ARLINGTON — A long, grinding offseason of hard work and self-evaluation has elevated Marcus Ericsson’s IndyCar race craft.
“I didn’t recognize myself in the last year. I didn’t drive with confidence. I didn’t drive aggressive. I was just not myself,” Ericsson said Saturday afternoon, shortly after securing pole position for the inaugural Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. “I was very pissed-off, really, after last year and the way I performed, especially the second half.”
Ericsson finished 20th in the final 2025 NTT IndyCar Series driver standings, with a best result of fifth on the streets of Toronto.
Ericsson, of Andretti Global, earned the first NTT P1 Award of his eight-year career in his 117th start by virtue of a single-lap of 1 minute, 34.3562 seconds (an average speed of 104.158 mph) around a temporary, 2.73-mile, 14-turn street course in the Arlington Entertainment District.
Related
Ericsson’s flyer was quick enough to hold off Alex Palou’s attempt at the close of single-car, Fast Six qualifying. Palou, the four-time reigning series champion from Chip Ganassi Racing, settled for second at 1:34.8180 (103.651 mph).
Ericsson qualified second and finished sixth in the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) street race — the first indication his offseason regimen was about to pay off.
“I’ve worked really hard to be back at the level I know I can be at, and I think that’s been showing these first few weekends,” said Ericsson, a 35-year-old Swede and driver of the No. 28 InPwr Honda. “I’m very proud of that and need to keep pushing, of course. It’s just the start of the season.”
Palou, who won at St. Pete, earned his first front-row start on a street circuit since last summer’s event in Toronto.
“It was exciting to see what we could do on this Fast Six,” said Palou, a 28-year-old Spaniard and driver of the No. 10 DHL Honda. “It was obviously the first goal we had today was to try to get to Fast Six. It’s been very close throughout the field, and you had to nail all the laps.
“Yeah, happy with a P2. Just a huge margin. Seeing Marcus standing up front, it’s good. I have a great friendship with him. I think he deserves it. He’s a really good driver. Happy to see him there. Hopefully not tomorrow, but happy to see him there today.”
Pato O’Ward placed third in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet.
“Congrats to Marcus, his first career pole in IndyCar,” said O’Ward, a 26-year-old native of Mexico with family ties to San Antonio. “I’m ecstatic for [the race]; I’m pumped. This place really is a joy to drive, and every lap out there is really fun. It’s a great circuit.”
Australian Will Power will start fourth. Felix Rosenqvist of Sweden qualified fifth in the No. 60 Sirius XM/Texas A&M Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing with Curb Agajanian. Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand completed the Fast Six in a second Meyer Shank Racing entry.
Honda-powered drivers took six of the top seven qualifying spots for the 70-lap, 191.1-mile race, which will feature a new start time because of a forecast for high winds later Sunday afternoon in North Texas.
Live coverage will now start at 10:30 a.m. on Ch. 4, FOX Deportes, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls, with the green flag set for 11 a.m.
The pre-race warmup is moving to 8:50-9:10 a.m., with live coverage on FS1, FOX One, the FOX Sports app and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls from 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Jerry talks legacy: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Roger Penske, founder and chairman of Penske Corp., appeared in an interview during Friday morning’s edition of Fox News Channel’s FOX & Friends.
Jones and Penske chatted about the unique partnership that has resulted in this weekend’s IndyCar Java House Grand Prix of Arlington. But, of course, the conversation turned to Jones’ tenure as general manager of “America’s Team.”
Asked about his legacy, Jones said he is proud to have all three of his children involved in the team as top executives.
“And matter of fact, most things I get credit for are their ideas,” Jones said. “As a matter of fact, Stephen, my oldest son, drafts all the bad players, and I have to step in and draft all the good ones. And so that’s the way it works around there.
“So, having said that … we’ve got to have this journey, and it’s had bumps and it’s had knots on your head, then I’ve got to live those down-times, up-times with the family. That’s been the best part of the whole show.”