Hitting the Apex: Streets of Nashville

Two times the IndyCar this weekend! ATRL’s Eline Luna takes a look at HyVee IndyCar race at the Iowa Speedway this weekend.

Eline Luna

August 6, 2023

This weekend IndyCar travels to Nashville for a race on the streets. This is the third time they’ll race on the track. And it has proven to be a spectacular one in both previous races. The past two years saw 17 cautions and 3 red flags.

The track is characterized by its long straights of which one is located on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge that crosses the Cumberland River. The track creates many overtaking opportunities but is also prone to pile-ups. Which means that first and foremost the race is a case of survival for all of the drivers.

In 2021 Marcus Ericsson crashed into the back of Sebastién Bourdais, the crash caused Ericsson to go airbone. This was the end of Bourdais’ race, but for Ericsson this was just a bump on the road to victory. The Swede only suffered a broken front wing but was given a drive through penalty. The race saw 9 cautions and 2 red flags, which helped Ericsson to victory despite the adversity early in the race.

Linus Lundqvist makes IndyCar debut

2022 Indy Lights (now IndyNXT) Champion Linus Lundqvist will finally make his IndyCar debut this weekend with Meyer Shank Racing. Simon Pagenaud is yet to recover from his crash during practice at Mid-Ohio, so Lundqvist will drive the #60 as a replacement.

Lundqvist has a great track record at Nashville so far. The Swedish driver took pole position and the win in last year’s IndyNXT race at the track. 

Championship Fight

Alex Palou continues to lead the championship but after Iowa the gap has been significantly cut by Josef Newgarden. With two wins at Iowa Newgarden managed to cut the gap to 80 points. It is still a significant gap, especially with only 5 races left on the schedule. However. if Newgarden keeps this momentum, there is a chance he will be able to catch up.

Track Information

  • Race Length: 80 laps | 168 Miles
  • Turns: 11
  • Track Length: 2.17 Miles (3.49KM)
  • Most Wins: Scott Dixon & Marcus Ericsson (1)
  • Race Lap Record: 1:15.7491 (Scott Mclaughlin)

Past Nashville winners:

2022: Scott Dixon

2021: Marcus Ericsson

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eline follows a variety of motorsports from Formula E to IMSA to Nascar to WEC. They hope to study Mechanical Engineering to work in motorsports one day.

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