It is rare to see Alex Palou get beaten in a straight fight, especially after dominating the IndyCar Series over the past few seasons. But on Sunday, Kyle Kirkwood proved he had the pace and the confidence to challenge the reigning champion.

Kirkwood pulled off a daring late pass to win the inaugural Java House Grand Prix at the new street circuit around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Driving the No. 27 Honda for Andretti Global, Kirkwood earned his first victory of the 2026 season and took over the championship lead after three races.

“That was so incredible,” Kirkwood said after climbing from his car. “Man, did we have some pace. Andretti gave me the tools today. This race car and the teamwork made it happen.”

The 70-lap race on the 2.73 mile street circuit featured multiple strategies and intense battles near the front. The race came down to a duel between Kirkwood and Palou, who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing.

During the final round of pit stops on Lap 49, Palou’s crew completed a faster stop, giving the three time defending champion a 2.2 second lead over Kirkwood when both drivers returned to the track. But Kirkwood quickly began closing the gap.

By Lap 55, the Andretti driver had caught Palou and made his move. Diving to the inside in Turn 13, Kirkwood executed a bold pass for the lead and never looked back.

“He did an awesome pass,” Palou said afterward. “It was super clean and pretty impressive. We’ll get them in a couple weeks.”

Kirkwood began to stretch his advantage and built a five second lead before a late caution reset the field. Christian Rasmussen crashed near pit exit on Lap 68, bringing out the first full course yellow of the race and setting up a short sprint to the finish.

Kirkwood held off Palou on the restart, and another late caution after a collision between Romain Grosjean and Nolan Siegel allowed Kirkwood to cruise to the checkered flag under yellow.

Behind the two leaders, Andretti Global had a massive day. Will Power finished third in his first podium appearance since joining the team after a long career with Team Penske. Marcus Ericsson, who started from pole position, finished fourth.

Pato O’Ward completed the top five as the highest finishing driver powered by Chevrolet.

“This Andretti Honda camp is really strong on street courses,” O’Ward said. “We’ve got work to do if we want to beat them on pure pace.”

The result capped an impressive day for Andretti Global, which placed three drivers inside the top four. It also marked a major milestone for Kirkwood, who now leads the championship standings for the first time in his career.

“It’s only race number three, so I’m not looking at the championship yet,” Kirkwood said. “But it is nice to say it’s the first time I’ve ever led the standings.”

With the victory, Kirkwood now holds a 26 point lead over Palou in the championship. Josef Newgarden, who entered the weekend leading the standings, dropped to third after finishing 15th.

After three straight race weekends to start the season, the IndyCar Series will take a short break before returning to action at Barber Motorsports Park for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix later this month, March 27-29.