Pre-Race Notes: Java House Grand Prix of Arlington
Arlington, Texas | March 13-15, 202
Firestone Racing heads to Texas this weekend for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, marking the first of three new street races on the 2026 INDYCAR calendar.
Both the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone will compete on a 2.73-mile temporary street circuit featuring 14 turns (five left, nine right), a split pit lane, and a technical horseshoe section. The course winds through Arlington’s sports district, passing AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers.
- The NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone will be provided with Firehawk race tires that integrate Bridgestone global ENLITEN™ Technology. ENLITEN Technology is designed to deliver customized performance while promoting a focus on enhanced sustainability across the Bridgestone and Firestone tire portfolios. This includes consumer products, such as the new Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 V2 ultra-high performance summer tire, as well as commercial and race tires.
- Firestone Firehawk primary and alternate race tires will incorporate key ENLITEN Technology components[1], including:
- Renewable soybean oil: Replaces petroleum-based oils traditionally used in tire compounds
- Recycled steel: Used for the bead wire that anchors a race tire to a wheel
- Recycled carbon black: Reinforcement material recovered from end-of-life tires
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:
- Firestone is supplying 1400 race tires to NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams for practices and qualifying on the streets of Arlington. This includes the Firestone Fast Six single-car qualifying and Sunday’s 70-lap (191.1 miles) race.
- Firestone Racing provides a real-time tire tracker at Livetiming.net/firestone for media and fans to follow track tire strategies in qualifying and the race. As per INDYCAR rules, each entry must use one set of primary and two sets of alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.
Each NTT INDYCAR SERIES entry will receive the following allocation of Firestone Firehawk race tires:
- Primary (black sidewall): 5 sets per entry (1 extra set for rookies to use in Friday practice)
- Alternate (red sidewall): 5 sets per entry
- Rain (gray sidewall): 5 sets per entry
Notes from Cory William, Principal Program Engineer:
“The primary and alternate Firestone Firehawk race tires for Arlington use the same construction and compounds we introduced earlier this season at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. That gives teams a familiar baseline as we head to this new street circuit.
As usual, the red-sidewall alternate tire is expected to deliver more grip than the primary, along with greater performance drop-off over a run. Overall durability should be comparable to what we saw at the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg.”
INDY NXT by Firestone Notes:
Firestone is supplying close to 450 race tires to INDY NXT by Firestone teams for practices, qualifying, and the 27-lap (73.71 miles or 55-minute) race.
Each INDY NXT by Firestone entry will be provided with the following allocation of Firestone Firehawk race tires:
- Primary: 3 sets per entry (plus two carryover sets from St. Pete)
- Rain: 2 sets per entry
Learn more about Firestone at www.firestonetire.com/firestone-racing.
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