of those where I didn’t feel like I did the job I could have done or was able to do. But also, we weren’t where we needed with the car balance. We will start 13th and our Achilles heel in the race has always been we haven’t got enough tires and now we have loads of tires. I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t make it through because I think it’s only my second time I haven’t made it through to the Fast 12 in qualifying on a road or street course. With where we started and where we could have been, I think we’re starting in a decent place. I think there will be a lot of yellows and I think it’s going to be a hectic race.”

• 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: “I think it’s a combination of a couple of things, a couple of factors played into it (not transferring to Round 2). I think overall, we had the pace to advance but didn’t and we’re looking at that. Just didn’t feel like we got the right combination of grip to pass it up on those reds and just missed out on advancing there. It’s a shame because I think we had more in there especially on our black tire runs, which looked pretty good.  We’ve just got to analyze that to see what we could do better and move on to the next qualifying, which will be Barber, the first road course for me, which I think will be a bit more familiar to me.”

• 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: Forecasted high winds on Sunday condensed the race day schedule and moved the race to an earlier start time. The pre-race warm-up will now be 9:50-10:10 AM ET and the race will take the Green Flag at 12:17 PM ET. Broadcast coverage of the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington will be televised live on FOX beginning at 11:30 AM ET (one hour earlier) on Sunday, March 15.