With an incredible TV window that will bring the biggest opportunity to the NTT IndyCar Series since the tragic 2011 World Championship race, the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway is up next.
Slotted immediately after the premier television World Cup Final, IndyCar will be able to put the best product it has on this planet in front of millions of viewers within minutes of the soccer match concluding.
It will be edge-of-your-seat, suspenseful and thrilling racing on the 1.33-mile, concrete, banked oval. Outside of the Indianapolis 500, there probably isn’t more momentum, excitement and energy on what this could do for the sport than this one.
Last Year
Nashville native Josef Newgarden won for the first time in front of his hometown fans, thus preventing a winless season for the first time during his tenure at Team Penske. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a dominating win as much as the race just falling into his lap. Pato O’Ward was the dominant driver before crashing.
On-track action was notably improved from the 2024 running, in which the series returned after a lengthy absence. The result continued IndyCar’s consistent entertainment record on short ovals.
That TV Window
When the 2026 schedule came out, the series and FOX were quick to point out why Nashville had been moved from the season-finale position it had held for the previous two seasons.
It was frustrating because the event had produced good racing, and it just seemed proper and more entertaining for the championship to be decided on an oval. All the angst tied to date equity, the season finale being moved and the shift into the summer and its hotter temperatures was put aside when it was announced that the race would take place immediately after the World Cup Final, a premium television window.
Make no mistake, Fox wants to highlight their IndyCar property after buying a third of the series last year. If the World Cup happened one year earlier, the race probably wouldn’t receive the slot.
There will be a lot of people tuning in to watch the Final and four years ago, more than 25 million people had televisions on Fox. If less than 50 percent of those viewers stick around through the postgame show and keep their eyes on what follows, they will quickly see IndyCar screaming around the high banks of Nashville.
Just a couple of races ago, the series drew more than 1.8 million viewers at Road America in a television window led into by a World Cup match. The expectation is that number will be higher when the viewership for Nashville is announced next week.
Hometown Favorite
Newgarden is the defending winner at Nashville Superspeedway, and unlike last year, he is carrying more momentum into this race.
He has two wins, both on ovals at Phoenix and Gateway, and has been valiantly pushing through a foot injury sustained in Indianapolis. Since he won’t be required to use his feet for as much braking and accelerating as he would on road and street courses, Newgarden will be in nirvana turning left all day long.
The oval master will be the number-one driver everyone has to beat on Sunday.
Two in a Row
O’Ward missed out on the win last year when he crashed. He can set that aside because none of it matters now.
At IndyCar’s last race at Mid-Ohio, he was victorious. When he slams the throttle and spins the wheels on the concrete this week, he will feel good knowing the last time on track he was a winner.
O’Ward has had a very consistent season, he just hadn’t reached the top step of the podium. Now that he has been to victory lane, the hammer has been taken to whatever ailment or luck preventing him from breaking through.
Things are looking good for the Mexican driver, and another win would continue that momentum.
Prove It
Christian Lundgaard is out of a ride at the end of the season. That continues to be a surprising development because he is a championship contender. However, ovals have not been his friend..
The best thing Lundgaard can do is earn a top-five finish on Sunday. If the message is that he cannot challenge for podiums and wins on ovals, therefore he no longer is a worthy investment, then he needs to prove everyone at McLaren wrong.
To do that, he has to figure out this oval thing. Alex Palou did it. So did Will Power, and even Kyle Kirkwood finally proved last year that he could be a contender on them.
Now it is Lundgaard’s turn.
What Else?
Rinus VeeKay is 11th in the points standings, with two fourth place results in the last three races. His team finished fifth last year, and he’s not squeamish on ovals, so he is in line for a third top five in 2026.
Can’t go to another oval without the obligatory ‘this is the first win’ talk for David Malukas. While he hasn’t finished with stellar results at Nashville, the Team Penske driver has run well, so perhaps number one is Sunday.
Kirkwood sits second in the points, 56 points behind Palou. He’s earn a fourth and sixth in the two races on the concrete, he has an opportunity to cut more into his title contender’s lead.
Palou hasn’t run up front the last couple races, but no worries, he still is a champion. There is no way he forgot how to win. Last year he ran a side-by-side battle with O’Ward for the opening stage of the race, settling for second behind Newgarden.
Frontstretch Predictions
Let’s say that O’Ward gets back-to-back wins, and then Malukas another second on the season. Newgarden gets a podium.
- O’Ward
- Malukas
- Newgarden
To watch the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, tune in 5:30 p.m. ET on Fox or following the World Cup Final.
Tom is an IndyCar writer at Frontstretch, joining in March 2023. Besides writing the IndyCar Previews and frequent editions of Inside IndyCar, he will hop on as a fill-in guest on the Open Wheel podcast The Pit Straight. A native Hoosier, he calls Fort Wayne home. Follow Tom on Twitter @TomBlackburn42.