Music City Grand Prix Explained

Race Title:Music City Grand Prix
Track Map:Nashville Street Circuit.png
Series Long:IndyCar Series
Series Short:ICS
Venue:Nashville Street Circuit
First Race:2021
Last Race:2023
Laps:80
Most Wins Driver: Marcus Ericsson (1)
Scott Dixon (1)
Kyle Kirkwood (1)
Most Wins Team:Chip Ganassi Racing (2)
Most Wins Manufacturer:Honda (3)
Length Mi:2.170
Length Km:3.492
Turns:11
Record Time:1:15.7491
Record Driver: Scott McLaughlin
Record Car:Dallara DW12
Record Year:2022
Record Class:IndyCar

The Music City Grand Prix, known as the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons, is an IndyCar Series race held at the Nashville Street Circuit in Nashville, Tennessee. The race's most notable feature is its 3578feet straightaway across the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, which spans the Cumberland River. The bridge layout makes the track the only one on the IndyCar circuit and one of the few in the world to cross a significant body of water. Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural event in 2021. The Grand Prix is set to host the season finale from 2024 onwards.

History

Background

On September 16, 2020, the IndyCar Series announced the addition of the Music City Grand Prix as a street circuit race in downtown Nashville for its 2021 schedule.[1] This announcement came after three years of discussion between Nashville sports and tourism officials and IndyCar executives, which had previously resulted in three failed proposals for a race in Nashville. Two of the three failed attempts, which occurred in 2010 and 2015, respectively, were led by former Pocono Raceway president Joseph Mattioli III.[2] [3] The Music City Grand Prix is privately funded and has a three-year contract for IndyCar Series races.[4] [5] The event ownership group includes Scott Borchetta, Justin Timberlake, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. among others.[6] Nashville's successful hosting of the 2019 NFL draft was one of the deciding factors in the race becoming a reality, according to Penske Entertainment Corporation President and CEO Mark Miles.[7] The Tennessee Titans serve as a host for the race.

Initially in negotiations, IndyCar CEO Roger Penske was dismissive about the idea of a race in Nashville, citing the permitting requirements and infrastructure costs.[8] Event CEO Matt Crews recalled, “I’ll never forget when Butch Spyridon (President and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp) looked him in the eyes when Roger was saying, ‘These things are tough. The permitting is tough,’” Crews said. “Butch said, ‘Sir, you’ve just never done business in Nashville, because that’s what we do here: We’re in the event business.’”[9]

Two-time IndyCar Series champion and Nashville-area native Josef Newgarden called the race "the number-one destination outside of the Indy 500". He further opined that "it is going to showcase the town of Nashville probably the best way possible." Nashville mayor John Cooper called the race "a catalyst for our economic recovery".

The Music City Grand Prix became the first new street circuit race for the IndyCar Series since the Grand Prix of Houston in 2013. It also became Nashville's first IndyCar race since the Indy 200 was held at Nashville Superspeedway between 2001 and 2008.[10] The Music City Grand Prix was scheduled as the sixth street circuit race of the 2021 season, joining the doubleheader at Detroit along with races at Long Beach, St. Petersburg, and Toronto. All of these races have been run since at least 2012, however, and more recent events on street circuits have already become defunct, including races in Baltimore, Boston (which was never held), and Houston.

Season finale (2024)

On August 3, IndyCar announced that the Music City Grand Prix would host the season finale from 2024 onwards.[11] [12] The 2024 race would have featured a new layout that would have run through Broadway in Downtown Nashville while retaining the Korean War Memorial Bridge from the original 2021 layout. In addition, the 2024 Music City Grand Prix would have been the 3rd time a street course has held the IndyCar Series season finale (St. Petersburg, 2020 and Long Beach, 2021). However, IndyCar management announced a change of venue to Nashville Superspeedway due to the race being impacted and conflicting with construction of New Nissan Stadium.[13]

