IndyCar race in Nashville, Tennessee
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 3,578 ft (1,091 m) 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][2] 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.[3][4] Two of the three failed attempts, which occurred in 2010 and 2015, respectively, were led by former Pocono Raceway president Joseph Mattioli III.[5][6] The Music City Grand Prix is privately funded and has a three-year contract for IndyCar Series races.[3][4] The event ownership group includes Scott Borchetta, Justin Timberlake, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. among others.[7] 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.[3][8] The Tennessee Titans serve as a host for the race.[4]
Initially in negotiations, IndyCar CEO Roger Penske was dismissive about the idea of a race in Nashville, citing the permitting requirements and infrastructure costs.[9] 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.’”[10]
Two-time IndyCar Series champion and Nashville-area native Josef Newgarden called the race "the number-one destination outside of the Indy 500".[1] He further opined that "it is going to showcase the town of Nashville probably the best way possible."[4] Nashville mayor John Cooper called the race "a catalyst for our economic recovery".[8]
The Music City Grand Prix became the first new street circuit race for the IndyCar Series since the Grand Prix of Houston in 2013.[1][4] It also became Nashville's first IndyCar race since the Indy 200 was held at Nashville Superspeedway between 2001 and 2008.[3][11] 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.[3]
Season finale (2024)
On August 3, IndyCar announced that the Music City Grand Prix would host the season finale from 2024 onwards.[12][13] 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.[13] 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 construction at the New Nissan Stadium.[14]
Circuit design
The original Nashville Street Circuit measured 2.170 mi (3.492 km) and included 11 turns.[1][3][4] Running adjacent to Nissan Stadium, the circuit's most notable feature is its 3,578 ft (1,091 m) straightaway across the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, which spans the Cumberland River.[1][4] 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.[3][4] Top speeds for the IndyCar race were expected to be around 200 mph (320 km/h). The track varies in width from a minimum of 37 ft (11 m) to a maximum of 80 ft (24 m).[1] 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".[4] Track designer Tony Cotman intentionally avoided Nashville's major streets so as not to adversely affect tourism.[3] 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."[15] Cotman also noted that he expects turns 1, 2, and 7 to be the best passing locations on the circuit.[15]
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.[12] 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.
Marcus Ericsson (1)
Scott Dixon (1)
Kyle Kirkwood (1)
