Race weekend: Saturday, July 18-Sunday, July 19

Track: Nashville Superspeedway, a 1.33-mile oval in Lebanon, Tennessee

Race distance:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls: 300 laps/399 miles

INDY NXT by Firestone: INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix: 65 laps/86.45 miles

Media Links: Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls Entry List (PDF) | INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix Entry List (PDF) | Trackside Media Guide(Interactive PDF) | Weekend Event Schedule (PDF)

Hybrid energy deployment parameters:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Unlimited activation with a maximum deployment of 140 kilojoules (kJ) per lap.

Firestone tire allotment:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Seven sets primary, five sets alternate to be used during the event weekend. Teams must use one set of primary and two sets of alternate tires during the race. One additional set is available for use during the high-line group practice session on Saturday.

INDY NXT by Firestone: Three new sets for use throughout the event weekend. A carryover set from the April 2 Open Test held at Nashville may be used during the pre-qualifying practice session Saturday.

2025 race winners:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Josef Newgarden (No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet)

INDY NXT by Firestone: Myles Rowe (No. 99 ABEL Motorsports with Force Indy)

2025 NTT P1 Award winner:

Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet), 47.5178 seconds, 201.520 mph (two laps)

2025 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner:

Salvador de Alba (No. 27 Andretti Global), 51.9106 seconds, 184.471

One-lap qualifying record:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Scott Dixon, 22.6952 seconds, 206.211 mph, July 18, 2003

INDY NXT by Firestone: Thiago Medeiros, 25.6508 seconds, 182.386 mph, July 16, 2004

Note: Qualifying records based on time, not speed.

FOX Sports telecasts: NTT INDYCAR SERIES: Practice 1, 10 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 3 p.m. ET Saturday, FOX (live); High Line Session/Final practice, 6 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2; Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls, Approx 5:35 p.m. ET, Sunday, FOX, FOX One (live). Will Buxton is the play-by-play announcer for FOX’s coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Georgia Henneberry, Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters. | INDY NXT by Firestone:Practice 1, 11:30 a.m. ET Saturday, FS1 (live); Qualifying, 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, FS2 (live); Race, 1 p.m. ET Sunday, FS1 (live). Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for FOX Sports’ coverage of INDY NXT by Firestone alongside analyst Jack Harvey. Georgia Henneberry is the pit reporter.

INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Michael Young is the turn announcer. Jake Query, Ryan Myrehn and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls race (5 p.m. ET Sunday) can be heard live on network affiliates nationwide. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES race, INDY NXT by Firestone race (12:55 p.m. ET Sunday), NTT P1 Award qualifying (3 p.m. ET Saturday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES practices also air live on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA. All INDY NXT by Firestone practices, qualifying sessions and races are available on SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation 218, indycar.com/leaderboard and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (all times Central):

SATURDAY, JULY 18

9-10 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice, FS1

10:35-11:25 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, FS1

2 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Single car, Two laps, FOX

3:35 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (Single car, Two laps), FS2

5 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES High Line Session (Two groups, four alternating 10-minute sessions), FS2

6-7 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, FS2

SUNDAY, JULY 19

12:01 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”

12:06 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix (65 laps/86.45 miles), FS1

4:35 p.m. – FOX on air (all times approximate, based on World Cup Final)

4:35 p.m. – Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls “Drivers, start your engines”

4:40 p.m. – Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls (300 laps/399 miles), FOX (Live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

• The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls will be the 12th race of the 2026 season. There have been six winners in the first 11 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races this season. Alex Palou (Streets of St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, Streets of Long Beach and Streets of Detroit), Josef Newgarden (Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway), Christian Lundgaard (Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Road America), Kyle Kirkwood (Streets of Arlington), Felix Rosenqvist (Indianapolis 500) and Pato O’Ward (Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course).
• The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls will be the fourth oval race of the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. Two of the first three oval races were won by Josef Newgarden of Team Penske (Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway). Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian won the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in May.
• The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by OnlyBulls will be the 11th INDYCAR SERIES event at Nashville Superspeedway. Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden are the only former Nashville Superspeedway winners entered in the event. Dixon won three consecutive races in 2006-08. Newgarden, a native of Hendersonville, Tenn., has won 13 of the last 30 oval races on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule (2021-present), including last year’s race. Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwoodwon the three editions of the Music City Grand Prix held on the streets of downtown Nashville.
• Twenty-two drivers have previous starts at Nashville Superspeedway. Scott Dixon has the most starts, with eight. Eleven drivers have led laps at the track: Dixon 248, Pato O’Ward 137, Josef Newgarden 114, Kyle Kirkwood 67, Alexander Rossi 48, Alex Palou 11, David Malukas 9, Scott McLaughlin 7, Will Power 5, Rinus VeeKay 2 and Marcus Armstrong 1.
• Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 368th consecutive start, extending his record streak…Graham Rahal will attempt to make his 268th consecutive start, the third-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Josef Newgarden will attempt to make his 231st consecutive start, the sixth-longest streak in INDYCAR SERIES history…Dixon will extend his record to 431 with a start Sunday.

