IndyCar: Big Machine Music City GP Preview

The championship chase in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is heating up as it heads south to Nashville for the second-year Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

A projected 110,000 to 120,000 fans will fill downtown this weekend to watch drivers race the 2.17-mile track, past Music City landmarks like Nissan Stadium and over the Cumberland River on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge.

“There is something for everybody. … Whether it be the racing, the music, the food, the fan zones, you’ll see something that you probably didn’t expect to like that you become a long-term fan of,” said Matt Crews, Music City Grand Prix CEO, who worked to bring Indy Car to Nashville for about seven years. “We’ve created an environment to entertain everybody.”

The Nashville street circuit is one of the most unique in North America. It’s 2.17 miles in length with 11 turns but with three distinct sections. Most notable is the long run on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge that goes over the Cumberland River.

On either end of the bridge are traditional sections of narrow city streets with concrete walls on each side. Needless to say, it presents a very different engineering challenge for teams during the 3 p.m. ET race Sunday (NBC, Peacock, INDYCAR Radio).

“It’s good to go back to Nashville,” said Rob Buckner, Chevrolet Program Manager for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. “I think everyone was stunned and really happy with the crowds and the excitement around town for last year’s event. Based on what we’re hearing it will be more of the same for this year’s race, which is great for everyone involved in INDYCAR.

“From a competition perspective, calling Nashville a unique circuit is a huge understatement!” Buckner added. “The tight and twisty sections on either side of the river plus the long runs over the bridge can present a lot of different options on the amount of downforce you can run. There have been lots of time spent looking at last year’s data to see where we can improve. Our street course record this year has been excellent and it would be great to close out the year’s final street circuit with another win.”

Nashville is the fifth street race for INDYCAR, and Chevrolet has won three of the previous four: Scott McLaughlin (St. Petersburg), Josef Newgarden (Long Beach) and Will Power (Detroit). Since rejoining INDYCAR in 2012 with its 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine, Chevrolet power has won 32 of 61 street races to date.

Last year’s inaugural event had an estimated economic impact of over $20 million, and this year is tracking along those lines, said Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine, the title sponsor of the Music City Grand Prix.

“This city has given so much to me and to Big Machine, and for us to help bring a major sporting event to Nashville is incredible that we are able to do this and make it happen on a large scale,” Scott Borchetta said.

Growing up in Southern California, racing is in Borchetta’s DNA. He will be racing in the TransAm 2 event on Saturday, after being the first one to drive over the bridge at last year’s event.

Some of the new additions this year include making all areas more accessible to handicap fans, a Ferris Wheel and Sirius XM event broadcasting, according to Borchetta.

The Big Machine X Fan Zone on the waterfront is also larger this year, with a new Cumberland River Stage featuring higher level of music content.

Last Year’s Race

Honda drivers and teams dominated the results sheets of last year’s inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, as Marcus Ericsson recovered from an opening lap contact and brief “flight” to head a Honda sweep of the first seven finishing positions, and eight of the top 10.

Ericsson turned a spectacular start-line crash into an incredible victory Sunday on the streets of Nashville Tennessee, as Honda NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers and teams dominated the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

In the first of many incidents in the 80-lap contest, Ericsson hit the back of Sebastien Bourdais’ A.J. Foyt Racing Indy car, with Ericsson’s Chip Ganassi Racing machine rising high in the air after making wheel-to-wheel contact with Bourdais.  Ericsson was assessed a stop-and-go penalty for avoidable contact, but came back to hold off a previously-dominant Colton Herta and score his second career INDYCAR victory.

Other than Oriol Servia, who led 1/3 of the laps driving the pace car, polesitter Colton Herta led the most racing laps but choked and crashed in Turn 9 with 5 laps to go while running 2nd and running down Ericsson. This brought out the 2nd red-flag, and after the restart Ericsson had no trouble beating his Ganassi teammate Dixon.

Andretti Honda drivers James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay were 3rd and 4th while Graham Rahal rounded out the top-5, giving Honda powered cars a sweep of the top-5.

Best Bumper-Car driver of the race went to Will Power who took out two of his teammates by sending them spinning.