Circuit design

The original Nashville Street Circuit measured 2.17miles and included 11 turns. Running adjacent to Nissan Stadium, the circuit's most notable feature is its 3578feet straightaway across the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, which spans the Cumberland River. The bridge layout makes the track the only one on the IndyCar circuit and one of the few in the world to cross a significant body of water. Top speeds for the IndyCar race were expected to be around 200mph. The track varies in width from a minimum of 37feet to a maximum of 80feet.[14] As at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the Nashville Street Circuit uses a different location for starting the race (between turns 3 and 4) than the finish line.[15] Middle Tennessee State University's School of Concrete and Construction Management created concrete mixes for the track's barriers and pit row.[16] Music City Grand Prix CEO Matt Crews noted that the event organizers planned to "limit traffic interruptions as much as possible". Track designer Tony Cotman intentionally avoided Nashville's major streets so as not to adversely affect tourism. Discussing the design of the circuit, he called the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge "one of those landmarks where you see that bridge on TV or in photos and you’re going to know exactly where it is. It’s like seeing the Queen Mary in the background at Long Beach." Cotman also noted that he expects turns 1, 2, and 7 to be the best passing locations on the circuit.

Pundits and drivers, including former Formula One drivers Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson, have compared the Nashville Street Circuit to the Baku City Circuit that hosts the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The Nashville Street Circuit's downtown section and long straightaways on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge have been compared to the castle section and long straights at Baku.[17]

For the 2024 iteration of the race, the course would have been revised. The new course would have maintained the same distance and bridge straights, but only featured seven turns. The new circuit would have gone into the heart of downtown Nashville and passed many of the famous honky tonk bars of the city.

Race summaries

Nashville Street Circuit

Race results

NTT IndyCar Series

SeasonDateDriverTeamChassisEngineRace DistanceRace TimeAverage Speed
(mph)
ReportRef
LapsMiles (km)
2.1 mile circuit
2021August 8 Marcus EricssonChip Ganassi RacingDallara80173.6miles2:18:5072.607Report[24]
2022August 7 Scott DixonChip Ganassi RacingDallaraHonda80173.6miles2:06:2479.744Report[25]
2023August 6 Kyle KirkwoodAndretti AutosportDallaraHonda80173.6miles1:58:0285.396Report[26]

Support events

GT America Series

SeasonDateWinning Driver
2021August 7 James Sofronas
August 8 Bret Curtis
2022August 6 Onofrio Triarsi
August 7 Justin Wetherill
2023August 5 Johnny O'Connell
August 6 Jason Daskalos

Trans-Am Series TA2

SeasonDateWinning Driver
2021August 7 Mike Skeen
2022August 6 Brent Crews
2023August 5 Connor Zilisch

Stadium Super Trucks

SeasonDateWinning Driver
2021August 7 Robby Gordon
August 8 Robert Stout
2022August 6 Matthew Brabham
August 7 Gavin Harlien
2023August 5 Robert Stout
August 6 Robby Gordon

Indy NXT / Indy Lights

SeasonDateWinning Driver
2022August 7 Linus Lundqvist
2023August 6 Christian Rasmussen

Toyota GR Cup America

Lap records

As of August 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Nashville Street Circuit are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent
Original Grand Prix Circuit: 3.492 km (2021–2023)
1:15.7491 2022 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix
1:20.8265[27] 2023 Nashville Indy NXT round
1:28.883[28] 2023 Nashville GT America round
1:31.350[29] 2023 Nashville Trans-Am round
1:32.647[30] 2021 Nashville GT America round
1:34.624[31] 2022 Nashville GT America round
1:43.082[32] 2023 Nashville Toyota GR Cup North America round