INDY NXT by Firestone Race Notes:

• The ultra-competitive INDY NXT by Firestone season continues with the season’s second oval visit of the season at Nashville Superspeedway. The HMD Motorsports duo of Enzo Fittipaldi and Tymek Kucharczyk top the point standings with Fittipaldi leading Kucharczyk by 17 points. Cape Motorsports Powered by ECR’s Nikita Johnson is just 20 points behind the lead. The 2026 season has seen eight winners in 12 races. The series record is 10 different winners in both 2008 and 1998.
• The INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix will be the series’ ninth race at Nashville Superspeedway. Myles Rowe won the race in 2025. Previous INDY NXT by Firestone winners at Nashville include Cory Witherill, Mark Taylor, Thiago Medeiros, Jay Howard, Ana Beatriz and Louis Foster.

What Honda wants you to know:

• Taking Aim at Alex: Everyone is chasing Alex Palou, yet again, in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship fight. Palou is the reigning and four-time series champion—having taken the crown in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Palou leads the championship this year by 56 points at this point in the season, with four wins to his name—St. Pete, Barber, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and in the HRC-branded ‘Honda Honda’ at the Detroit Grand Prix. Palou is hoping for his fifth title in six years, all before the age of 30.

• The World Cup Bump: Sunday’s NTT INDYCAR SERIES race from Nashville Superspeedway will immediately follow the completion of the World Cup final. IndyCar has seen a fantastic bump in audience viewership from World Cup lead-ins and lead-outs on Fox so far this season. Road America drew an average of 1.8 million viewers, and a peak of 2.9 million viewers, following a Spain Group Stage match. While Mid-Ohio saw viewership averages of 1.3 million, and a peak of 1.5 million, in a race that preceded the Norway vs. Brazil match. IndyCar viewership is up 18% compared to 2025—a season which already saw record audience growth for the series.

• Ten Top 10s: Kyle Kirkwood has reclaimed second place in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship following his first-career road course podium finish at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio last time out. The Andretti Global driver has scored 10 top 10 finishes in 11 races so far this season, a remarkably consistent string of results that has put him solidly in the championship discussion in the second half of the season.

• Music City Madness: 2024 marked IndyCar’s return to Nashville Superspeedway for the first time since 2008, however the series raced on a downtown temporary street circuit from 2021-2023. Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural Nashville Music City Grand Prix in spectacular fashion—recovering from an airborne accident to take the checkered flag. Ericsson’s then-Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon took the win in 2022, while his current teammate at Andretti Global, Kyle Kirkwood, found victory lane in 2023. Andretti Global’s Colton Herta was victorious at the first race on the Nashville Superspeedway oval at the 2024 season finale. Herta’s win kicked off an 11-race winning streak for Honda—the last race of 2024 and the first 10 races of 2025.

2026 Honda IndyCar Lineup

C—Series Champion I—Indianapolis 500 winner W—Race Winner R—Series Rookie

What Chevrolet wants you to know:

While Team Chevy as a whole has had fantastic short oval success recently, one driver in particular has stood out. Josef Newgarden, driving the No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet this weekend, is aiming for a fourth straight NTT INDYCAR SERIES win on a short oval (ovals under 1.33 miles in length), going back to his win at this same Lebanon, Tennessee track to end the 2025 season, and includes trips to victory lane at Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway this season.

The local driver has made 42 starts on short ovals since the introduction of the 2.2L Twin-Turbo V6 in 2012, including 36 with Team Chevy starting in 2015. The 35-year-old’s average short oval starting spot is 4.8, and his average short oval finish is 6.6.

Over those 36 Chevrolet-powered races, Newgarden’s impressive record on short ovals includes:

• 15 wins, giving him a win percentage of 41.7%
• 19 podiums, giving him a podium percentage of 52.8%
• 30 top tens, giving him a top ten percentage of 83.3%
• 3095 laps led, giving him a laps led percentage of 40.2%
• 6 poles, giving him a pole percentage of 16.7%
• 22 starts in the first two rows, giving him a top-four start percentage of 61.1%

Chevrolet and General Motors history at Nashville Superspeedway

Chevrolet wins at Nashville Superspeedway: 2

2025 – Josef Newgarden – Team Penske

2002 – Alex Baron – Blair Racing

Oldsmobile wins at Nashville Superspeedway: 1

2001 – Buddy Lazier – Hemelgarn Racing

Chevrolet poles at Nashville Superspeedway: 2

2025 – Pato O’Ward – Arrow McLaren

2005 – Tomas Scheckter – Panther Racing

Oldsmobile poles at Nashville Superspeedway: 1

2001 – Greg Ray – Team Menard

Chevrolet podiums at Nashville Superspeedway: 7

Chevrolet podiums at Nashville Superspeedway by driver:  Josef Newgarden (2), Alex Barron (1), Gil de Ferran (1), Sam Hornish (1), Scott McLaughlin (1), Pato O’Ward (1)