Race Facts

Race weekend: Friday, Aug. 5 – Sunday, Aug. 7

Track: Streets of Nashville, an 11-turn, a 2.1-mile temporary street course in Nashville, Tennessee

Race distance: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 80 laps / 168 miles | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 35 laps / 73.5 miles / 55 minutes

Entry List

	CAR	DRIVER	HOMETOWN	CAR NAME	TEAM	ENGINE
1	2	Josef Newgarden	Nashville, Tennessee	PPG Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
2	3	Scott McLaughlin	Christchurch, New Zealand	DEX Imaging Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
3	4	Dalton Kellett	Toronto, Canada	K-LINE / AJ FOYT RACING	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
4	5	Pato O’Ward	Monterrey, Mexico	Arrow McLaren SP	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet
5	06	Helio Castroneves	Sao Paulo, Brazil	AutoNation/SiriusXM	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
6	7	Felix Rosenqvist	Värnamo, Sweden	Arrow McLaren SP	Arrow McLaren SP	Chevrolet
7	8	Marcus Ericsson	Kumla, Sweden	Huski Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
8	9	Scott Dixon	Auckland, New Zealand	PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
9	10	Alex Palou	Barcelona, Spain	NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
10	12	Will Power	Toowoomba, Australia	Verizon Team Penske	Team Penske	Chevrolet
11	14	Kyle Kirkwood (R)	Jupiter, Florida	Sexton Properties	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Chevrolet
12	15	Graham Rahal	New Albany, Ohio	United Rentals	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
13	16	Simona De Silvestro	Thun, Switzerland	Paretta Autosport	Paretta Autosport	Chevrolet
14	18	David Malukas (R)	Chicago, Illinois	HMD	Dale Coyne Racing with HMD	Honda
15	20	Conor Daly	Noblesville, Indiana	BitNile	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
16	21	Rinus VeeKay	Hoofddorp, Netherlands	Bitcoin Racing Team with BitNile	Ed Carpenter Racing	Chevrolet
17	26	Colton Herta	Valencia, California	Gainbridge	Andretti Autosport w/ Curb-Agajanian	Honda
18	27	Alexander Rossi	Nevada City, California	NAPA AUTO PARTS / AutoNation	Andretti Autosport	Honda
19	28	Romain Grosjean	Geneva, Switzerland	DHL	Andretti Autosport	Honda
20	29	Devlin DeFrancesco (R)	Toronto, Canada	PowerTap	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	Honda
21	30	Christian Lundgaard (R)	Hedensted, Denmark	Shield Cleansers	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
22	45	Jack Harvey	Bassingham, England	Hy-Vee	Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing	Honda
23	48	Jimmie Johnson	El Cajon, California	Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing	Chip Ganassi Racing	Honda
24	51	Takuma Sato	Tokyo, Japan	Nurtec ODT	Dale Coyne Racing with RWR	Honda
25	60	Simon Pagenaud	Montmorillon, France	AutoNation/SiriusXM	Meyer Shank Racing	Honda
26	77	Callum Ilott (R)	Cambridge, England	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Juncos Hollinger Racing	Chevrolet

Push-to-pass parameters: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: 200 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 20 seconds per activation. | Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires: 150 seconds of total time with a maximum time of 15 seconds per activation.

Firestone tire allotment: Six sets primary, four sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. One additional set of primary tires may be used by teams fielding a rookie driver. Teams must use one set of primary and one set of new (sticker) alternate tires for at least two laps in the race.

Twitter: @MusicCityGP, @IndyCar, #MusicCityGP, #INDYCAR

Event website: www.musiccitygp.com/

INDYCAR website: www.IndyCar.com

2021 race winners:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Marcus Ericsson (No. 8 Bryant Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Inaugural event

2021 NTT P1 Award winner: Colton Herta (No. 26 Gainbridge Honda), 1:13.6835, 102.601 mph

Qualifying lap record:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Colton Herta, 1:13.6835, 102.601 mph, Aug. 7, 2021

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Inaugural event

NBC Sports race telecast: Big Machine Music City Grand Prix 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 7, NBC (live). Leigh Diffey is the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe.

Peacock Premium Live Streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock Premium, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while NBC’s race telecast of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will be simulcast on the streaming service. Peacock Premium’s exclusive post-race show – featuring driver interviews, podium ceremonies and post-race analysis – will be streamed following the race. The Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix will be streamed on Peacock Premium with practice and qualifying being shown on INDYCAR Live!

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Jake Query, Nick Yeoman and Michael Young are the turn announcers. Ryan Myrehn and Joel Sebastianelli are the pit reporters. The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix race (3 p.m. ET Sunday), Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix (1 p.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 160, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (all times local):

FRIDAY, AUG. 5

2-2:50 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Practice, INDYCAR Live!

