Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix 2026

The history of Nashville Superspeedway began in 2001, when the facility in Lebanon, Tennessee, opened amid a construction boom of new oval tracks that wanted to capitalize on growing spectator interest in NASCAR. From the start, the track was laid out as a D-shaped concrete oval and quickly became a permanent fixture on the American racing calendar before IndyCar Series also held races in Lebanon later on.

After years with changing formats, the IndyCar Series has recently returned to Nashville with greater emphasis. Before the current edition as Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, the race was still called Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in 2024, which underscores the event’s close connection to the local music industry and rotating title sponsors. This continuity in the calendar shows how firmly established the venue has become in the IndyCar program.

From a track perspective, Nashville Superspeedway offers a challenging layout: At 2.14 kilometers in length, four turns await with roughly 14 degrees of banking that is comparatively steep, while the straightaways with nine and six degrees respectively are considerably flatter. The overall complex also includes a road course variant that combines parts of the oval with an infield track to create a so-called roval and presents drivers with entirely different challenges depending on the configuration.

In the winners’ history, Scott Dixon has particularly made a name for himself by winning the IndyCar races from 2006 to 2008 consecutively, after previously others such as Gil de Ferran and Dario Franchitti were successful. However, Sam Hornish Jr. holds the track record that still stands today, setting a lap time of 0:22.969 back in 2003, a benchmark that has endured since then. Following the race’s return, Colton Herta won the 2024 edition before Josef Newgarden triumphed in 2025 as the winner of the race held for the first time under the name Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, further fueling expectations for the upcoming 2026 season.

With its blend of speed and technical challenges, Nashville Superspeedway remains a place where racing history and modern IndyCar action meet. The combination of steep turns, variable track layouts, and a growing list of prominent winners makes the facility in Lebanon one of the most exciting stops on the current racing calendar.