IndyCar News: Penske forced to take over promotion in Nashville

This article is updated with the Press Release IndyCar put out today – see below.

January 23, 2025

After Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Music City GP promotions team did not find it economically feasible to continue being the race promotor for the Nashville IndyCar race, Penske Entertainment had no choice but to step in and take over the race promotion themselves this year.

Borchetta will stay involved as sponsor of the event and hold another downtown Nashville event launch for the Aug. 30-31 race, which is held 30 minutes east at the 1.33-mile Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn.

Penske Entertainment is now the race promoter for almost half the IndyCar races:

The Long Beach Grand Prix
The Indianapolis GP
The Indianapolis 500
The Detroit Grand Prix
The Iowa Speedway doubleheader
The Milwaukee Mile
Nashville
The upcoming Arlington Grand Prix for 2026
A street race in Denver if it ever materializes

Press Release

Penske Entertainment Corp. and Big Machine’s Scott Borchetta jointly announced today an updated event structure for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix:

Penske Entertainment will assume responsibility for the promotion of the race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.
Big Machine will remain the event’s entitlement partner, continuing to enhance the event’s connectivity to the entertainment industry and downtown Nashville.
Penske Entertainment executive Anne Fischgrund has been named president of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

Big Machine served as the original entitlement partner for the event across its first three editions and stepped up in an additional promoter capacity as the race weekend transitioned to Nashville Superspeedway last year. Moving forward, its continued involvement as entitlement partner will be an asset for exciting musical programming and to showcase the brands’ artists, products and community endeavors. “All things” Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta also will serve as a liaison to Nashville’s entertainment community and civic leaders, keeping the event fully connected to the Music City.

Following a successful debut at famed Nashville Superspeedway this past season, the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will continue as the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES finale, taking place Sunday, Aug. 31 with a national network showcase on FOX. The 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone finale will precede the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship race that day.

“Year one at Nashville Superspeedway was a tremendous success, thanks in great part to the terrific partnership and strong leadership exhibited by Scott Borchetta and his team at Big Machine,” said Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles. “As we grow our event portfolio at Penske Entertainment, it’s strategically important to take the reins of our season finale at such an exciting and renowned racetrack. And to see the relationship with Big Machine carry forward through this continued partnership only underscores the growth opportunities before us in the Music City.”

A thrilling 2024 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix championship finale produced the best INDYCAR SERIES numbers on record at Nashville Superspeedway, including the most on-track passes, passes for position, passes in the top 10 and passes in the top five. Colton Herta picked up his first win on an oval while Alex Palou celebrated his third NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.

The event also was highlighted by a street festival alongside Nashville’s iconic honky-tonks, including the Battle on Broadway Pit Stop Challenge, to begin championship weekend.

“We are very proud to continue our relationship with INDYCAR and build from our record-breaking 2024 season finale as the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix becomes a true crown jewel for Nashville, Middle Tennessee and global motorsports fans,” Borchetta said. “We will also continue to produce the incredibly successful downtown street party, which will serve as the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix kickoff event, on Friday, Aug. 29, so make plans to be with us!”

Additionally, veteran motorsports executive Anne Fischgrund assumes the role of president of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Fischgrund is relocating from Indianapolis to Nashville after her successful tenure as the general manager of the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway.

Penske Entertainment continues to prioritize an enhanced NTT INDYCAR SERIES calendar, leveraging new partnerships and strategic investments. In October, it unveiled the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Arlington, powered through a first-of-its-kind joint venture with the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers. In November, it announced the acquisition of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach ahead of its epic 50th anniversary edition this April.

This year, all 17 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races will be broadcast on FOX, beginning with the season opener Sunday, March 2 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding on the streets of St. Petersburg. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is the only premier motorsport series in North America with all races broadcasting on network television. The full 2025 schedule is available here.