Practice 2 marked the second time drivers were able to test out the new Arlington Street Track. With cooler temperatures, drivers had a split focus during the session to finalise their cars for both qualifying and the race. As drivers tested set up and tyre durability, the times came tumbling down. Kyle Kirkwood from Andretti Global topped the session.
Two Red Flags Disrupt First Half of Practice 2
During the first half of practice 2 in Arlington, drivers were still learning the new track. Overnight, the organisers made some amendments to the back straight to ease the bumpy surface. Initially, drivers were testing the durability of the Firestone tyres, opting for multiple laps over fast ones.
With a bumpier surface, Turn 12 (Ranger’s Right) and Turn 4 proved the most difficult. Due to this, many drivers had lock-ups at these turns, causing brief local yellows. However, the first incident of the day happened between Scott Dixon and Will Power. Dixon spun as he entered Turn 4, getting stuck on track. With this being a blind corner, no local yellow was initially shown, and consequently, Power was unaware of the obstruction. The yellow was shown just as Power hit the back of Dixon, and consequently, a red flag came out.
Luckily, both drivers were able to return to the pit lane, and the green flag didn’t take long to be shown. From there, drivers’ attention turned to qualifying, and times started to fall. It wasn’t long before Scott McLaughlin’s top time in practice 1 was beaten, with Kyle Kirkwood achieving a lap of 1:34.531. Kirkwood and Álex Palou began trading the fastest lap, but with three minutes left of the session, another red flag occurred.
This time, the culprit was Team Penske driver Josef Newgarden. Losing the rear on the entry to Turn 2, Newgarden over-corrected the steering and found himself in the wall. With little track time remaining, the session ended early.
“I just had a rear lock-up and ran out of room. We didn’t lose too much track time, but I would rather have had another run.”
– Newgarden discussing the accident with FOX reporter Jack Harvey
Palou Leads Delayed Group 1
The second half of practice saw a delayed start due to the minor barrier repairs being made at Turn 2. When the track finally went green, it didn’t last long. Before cars had the opportunity to get out of the pit lane, a red flag was shown as catering personnel were walking on the track. For safety, race control sent the safety car around the track to ensure no more personnel were around. This caused a lengthy delay.
When the cars did get running, all of Group 1 opted for the hard tyres. With two sets of the alternative soft tyres mandatory in the race, teams decided not to use another set in this session. Instead, they looked at the durability and long-running opportunities.
Once again, many were struggling with front tyre lock-ups in Turns 4 and 12. A local yellow was shown for Dennis Hauger, who stalled in the run-off area at Ranger’s Right. Palou took an early lead on the timesheet, but Marcus Armstrong was quick to join the fight. Armstrong was the first to get into the 1:33s with a lap time of 1:33.970, but Palou quickly topped that with a 1:33.500.
Another red flag was shown in the closing stages of the session when Armstrong spun on the final corner and stopped on track by pit entry. When the track went green, no one was able to go faster than Palou.
Andretti Global Dominate Group 2
The third and final part of practice 2 was the least eventful. Similar to Group 1, they opted to run the harder compound tyre. With all three drivers in this group, Andretti Global quickly led the way and was untouchable. Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson swapped fastest laps throughout the session, and despite his contact early on, Power eventually joined the top three.
Ultimately, Kirkwood came out on top as he set the fastest lap Arlington has seen to date, a 1:33.140. The Honda-powered cars looked to have the advantage around the track, with the manufacturer taking a top-five lockout. Team Penske’s David Malukas and McLaughlin led the Chevrolet-powered cars.
Ahead of Practice 2 in Arlington, Palou suggested that two seconds could be found over yesterday’s lap times. Kirkwood has already found over 1.5 seconds. Will we see that reduced further in qualifying?
The fight for the inaugural pole position is up next, and drivers will face a new format. The Fast Six now have the track to themselves for a single-lap qualifying attempt. Whilst tyres were slow to warm up in this session, will the warmer temperatures predicted help this? Kirkwood leads the way, but can he take his first pole position of 2026?