IndyCar field sees Nashville marathon as 'another Indy 500'

Sunday's NTT IndyCar Series race at Nashville Superspeedway will be a hot, grueling, 400-mile marathon that could end up being one of the best races of the 2026 IndyCar season. 

The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix will go green on FOX shortly after the conclusion of the World Cup Final, which should translate to millions of new eyes on the sport as it races in primetime. 

Behind all of that glitz and glamour, however, is an event that will take grit to win, especially in the Tennessee heat. The 2025 running of the race was only 225 laps and 300 miles. 

Expect Nashville race to be grueling marathon

"Quite honestly, I think people are going to look at this as an Indy 500, right? Keep your nose clean, try to stay at the front of this thing, tee yourself up for the end of the race," said Kyle Kirkwood, who earned the pole for Sunday's race. "Not falling in the trap of racing too hard and get caught up in something that doesn't matter in the first hundred laps is going to be a focal point of everybody.

"It's going to be hot, it's going to be physical, not only for me as a driver, but everyone on pit lane for two-plus hours. Five stops are not easy on all the guys and girls out there on pit lane. Everything about this race is going to be tough tomorrow."

Defending Nashville winner Josef Newgarden qualified second on Saturday. The 35-year-old Nashville native boasts oval wins earlier in the season at Phoenix and Gateway, respectively.

"I understand this humidity better than anybody," Newgarden joked after qualifying. "It's unique. It is musical. You have to have a rhythm to the humidity."

The rest of the field will be looking to get into a rhythm for what will be a long Sunday evening drive. 

Quotes provided by IndyCar Media.