Chevrolet podiums at the Nashville Superspeedway by team: Team Penske (4), Arrow McLaren (1), Blair Racing (1), Panther Racing (1)

Oldsmobile podiums at Nashville Superspeedway: 3

Oldsmobile podiums at Nashville Superspeedway by driver: Billy Boat (1), Buddy Lazier (1), Jaques Lazier (1)

Oldsmobile podiums at Nashville Superspeedway by team: Curb-Agajanian-Beck Motorsports, Hemelgarn Racing (1), Sam Schmidt Motorsports (1)

Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway: 481

Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway by driver: Pato O’Ward (137), Josef Newgarden (114), Sam Hornish (99), Alexander Rossi (48), Tony Renna (35), Scott Sharp (16), Alex Barron (11), Scott McLaughlin (7), Will Power (7), Conor Daly (2), David Malukas (1)

Chevrolet laps led at Nashville Superspeedway by team:  Panther Racing (103), Team Penske (54), Arrow McLaren (53), Kelley Racing (51), Blair Racing (11)

Oldsmobile laps led at Nashville Superspeedway: 200

Oldsmobile laps led at Nashville Superspeedway by driver: Sam Hornish, Jr. (86), Buddy Lazier (71), Billy Boat (26), Eliseo Salazar (8), Greg Ray (6), Robbie McGehee (2), Jaques Lazier (1)

Oldsmobile laps led Nashville Superspeedway by team: Panther Racing (86), Hemelgarn Racing (71), Curb-Agajanian-Beck Mortorsports (26), A.J. Foyt Racing (8), Team Menard (6) Cahill Racing (2), Sam Schmidt Motorsports (1)

Manufacturer History at Nashville Superspeedway

Wins (with competition):

3 – Honda (2024, 2005, 2004)

3 – General Motors (Chevrolet/Oldsmobile)

2 – Chevrolet (2025, 2002)

1 – Oldsmobile (2001)

1 – Toyota (2003)

Poles (with competition):

3 – General Motors (Chevrolet/Oldsmobile)

2 – Honda (2024, 2004)

2 – Chevrolet (2025, 2005)

1 – Infiniti (2002)

1 – Oldsmobile (1)

1 – Toyota (2003)

What Meyer/Shank wants you to know:

Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) returns to left-turn-only racing this weekend as the team heads to the D-shaped oval of Nashville Superspeedway for Sunday’s Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix. Round 12 of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES is one of just five oval events on the 2026 schedule and will see drivers tackle the 1.33-mile high-banked track for 300 laps (399 miles).

MSR enters the weekend looking to build on a strong season that includes Felix Rosenqvist’s Indianapolis 500 victory and consistent speed from both entries. The team has enjoyed success on ovals in recent years, highlighted by two Indy 500 wins and Marcus Armstrong’s first career INDYCAR podium at Iowa Speedway in 2025.

Rosenqvist arrives seventh in the Championship and Nashville has been a solid venue for the Swede, who qualified third in 2024 and finished seventh in the race last year. This weekend, the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda will feature The Highway (Ch. 56), a station highlighting the next generation of country music superstars, like popular artist and race fan Riley Green.

Armstrong heads to Nashville eager to turn around some bad luck. Most recently he charged from 24th to 14th at Mid-Ohio, after a mechanical issue in practice led to an incident and major repairs affecting his qualifying performance. The New Zealander also came within five laps of his maiden INDYCAR victory at Road America before an engine failure ended his day. Armstrong, who is still relatively new to oval racing, boasts 10 top-tens in just 16 starts. He finished seventh at Nashville Superspeedway in 2024, and will pilot the No. 66 REMAX Honda for this event.

The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix takes the green flag Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET on FOX, with SiriusXM IndyCar Radio providing live coverage throughout the weekend on channel 218. For the full weekend broadcast schedule, click HERE.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Felix Rosenqvist: “Of course, always ready to get on an oval. At this track, I’ve been knocking at the door the last couple of years. So, I feel like we could really do something good this weekend. Definitely want to put on a good show for the fans tuning in after the World Cup final.”

Marcus Armstrong: “I like this race, it’s going to be fun, and I’m ready for a good result. It’s 300 laps this year, so significantly longer than previously. I think the heat could make it interesting. But we’ll aim to start at the front and stay there all afternoon.”

story and featured photo courtesy of IndyCar; other photos by Tim Hailey