3:15-4:30 p .m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (75 minutes), Peacock Premium

SATURDAY, AUG. 6

10:15-10:55 a.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Practice, INDYCAR Live!

11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (45 minutes limited guarantee), Peacock Premium

2:40-3 p.m. – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Qualifying, INDYCAR Live!

3:30 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of NTT INDYCAR SERIES knockout qualifications), Peacock Premium

SUNDAY, AUG. 7

9:15-9:45 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup, Peacock Premium

12:05 p.m. – Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”

12:10 p.m. – Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix (35 laps/73.5 miles/55 minutes), Peacock Premium

2 p.m. – NBC on air

2:23 p.m. – Big Machine Music City Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”

2:30 p.m. – Big Machine Music City Grand Prix (80 laps/160.8 miles), NBC (Live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Championship facts:

• Will Power leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with four races to go for the second time in his INDYCAR SERIES career. Power also led the championship with four races to go in 2010 but did not win the title. Power has led the point standings after three of the 13 races this season.
• Since 2008 when INDYCAR SERIES racing unified under the NTT INDYCAR SERIES banner, the eventual series champion has won the 14th race of the season four times. The most recent occurrence was 2021 when Alex Palou won at Portland. Other drivers to win the 14th race of their championship season were Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012), Dario Franchitti (2009 and 2010) and Scott Dixon (2008).

Key championship point statistic: Since 2008, the largest deficit overcome by the eventual champion was 59 points by Dario Franchitti in 2010, while Scott Dixon overcame Juan Pablo Montoya’s 54-point lead in 2015. The top six drivers in the 2022 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship standings are separated by 52 points.

Point differential: The nine points that separate Will Power and Marcus Ericsson is the third-closest point margin since 2008. Before this season, the average lead with four races to go since 2008 was 37.6 points.

CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 4 TO GO

YEAR	LEADER	SECOND	LEAD	CHAMPION
2008	Scott Dixon	Helio Castroneves	65	Scott Dixon
2009	Scott Dixon	Ryan Briscoe	3	Dario Franchitti (-20)
2010	Will Power	Dario Franchitti	59	Dario Franchitti
2011	Dario Franchitti	Will Power	47	Dario Franchitti
2012	Ryan Hunter-Reay	Helio Castroneves	23	Ryan Hunter-Reay
2013	Helio Castroneves	Scott Dixon	39	Scott Dixon
2014	Helio Castroneves	Will Power	13	Will Power
2015	Juan Pablo Montoya	Scott Dixon	54	Scott Dixon
2016	Simon Pagenaud	Will Power	58	Simon Pagenaud
2017	Josef Newgarden	Helio Castroneves	7	Josef Newgarden
2018	Scott Dixon	Alexander Rossi	46	Scott Dixon
2019	Josef Newgarden	Alexander Rossi	16	Josef Newgarden
2020	Scott Dixon	Josef Newgarden	76	Scott Dixon
2021	Alex Palou	Pato O’Ward	21	Alex Palou
2022	Will Power	Marcus Ericsson	9	?

 

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

• There have been eight different winners in 13 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2022 season. Scott McLaughlin (Streets of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), Josef Newgarden (Texas Motor Speedway, Streets of Long Beach, Road America, Iowa Speedway-1), Pato O’Ward (Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway-2), Colton Herta (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-1), Marcus Ericsson (Indianapolis 500), Will Power (Raceway at Belle Isle Park), Scott Dixon (Streets of Toronto) and Alexander Rossi (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course-2) have all won in 2022. The record for most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
• The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will be 14th race of the 2022 season and the fifth and final temporary street circuit race of the 17-race NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. Team Penske has won three of the previous four events with Scott McLaughlin winning St. Petersburg on Feb. 27, Josef Newgarden winning at Long Beach April 10 and Will Power winning at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park on June 5. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon won at Toronto on July 17.
• Firestone will use the racetrack as a proving ground to demonstrate the performance of a new sustainable natural rubber derived from guayule, a desert shrub grown in the American Southwest. Firestone Firehawk race tires made with guayule-derived natural rubber were introduced at the Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge in May and will make their competition debut as the alternate race tire at the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in Nashville. The guayule natural rubber is located within the Firestone Firehawk’s sidewall. Bridgestone race tire engineers decided to use the guayule rubber in the entire sidewall because that area is made up of the most natural rubber. This allows Firestone to maintain the same quality and performance as the existing race tire. Bridgestone plans to incorporate guayule natural rubber into more of its race tires starting in 2023. For B-Roll of the tire, click HERE.
• Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 302nd consecutive start, the second-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history … With his next win, Dixon will break a tie with Mario Andretti and give him sole possession of second on the INDYCAR SERIES all-time victory list with 53 wins … With his next pole position, Will Power will tie Mario Andretti for the INDYCAR SERIES record for most career poles with 67 … With his next win, Power will tie Michael Andretti for fourth on the INDYCAR SERIES all-time victory list with 42.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Notes:

