IndyCar News: Nashville street race has been a huge money loser

The Nashville IndyCar street race lost so much money over its first three years of existence, it was on the path of bankruptcy – added to the long list of failed IndyCar events.

Scott Borchetta, founder of the Big Machine Label Group, took a look at the books and found the Music City Grand Prix was deep in the red with outstanding bills to its vendors.

“It got to a point, literally, where there was such a financial challenge that our options were bankruptcy or figure out how to save the race,” Borchetta told The Associated Press. “And for IndyCar, for Nashville, for the Big Machine brand, I wasn’t going to bankrupt it. Big Machine didn’t do anything to deserve that black eye.”

Racing on the streets of Nashville, given the huge setup costs, was simply not viable, so Borchetta had to decide – bankrupt the event and walk away or find an alternative.

Borchetta made a call to Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports, and asked him about the availability of Nashville Superspeedway. The Smith-owned track in Lebanon — about 35 miles from downtown Nashville — hosted IndyCar from 2001 through 2008 with Scott Dixon winning the final three events at the venue.

Nashville Superspeedway aerial. The track seats 25,000, including all the small grandstands you see. Average race day ticket prices is $50

Smith told Borchetta he could rent the track and promote the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at the 1.330-mile tri-oval intermediate speedway. So Borchetta changed the location with a May announcement that pleased almost no one.

“It’s hard to say I wasn’t a little upset at losing the downtown race. It was really fun,” Herta said.

So, yes, it’s a major disappointment that the ballyhooed race in downtown Nashville will instead be way out at the speedway, with a permanent seating capacity of 25,000.

But, if not for Borchetta, there would be no race at all and the season would have ended two weeks ago at the Milwaukee Mile with Alex Palou crowned champion for the third time in four years.

As for moving the race back to the downtown Nashville streets after the new Titans Stadium is complete – good luck with that. Borchetta will lose his shirt.