LEBANON, Tenn. (Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025) – Sweet relief finally arrived at home, sweet home after the most frustrating of seasons for Josef Newgarden.

Nashville-area native Newgarden broke a 20-race drought dating back to August 2024 to earn his first victory of 2025 and 32nd of his illustrious NTT INDYCAR SERIES career at his home track Sunday, winning the season-ending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix presented by WillScot at Nashville Superspeedway.

“Glad we got one without anything going wrong,” Newgarden said. “Happy to celebrate this team. They deserve it. It’s rewarding for our team. Tough, tough year, but good to get a win at the end.”

Two-time series champion Newgarden drove his No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by .5021 of a second over the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda of four-time and reigning series champion Alex Palou, who celebrated with the Astor Challenge Cup for the third straight year in post-race ceremonies.

“It’s been an amazing season for us,” Palou said. “I just had the pleasure to be the driver of that No. 10 DHL Honda car, to get so many wins and so many podiums this year.”

Scott McLaughlin finished third in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Team Penske Chevrolet after prevailing in a stirring duel down the stretch of the 225-lap race with Kyffin Simpson in the No. 8 Journie Rewards Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. It’s just the second time this season that Team Penske – the most winning team in INDYCAR SERIES history – put two drivers on the podium.

Simpson capped a strong second season in the series by holding on to fourth for his best career oval result. Conor Daly rounded out the top five in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Chevrolet after starting 24th, gaining more spots than any driver in the race.

Louis Foster of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing hung on to clinch the series Rookie of the Year honors by just two points over Robert Shwartzman of PREMA Racing. Foster finished 20th in the No. 45 Desnuda Tequila Honda, while Shwartzman was 14th in the No. 83 PREMA Racing Chevrolet.

Newgarden took the lead for good on Lap 205 when he passed McLaughlin when McLaughlin’s car drifted off the racing line and brushed the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2, triggering the fourth and final caution period of the frenetic race.

On the restart on Lap 214, Newgarden rocketed away while Palou – who remarkably clawed back to the front despite a flat right front tire early in the race – dove under McLaughlin for second place in Turn 1.

But Palou never could catch Newgarden over the final 11 laps, as the reigning series champion admitted he lacked the confidence to put his car in the higher groove where Newgarden, McLaughlin, Daly and others did some of their best, most breathtaking passing of the race.

The joyous relief was palpable for Newgarden after the race when he stopped his car on the front straightaway and climbed into the grandstands to exult with fans, reminiscent of his celebrations at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after winning the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge in 2023 and 2024.

“I think we should be racing in Nashville to end the championship all the time,” Newgarden said. “We don’t need to need to go anywhere else. It’s great to be home. Pumped, just pumped.”

It was a fitting ending to a race that featured so many twists, turns and heartbreak that nearly everyone who watched it probably needed a moment to exhale after the checkered flag. There were 284 passes for position, including 130 in the top 10 and 74 in the top five – all series records for Nashville Superspeedway.

McLaughlin wasn’t the only driver to lose the lead due to hitting the SAFER Barrier. NTT P1 Award winner Pato O’Ward led a race-high 116 laps from the pole in the No. 5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, but his race ended in heartbreak when a flat right front tire pushed him into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 on Lap 127.

David Malukas was running in second on Lap 83 in the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet of A.J. Foyt Enterprises when he backed hard into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 after side-by-side contact from Foster, who was penalized for blocking. Malukas was awake and alert after the incident, according to INDYCAR Medical Director Dr. Julia Vaizer, and was released from a local hospital following precautionary evaluation and advanced imaging.

Christian Rasmussen, who earned his first career victory last Sunday at the Milwaukee Mile, saw his chance for a repeat end on Lap 1 when his No. 21 ECR Splenda Stevia Chevrolet wiggled in traffic and hit the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2.

The varying pit and tire strategies spawned by these accidents and caution periods resulted in 12 of the 27 drivers leading at least one lap and 20 lead changes, both series records at this track.

Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix Race Results

1. (6) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 225, Running
2. (4) Alex Palou, Honda, 225, Running
3. (7) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 225, Running
4. (8) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 225, Running
5. (24) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 225, Running
6. (11) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 225, Running
7. (9) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 225, Running
8. (12) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 225, Running
9. (18) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, 225, Running
10. (19) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 225, Running
11. (13) Colton Herta, Honda, 225, Running
12. (5) Scott Dixon, Honda, 225, Running
13. (26) Rinus VeeKay, Honda, 225, Running
14. (17) Robert Shwartzman, Chevrolet, 224, Running
15. (15) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 224, Running
16. (20) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 224, Running
17. (16) Nolan Siegel, Chevrolet, 224, Running
18. (22) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 224, Running
19. (14) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 224, Running
20. (23) Louis Foster, Honda, 223, Running
21. (10) Will Power, Chevrolet, 222, Running
22. (21) Graham Rahal, Honda, 220, Running
23. (27) Jacob Abel, Honda, 215, Retired
24. (1) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 126, Contact
25. (3) Christian Lundgaard, Chevrolet, 122, Mechanical
26. (2) David Malukas, Chevrolet, 82, Contact
27. (25) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 0, Contact

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 156.342 mph
Time of Race: 01:54:50.6727
Margin of victory: 0.5021 of a second
Cautions: 4 for 46 laps
Lead changes: 20 among 12 drivers

Lap Leaders:
O’Ward, Pato 1 – 9
Palou, Alex 10 – 11
O’Ward, Pato 12 – 13
Palou, Alex 14
O’Ward, Pato 15 – 55
Malukas, David 56
Herta, Colton 57
Dixon, Scott 58
Power, Will 59
Armstrong, Marcus 60
VeeKay, Rinus 61 – 62
O’Ward, Pato 63 – 126
Power, Will 127 – 130
Rossi, Alexander 131 – 146
Newgarden, Josef 147 – 185
McLaughlin, Scott 186 – 187
Daly, Conor 188 – 189
Herta, Colton 190 – 191
Palou, Alex 192 – 199
McLaughlin, Scott 200 – 204
Newgarden, Josef 205 – 225

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings: Palou 711, O’Ward 515, Dixon 452, Kirkwood 433, Lundgaard 431, Rosenqvist 372, Herta 372, Armstrong 364, Power 357, McLaughlin 356, Malukas 318, Newgarden 316, Rasmussen 313, VeeKay 305, Rossi 297, Ferrucci 293, Simpson 282, Daly 268, Rahal 260, Ericsson 234, Ilott 218, Siegel 213, Foster 213, Shwartzman 211, Robb 181, DeFrancesco 171, Abel 123, Takuma Sato 36, Helio Castroneves 20, Ed Carpenter 16, Jack Harvey 12, Ryan Hunter-Reay 10, Kyle Larson 6, Marco Andretti 5

Nashville, Tenn. (31 August 2025) – Meyer Shank Racing’s (MSR) NTT INDYCAR SERIES squad experienced all the emotions during Sunday’s season-ending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at the Nashville Superspeedway oval, but in the end the team put a successful cap on its strongest-ever INDYCAR SERIES campaign.

Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60 SiriusXM Honda) took his Maximum Metallica (SiriusXM channel 42) Honda to the seventh spot with a strong run in the second-half of the race while Marcus Armstrong (No. 66 ROOT Insurance Honda), had a potential podium dashed by a spate of late race issues which left him 19th.

The day’s results allowed MSR to establish new season-bests in the INDYCAR championship standings as Rosenqvist vaulted all the way to sixth in the final series points with his finish while Armstrong held on to eighth, marking the first time since joining the series in 2017 that both MSR machines finished the season in the top 10 in points.

It was nowhere near as easy as all that though, as Rosenqvist made his day harder on his way to the green flag, incurring a penalty for jumping the start, which dropped him from ninth to 26th place.

The 60 stand made a race-changing strategic decision to pit Felix early for the final stop of the race, putting him back out on track in clean air and able to pick up several positions, moving into the top 10. Armstrong had a strong run going in his final stint, climbing all the way to third where he stayed going into the final round of pit stops. Unfortunately in the closing laps a blocking penalty forced him to pit and dropped him out of contention.

But the incident failed to dull the team’s best INDYCAR SERIES season, as the Ohio-based team’s new season standards set in 2025 includes number of races led (10), times led (11), top-10 finishes (22), top-five finishes (six) and podiums while its drivers are both poised to earn MSR’s best-ever finishes in the series standings.

Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:

Felix Rosenqvist: “It’s been an up and down weekend, we had lots of promise at time and we struggled at times and it was kind of the same in the race. I had a jump start, and it was kind of in the grey zone, it was what it was. I didn’t move through the cars in the back as quickly as I wanted, but then we made a few changes and it brought the thing alive. We were flying. The end of the race was really cool and happy we could get back to P7 in the end.”

Marcus Armstrong: “Disappointing end to a good day. We had driven forward to P3 from P14 and had a podium in sight. But I made a mistake in pit lane, so we had slower stop than usual. Then shortly after, got a drive-through penalty. It is what it is and I’m disappointed. But also really proud of our season and the 66 crew. 2026 should be great.”

LEBANON, Tenn. (Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025) – A decision made Saturday afternoon paid off with a stirring victory Sunday morning for Myles Rowe.

