Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge Fast Facts

Race weekend: Saturday, Sept. 14-Sunday, Sept. 15

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

Race distance:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge: 206 laps/273.98 miles

INDY NXT by Firestone

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

Media Links: Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge Entry List (PDF) | INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix Entry List (PDF) | Trackside Media Guide (Interactive 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

Six sets primary, four 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 upper/lower groove session Saturday.

INDY NXT by Firestone

Two new sets for use through the event weekend. A carryover set from the Nashville Open Test in August may be used during pre-qualifying practice sessions Saturday.

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YouTube: @INDYCAR

2008 race winners (most recent event at Nashville Superspeedway):

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

Scott Dixon (No. 9 Energizer Dallara/Honda/Firestone)

INDY NXT by Firestone

Ana Beatriz (No. 20 Healthy Choice/Sam Schmidt Motorsports)

2008 NTT P1 Award winner (most recent event at Nashville Superspeedway):

Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone), 1 minute, 31.5320 seconds, 204.519 mph (four laps)

2008 INDY NXT by Firestone pole winner (most recent event at Nashville Superspeedway):

James Davison (No. 11 Lifelock/Sam Schmidt Motorsports), 51.8844 seconds, 180.401 mph (two laps)

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

NBC Sports race telecast: Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge, 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Sept. 15, NBC. Kevin Lee is the play-by-play announcer for coverage of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. Dave Burns and Georgia Henneberry are the pit reporters. Universo will provide a Spanish-language telecast.

Peacock live streaming: All NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice sessions and qualifying will stream live on Peacock, NBC’s direct-to-consumer livestreaming product, while NBC’s telecast of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge will be simulcast on Peacock. The INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix will be streamed on Peacock, with practice and qualifying shown on INDYCAR LIVE.

INDYCAR Radio Network broadcasts: Mark Jaynes is the anchor alongside driver analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman is the turn announcer. Jake Query, Michael Young and DJ Clark are the pit reporters. The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge (3 p.m. ET Sunday), INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix (11:45 a.m. ET Sunday) and all NTT INDYCAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone at Nashville Superspeedway practices and qualifying sessions air live on network affiliates, SiriusXM 218, racecontrol.indycar.com and the INDYCAR App powered by NTT DATA.

At-track schedule (all times Central):

SATURDAY, SEPT. 14

9-9:30 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 1, INDYCAR LIVE

10-11:30 a.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Practice, Peacock

Noon-12:30 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Practice 2, INDYCAR LIVE

1:15 p.m. Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (Single car, Two laps, Peacock

2:45 p.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (Single car, Two laps), INDYCAR LIVE

4:15-4:45 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Upper/Lower Groove Session (Two groups, 15 minutes each), Peacock

5-6 p.m. NTT INDYCAR SERIES Final Practice, Peacock

SUNDAY, SEPT. 15

10:55 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines)

11 a.m. INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix (65 laps/86.45 miles), Peacock

2 p.m. NBC on air

2:25 p.m. “Drivers, start your engines”

2:30 p.m. Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge (206 laps/273.98 miles), NBC, Universo and Peacock (Live)

NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship facts:

• Alex Palou leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship entering a title-deciding finale for the second time in his INDYCAR SERIES career. Palou also led the championship with a race to go in 2021 and won the championship. Palou, who clinched the 2023 championship with one race to go in 2023, has led the point standings after 11 of the 16 rounds this season. He took the point lead at the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey in June.
• Three drivers are still mathematically eligible for the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Alex Palou, Will Power and Scott McLaughlin. Palou will clinch his third NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship in the last four years with a finish of ninth or better.
• Nashville Superspeedway will host the NTT INDYCAR SERIES season finale for the first time in 2024. Tony Kanaan (2004) and Scott Dixon (2008) are the only drivers to win in Nashville and claim the INDYCAR SERIES championship in the same season.

Point differential: The 33 points separating Alex Palou and Will Power is the seventh-largest point margin with a race remaining since 2008. During that span, the average lead with one race remaining is 29.9 points.

Key championship point statistic: Ryan Hunter-Reay overcame a 17-point deficit to win the 2012 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship – the largest margin made up by an INDYCAR SERIES champion in the finale since 2000. Dan Wheldon made up 19 points in the 2006 season finale at Chicagoland Speedway to tie Sam Hornish Jr. atop the point standings, but Hornish won the championship via tiebreaker.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Notes:

• The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge will be the 17th and final race of the 2024 season. There have been seven winners in 16 NTT INDYCAR SERIES races in the 2024 season. Pato O’Ward (Streets of St. Petersburg, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Milwaukee Mile-1), Scott Dixon (Streets of Long Beach, Streets of Detroit), Scott McLaughlin (Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway-1, Milwaukee Mile-2), Alex Palou (Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca), Josef Newgarden (Indianapolis 500, World Wide Technology Raceway), Will Power (Road America, Iowa Speedway-2, Portland International Raceway) and Colton Herta (Streets of Toronto) have all won in 2024. The modern record (1946-present) for the most different winners in a season is 11 in 2000, 2001 and 2014.
• The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge will be the seventh oval race of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. Five of the first six oval races were won by drivers from Team Penske – Josef Newgarden (Indianapolis 500, World Wide Technology Raceway), Scott McLaughlin (Iowa Speedway-1, Milwaukee Mile-2) and Will Power (Iowa Speedway-2). The remaining oval race (Milwaukee Mile-1) was won by Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren.
• The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge will be the ninth INDYCAR SERIES event at Nashville Superspeedway. Scott Dixon is the only former Nashville Superspeedway winner entered in the event. But Dixon, Marcus Ericsson and Kyle Kirkwood won the three editions of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix held on the streets of downtown Nashville.
• Josef Newgarden has won 10 of the last 17 oval races on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. Newgarden, a native of Hendersonville, Tennessee, has never raced at Nashville Superspeedway.
• Three drivers have previous starts at Nashville Superspeedway – Scott Dixon, Will Power and Graham Rahal. Dixon has six starts, most of all drivers. Only Dixon has led laps at the track, leading 247 laps in his six starts.
• Milestones: Scott Dixon will attempt to make his 339th consecutive start, extending his record streak.

INDY NXT by Firestone Race Notes:

• Andretti Global’s Louis Foster has already clinched the INDY NXT by Firestone championship but can cap his historically dominant season with another win at Nashville. Foster, a native of England, leads the series in wins (seven), poles (six), laps led (297 of 575), top-five finishes (12) and top-10 finishes (13) through 13 races.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Dave Furst
Vice President, Communications
+1-317-492-6244, dfurst@indycar.com

Kate Davis
Director, Communications
+1-386-566-8538, kdavis@indycar.com

Arni Sribhen
Coordinator, Communications
+1-317-492-8531, asribhen@indycar.com

Kiran Brar
Coordinator, Communications
+1-317-503-1504, kbrar@indycar.com