• The Indy Lights Music City Grand Prix will be the series’ debut in Nashville. Linus Lundqvist of HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing is in the midst of a dominant season, leading the series in wins (4), poles (5) and top-five finishes (9) through nine races. Lundqvist, a native of Sweden, owns a commanding 77-point lead over second-place Hunter McElrea of Andretti Autosport.
• While the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires is new to Nashville, two drivers have experience on 2.1-mile street circuit in other cars. Matthew Brabham and Jacob Abel raced in Nashville in 2021 in the Stadium Super Trucks doubleheader. Brabham recorded two podium finishes in the event.
• Danial Frost, Christian Rasmussen and Hunter McElrea have all scored their first Indy Lights win in 2022. Will another talented prospect like Sting Ray Robb, Benjamin Pedersen, Kyffin Simpson or Ernie Francis Jr. score a first series win on the streets of Nashville?
• Push-to-pass could play a key strategic role at Nashville as Indy Lights drivers will have a bank of 150 seconds to use an added 50 horsepower to assist in overtaking, similar to the drivers in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The maximum amount of time for each press of the overtake system is 15 seconds.

• FULL SCHEDULE

  FRIDAY AUGUST 5TH

  9:30 AM GATES OPEN

  9:30 AM-5:00 PM PRO WATERCROSS ON THE CUMBERLAND

  10:15 AM TRANS AM SERIES PRACTICE 1

  11:55 AM GT AMERICA TEST SESSION

  12:30 PM GT AMERICA PRACTICE 1

  1:15 PM TRANS AM SERIES PRACTICE 2

  2:00 PM INDY LIGHTS SERIES PRACTICE 1

  3:15 PM INDYCAR PRACTICE 1

  4:45 PM STADIUM SUPER TRUCKS QUALIFYING

  5:20 PM FREEDOM FRIDAY MILITARY DEMONSTRATION

  6:15 PM GT AMERICA PRACTICE 2

  7:00 PM FREEDOM FRIDAY TRIBUTE CONCERT FEATURING AARON LEWIS

  SATURDAY AUGUST 6TH

  8:00 AM MUSIC CITY MILES & MEMORIES BIKE/WALK/RUN/RUCK

  9:00 AM GATES OPEN

  9:00 AM-5:00 PM PRO WATERCROSS ON THE CUMBERLAND

  9:30 AM TRANS AM SERIES QUALIFYING

  10:15 AM INDY LIGHTS PRACTICE 2

  11:15 AM INDYCAR PRACTICE 2

  12:30 PM TRANS AM RACE

  1:55 PM GT AMERICA QUALIFYING

  2:30 PM INDY LIGHTS QUALIFYING

  3:30 PM INDYCAR QUALIFYING

  5:45 PM VINTAGE INDY SESSION

  6:15 PM STADIUM SUPER TRUCKS RACE 1

  7:25 PM GT AMERICA RACE 1

  8:30 PM HEADLINE CONCERT – TIM MCGRAW

  10:00PM FIREWORKS SHOW

  SUNDAY AUGUST 7TH

  8:00 AM GATES OPEN

  9:15 AM INDYCAR WARMUPS

  10:00 AM VINTAGE INDY SESSION

  10:55 AM GT AMERICA RACE 2

  12:10 PM INDY LIGHTS RACE

  1:20 PM INDYCAR PRE RACE CEREMONIES

  2:30 PM INDYCAR BIG MACHINE MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX

  4:45 PM INDYCAR VICTORY LANE CELEBRATION

  5:05 PM STADIUM SUPER TRUCKS RACE 2

  5:45 PM POST RACE CONCERT – BRANTLEY GILBERT & CARLY PEARCE

  **ALL TIMES TENTATIVE, SUBJECT TO CHANGE