The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix has undergone lots of changes in the past year.
The NTT IndyCar race is moving from downtown to the Nashville Superspeedway with a new date. Instead of being run in August the fourth annual race is set for Sunday (2:25 p.m., NBC and Peacock).
Here is everything you need to know about the race:
Why did the Music City Grand Prix move from downtown Nashville?
Construction on the new Tennessee Titans stadium, which began in February, led to the decision to move the race to Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon.
Initially, officials believed a new course, which still included a 3,500-foot stretch over the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, would mean the race could remain downtown. But after more details were made available about construction of the football stadium the decision was made to move the race.
A later date making the race the season finale had already been set.
The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix will remain at Nashville Superspeedway through 2026, according to the IndyCar contract extension which was signed in August 2023. Construction of the football stadium is expected to be complete in 2027 and if the Music City Grand Prix contract is extended again it could move back downtown in 2028.
Is the Music City Grand Prix still a road race?
Instead of being a 2.17-mile road course with 11 turns on the streets of downtown Nashville, the Music City Grand Prix will be run on the 1.33-mile D-shaped oval with 14 degrees of banking. It is a concrete surface at Nashville Superspeedway.
The 206-lap race will be 275 miles in length.
The oval portion of IndyCar's 2024 schedule was highlighted by the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500, which was won in May for the second straight year by Nashville's Josef Newgarden.
The Music City Grand Prix will be the fifth oval race in the second half of the season.
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Are tickets still available for the Music City Grand Prix?
The move to Nashville Superspeedway with a capacity of 25,000 means a smaller crowd will be on hand for the 2024 race. The event drew more than 50,0000 fans in each of its three years downtown. That was the estimated number of fans who attended the event, not the number of tickets sold.
Even after getting a late start, ticket sales have been robust at Nashville Superspeedway, according to Music City Grand Prix CEO Scott Borchetta.
All premium seats are sold out while some general admission tickets are still available in the grandstands.
For tickets visit bit.ly/3XzYzMN .
IndyCar champion will be crowned at Music City Grand Prix
The date for the Music City Grand Prix was moved from the latter part of the season in August to Sept. 15 making it the season finale. It replaced the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at Weather Tech Race as the final race.
Being the final race means the 2024 champion will be crowned at Nashville Superspeedway.
Alex Palou, who has three wins and 14 top-5 finishes headed into the last race in Milwaukee, has a 43-point lead over Will Power. Palou missed out on the chance to clinch the championship when experienced trouble at Milwaukee when his engine failed and he finished 19th.
Even with the setback, Palou heads to the Music City Grand Prix with a 33-point lead over Power. That makes Power a longshot to win the championship over Palou, but it's not an insurmountable lead. Scott McLaughlin is in third place, 50 points behind Palou and is still mathematically eligible.
Palou clinched the 2023 championship on Sept. 3 in the Grand Prix of Portland. He was also the 2021 champion.
When is Music City Grand Prix qualifying and practice?
Gates open at 7:30 a.m., Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway with a full day of events scheduled.
Qualifying for the Music City Grand Prix begins at 1:45 p.m., Saturday. Practice times will be at 10:30 a.m. and 4:45 p.m.
An Indy NXT driver autograph session will follow the final practice session at 6 p.m.
For the complete Saturday and Sunday schedule visit https://bit.ly/3XBJSJh .
Who has won the Music City Grand Prix?
Despite an early crash when his Honda got airborne, Marcus Ericsson won the inaugural Music City Grand Prix in 2021.
Ericsson rammed the rear of Sebastien Bourdais' Chevrolet and knocked Bourdais out of the race in the crash. It caused one of nine cautions and Ericsson managed to battle his way to the lead where he held off late charges by Colton Herta and Scott Dixon at the finish line.
Dixon won in more commanding fashion in 2022 by leading the final 15 laps. That came after a two-hour weather delay. In 2023 Kyle Kirkwood held off polesitter McLaughlin after a late red flag for the win.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Music City Grand Prix race: What to know about 2024 IndyCar finale after track, date changes
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