Rowe earned his second career victory – both coming this year – in the season-ending INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix on Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway after starting ninth. It was the deepest starting position for a race winner in the INDYCAR development series since Matheus Leist won from 10th in 2017 on the Iowa Speedway oval.

“It’s amazing,” Rowe said. “It’s been a good season this year with Abel Motorsports, and I can’t thank Force Indy and Abel enough for what they do for me. It’s been a good journey, and I can’t wait to do it again with them next year. Just so happy I could give this to them at the end of the year.”

Rowe drove his No. 99 Abel/Force Indy machine to victory by .4376 of a second over Salvador de Alba in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car of Andretti Global. Season champion Dennis Hauger finished third in the No. 28 Nammo entry, giving Andretti Global two of the three podium positions.

Caio Collet finished fourth in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports car, while Lochie Hughes delivered Andretti Global three of the top five finishers in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine.

This was an impound event for the series, in which teams could not change their car setups after qualifying Saturday. So, Rowe and his crew decided to set up their car with more downforce than usual for qualifying, with an eye toward the 65-lap race on the 1.33-mile concrete oval.

The decision paid off.

“We weren’t quite pleased with the qualifying, but we knew the strategy was that we come here to race,” Rowe said. “Starting ninth wasn’t what we wanted, but we knew we could race from there.

“It was just about keeping composure and making all the right moves and making them count. I’m glad we were able to do that. The crew gave me an amazing car to be able to do that.”

Rowe wasted little time climbing through the field, jumping to fourth place by Lap 5. He then prevailed over the next 10 laps in a spirited defense of that position against Michael d’Orlando in the No. 3 Priority/Rising Stars car of Andretti – Cape Motorsport.

Georgia native Rowe then dove under Collet on Lap 25 to take second and set his sights on pole sitter de Alba, who had led every lap from the start of the race.

De Alba led Rowe by .435 of a second on Lap 32 when the only caution flag of the race flew. D’Orlando nudged Callum Hedge’s No. 17 Abel Motorsports car into the SAFER Barrier in Turn 2 during a side-by-side duel for seventh place.

Mexican de Alba rocketed away on the restart on Lap 44, but it didn’t take long for Rowe to catch him and make a decisive move for victory. Rowe looked to the high groove as he trailed de Alba to start Lap 46 and then quickly dove under de Alba in Turn 1 to take a lead he would not surrender.

Rowe then maintained a gap to de Alba ranging from three-tenths to one-half of a second over the final 20 laps and never was threatened.

The sizzling race featured action up and down the 18-car field, resulting in 147 on-track passes, including 81 for position, 56 in the top 10 and 26 in the top five – all INDY NXT by Firestone records for Nashville Superspeedway.

LEBANON, Tenn. (Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025) – The good times kept rolling for Salvador de Alba as he was the fastest qualifier Saturday for the INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, his first career pole in the INDYCAR development series.

De Alba was fastest with a two-lap average speed of 184.471 mph in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car fielded by Andretti Global. His first career pole, which comes in his 28th career start in the series, came less than a week after he earned his first series victory last Sunday at the Milwaukee Mile.

“It took a while, but it’s great timing to have all these achievements, first career pole, first win last weekend,” de Alba said. “We have one more day to keep doing it. I have a race tomorrow, and I want to win as badly as when I first started doing this. Really happy to be here now and pushing forward for tomorrow.”

The 65-lap race is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Caio Collet will join de Alba in the front row Sunday after qualifying second at 184.116 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports entry.

Andretti Global cars filled the second row. Series champion Dennis Hauger qualified third at 183.979 in the No. 28 Nammo machine, while fellow rookie teammate Lochie Hughes was fourth at 183.776 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship entry.

Michael d’Orlando, who led practice this morning, qualified fifth at 182.690 in the No. 3 Priority/Rising Stars car, tying his career best starting spot in just his third race this season for Andretti – Cape Motorsport. James Roe will join d’Orlando in Row 3 after qualifying a season-best sixth at 182.582 in the No. 29 Topcon car of Andretti Global, a team that placed all four of its cars in the first six spots on the qualifying speed chart.

De Alba’s previous best qualifying spot was second last weekend at Milwaukee. But he took the lead from pole sitter Hauger on the first lap of that race and never trailed thereafter for his breakthrough first victory. De Alba wasn’t calling his shot qualifying today, but he’s confident of a repeat performance Sunday.

“The car, we have dialed it up for the race, especially,” de Alba said. “It’s a very good car we have for the race. All four Andretti cars are there, so we’re going to have a very good fight tomorrow, and hopefully we get the win.”