Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – Colton Herta may have won the battle, but Alex Palou won the war. In a frantic season finale on the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway oval, Colton Herta put on a fearless drive the closing laps, streaking past Pato O’Ward with five laps remaining to pull away for his second win of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season and first career win on an oval. As the laps wound down, it became a battle of those who could make it to the end on fuelRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – The bump strikes back. In addition to the majority of the NTT IndyCar Series field having to learn the intricacies of a new track in Nashville Superspeedway for this weekend’s running of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, the field was in for a rude awakening when they hit the track for the first time on Saturday. Through Turns 3 and 4, a section of the concrete surface near the tunnel that runs under the track had been ground, creating a bumpRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – Chalk one up for Will Power. In the battle to see who will take home the Astor Cup when the checkered flag flies on Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, qualifying could not have gone in more opposite directions for the two drivers that are vying for the championship in the NTT IndyCar Series season finale. Power, the 2014 series champion and driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Chevrolet, will roll off from the outside of the secondRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – Oval or street course, Kyle Kirkwood has Nashville figured out. The driver of the No. 27 Andretti Global Honda bested the streets of Music City a year ago, winning the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix and now that the race has transitioned out to the Nashville Superspeedway oval, he’s still got the speed. Pacing the 1.33-mile concrete oval with a two-lap average of 201.520 mph, the Jupiter, Florida native jumped to the top of the scoring pylon to give himself the bestRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – Championship weekend is officially underway in Nashville. The drivers and teams of the NTT IndyCar Series got their first look at the 1.33-mile concrete oval in the opening practice session of the weekend for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix and it was a familiar face at the top of the scoring pylon when all was said and done. Alex Palou, who comes into the weekend looking to clinch his third title in the last four years, paced the session with aRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor LEBANON, Tenn. – Since rolling into the Music City in 2021, the NTT IndyCar Series has raced in the throes of the city, with both downtown Nashville and the Tennessee Titans stadium as a backdrop. However, the grand plans of moving the race to a new street layout that would include a stretch of Broadway fell through, forcing the season finale outside the city to Nashville Superspeedway to contest the championship race at a track that the series has not raced at since 2008. The 1.333-mileRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor For the past three years, the NTT IndyCar Series has had a footprint in and around downtown Nashville, with the 2024 running of the Music City Grand Prix playing host to the season finale on a new course that would have brought more of the downtown city streets into play – including a stretch of Broadway. However, those plans were turned on their head on Wednesday when race organizers and IndyCar officials announced that the race would not be held downtown, but instead outside the cityRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NASHVILLE – There’s something about Kyle Kirkwood and winning on street courses in 2023. For the second time this season, the newest member of the Andretti Autosport stable was cool, calm, and collected under pressure as he put on a masterclass in Nashville to win the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. After starting eighth, Kirkwood cycled to the lead a couple of different times as pit stop strategy played out, but once he cycled back to the top spot on lap 54, it was hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NASHVILLE – Scott McLaughlin will have the best seat in the house when the green flag waves on Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix after scoring his second straight pole in Nashville. Emulating the “Thirsty 3’s to the Moon!” moniker that his No. 3 Team Penske has embraced this season, it was almost as if the New Zealander had strapped the RS-25 rocket engine on display in the fan zone to his Chevrolet as he blasted around the 11-turn, 2.1-mile street course in one minute,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor NASHVILLE – As if the Nashville street course wasn’t challenging enough on its own, Mother Nature decided to up the ante for NTT IndyCar Series practice on Saturday morning, throwing rain and a wet track into the mix. The second practice of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix weekend was originally scheduled for 11:40 am ET and a planned hour-long session. However, with the rain causing standing water at certain points around the 11-turn, 2.1-mile course, the session was eventually shortened to just a half-hourRead More