Notes and References

  1. News: Blackstock. Elizabeth. September 19, 2020. Take A Lap Around IndyCar's Music City Grand Prix Circuit In Nashville. Jalopnik. January 23, 2021.
  2. News: Estes. Gentry. August 8, 2021. Music City Grand Prix wasn't a race but a party, and Nashville does those well. The Tennessean. August 11, 2021.
  3. News: Martin. Bruce. November 9, 2017. Nashville group wants to bring major racing series to downtown Music City. Autoweek. August 11, 2021.
  4. News: Brown. Nathan. September 16, 2020. IndyCar announces 'a heck of a party' in return to Nashville for 2021 Music City Grand Prix. The Indianapolis Star. January 23, 2021.
  5. News: Organ. Mike. September 16, 2020. IndyCar Series Grand Prix coming to Nashville in 2021 with a unique track. The Tennessean. January 23, 2021.
  6. News: Green Light for the Grand Prix . Nashville Business Journal . July 23, 2021.
  7. News: Davis. Chris. Bowles. Laken. September 15, 2020. IndyCar announces Music City Grand Prix race for 2021. WTVF. January 23, 2021.
  8. News: Green Light for the Grand Prix . Nashville Business Journal . July 23, 2021.
  9. News: Green Light for the Grand Prix . Nashville Business Journal . July 23, 2021.
  10. News: Organ. Mike. August 28, 2020. Roger Penske, other IndyCar executives' visit brings Grand Prix closer to Nashville streets. The Tennessean. January 23, 2021.
  11. Web site: Nashville To Host NTT INDYCAR SERIES Finale Sept. 13-15, 2024 . 3 August 2023 . 4 August 2023 . IndyCar.com.
  12. Web site: It's official: Music City Grand Prix moving to heart of downtown Nashville as 2024 IndyCar season finale . 3 August 2023 . 4 August 2023 . The Tennessean . en-US.
  13. Web site: Pruett . Marshall . IndyCar moves season finale to Nashville Speedway . racer.com . 14 February 2024.
  14. Web site: Ryan. Nate. 16 September 2020. IndyCar adds Nashville to its 2021 schedule with Music City GP Aug. 6-8. 23 January 2021. NBCSN.
  15. News: Malsher-Lopez. David. 17 September 2020. IndyCar's new Nashville street course: the track designer's guide. Motorsport.com. 23 January 2021.
  16. News: 16 November 2020. Tennessee university tapped to help Music City Grand Prix. Associated Press. 23 January 2021.
  17. Web site: Smith. Fred. 7 August 2021. IndyCar's New Nashville Circuit Looks Tight, A Little Sketchy. 28 August 2021. Road & Track.
  18. Web site: Streets of Nashville. January 23, 2021. IndyCar Series.
  19. News: November 21, 2020. Trans-Am's TA2 Class Added To Music City Grand Prix. Speed Sport. January 23, 2021.
  20. News: November 19, 2020. GT America Added To Music City Grand Prix. Speed Sport. January 23, 2021.
  21. Rev Up Nashville – 30 Days Until Green Flag for Big Machine Music City Grand Prix NTT IndyCar Series Race. Music City Grand Prix. July 8, 2021. July 9, 2021.
  22. Web site: Pruett. Marshall. August 8, 2021. Ericsson rebounds from early crash to win wild inaugural Music City GP. August 9, 2021. Racer.
  23. Web site: Biebrich Jr. . Richard . 2022 IndyCar at Nashville results: Scott Dixon drives from 14th to win Big Machine Music City Grand Prix . CBS Motorsports . CBS . 8 August 2022.
  24. Web site: 2021 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 27, 2023.
  25. Web site: 2022 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 27, 2023.
  26. Web site: 2023 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. November 27, 2023.
  27. Web site: 2023 Nashville Indy NXT . . 6 August 2023 . 27 April 2024.
  28. Web site: Music City Grand Prix August 4–6, 2023 GT America Race 1 . 5 August 2023 . 6 August 2023.
  29. Web site: Trans Am Championship Presented by Pirelli Nashville August 4th-5th The Big Machine Spiked Coolers TA2 Series Round 9 Revised Provisional Race Results . 5 August 2023 . 6 August 2023.
  30. Web site: 2021 Music City Grand Prix GT America Race 1 - Classification - Final . 8 August 2021 . 7 August 2023.
  31. Web site: 2022 Music City Grand Prix GT America Race 2 - Classification - Final . 7 August 2022 . 26 March 2023.
  32. Web site: Music City Grand Prix August 4–6, 2023 Toyota GR Cup North America Race 1 . 6 August 2023 . 7 August 2023.