IndyCar ready to roll with punches of Hurricane Francine at Nashville
Hurricane Francine could play a factor in this weekend’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Speedway.
Everything from intermittent rain to thunderstorms are in the forecast from Friday through Monday across the facility based in Lebanon, Tenn., and for the Saturday-Sunday action at the 1.33-mile oval, the NTT IndyCar Series, Indy NXT series, and its teams might need to be patient and wait for any windows of dry running that appear.
According to an IndyCar official who spoke with RACER, the top priority will be to provide ample practice time for all of its drivers, the majority of whom have never turned a lap at the unique property with its concrete track surface. The same is true for the NXT field.
As well, IndyCar and Firestone have re-introduced the use of primary and alternate oval tire compounds, which will require a significant amount of time to learn the performance and wear attributes of both before going into the 206-lap race that will crown a new champion.
With the start of practice days away, the hope is for the hurricane to lose energy and have a minimal influence on the event, which has been redirected from its street circuit location in Nashville to approximately 40 minutes away at the Speedway.
Four sessions are scheduled for Saturday starting with practice from 10-11:30am CST, qualifying from 1:15-2:15pm, a high-line rubbering-in session from 4:15-4:45pm, and final practice from 5-6pm ahead of Sunday’s race which is set to go green at 2:30pm.
The obvious preference would be to complete every Saturday session in its entirety, but if dry time is limited and it needs to be preserved for practice, cancelling qualifying and starting the race based on points — where championship leader Alex Palou would start first and main title rival Will Power would start second — is a possibility.
Prior to the racing, festivities kick off on Friday in downtown Nashville where an IndyCar pit stop competition and Big Machine record release party is planned, and at the track, the event promoter has musical acts performing both days and other outdoor entertainment and activities on offer for its attendees.
“There’s no intention of making any rapid calls,” an event spokesperson told RACER. “Freedom Friday is going forward downtown as planned. We’ve got lights at the Speedway, we’ve got three Air Titans to dry the track, and we’ve got no sound ordinance to worry about so we can run as late as we need. We’re going to get the race in.
“We’re going to convey everything we can on a frequent basis; our plan is to over-communicate to keep fans updated every 60 to 90 minutes when we get to Friday with weather updates and any adjustments we might need to make. Our X and Instagram channels, leaning heavier on X with the @MusicCityGP account, will be where to look for our updates.”