Welcome everybody to the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix in the great city of Nashville, Tennessee, one of many great state names in the USA with an unknowable number of double letters. Yes, it's the Music City. Forget Detroit, here's a city where they play both kinds of music!
Now I just have to figure out which kind Girls Aloud fit into.
Now as a tremendously exciting Formula 1 season goes into its summer break, and went Full Indycar™ on the way in Hungary, the NTT Indycar Series comes out of its. So I won't blame you for needing a reminder of what's happened so far.
Season Recap
I've decided to keep the words relatively short. Watch the official highlight videos for a full recap, or this post will be even longer than it needs to be.
Round 1: Barber, Alabama.
In true Alabama style, a Big One™ took out most of the field. This didn't stop Indycar newish boy, Alex Palou from stamping his authority on the Oulton Park of the US. A warning of things to come.
Round 2: St. Petersburg, Russia Florida.
You'd be forgiven for thinking this was the season opener. Colton Herta absolutely dominated the race, and we thought that might actually be another foretaste of things to come. Sadly, it was a flash in the Florida pan handle and Andretti Autosport have struggled to recreate that form for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, some say Dalton Kellett is still marooned in the vast expanse of the pit lane exit.
Rounds 3 & 4: Texas Motor Speedway.
We had two races at Texas to make up for the fact that there was only one racing groove, thanks to the liberally applied PJ1 compound designed to make NASCAR taxis grip and Indycar racing cars not. Race 1 was won by the inevitable Scott Dixon, who at that point was still expected to be the main championship contender for Chip Ganassi. However, it was race 2 that got us more excited, as Pato O'Ward broke his duck and became the second first time winner of the season, and launched himself into championship contention for McLaren & Friends. The luckless Seb Bourdais crashed out of both races, leading tarot experts to believe his luck had somehow transferred itself to a certain Sir Lewis Hamilton for 2021.
Round 5: Indy Road Course.
The first time winners kept on a-coming at Indy, for the minor warm up race on the new-fangled (at least compared to the oval) road course. This time it was Dutch hot-shot Rinus van Kalmthout (Veekay to Americans). In his bid to become the hottest Dutch racing driver in the world, he defeated phoenix-from-the-ashes ex-F1 star Roman Gross Jeans (Romain Grosjean to non-Americans), in a dramatic race long battle. Another new star had arrived.
Round 6: Indy!
You'll all remember when history was made. When car number 6 got Helio Castroneves win number 4 at the most hallowed of racing venues. A track that hasn't changed its configuration at all since it opened in the year the RMS Titanic's keel was laid down. The race saw 13 leaders, including US Air Force pilot Lt C. Daly who led the most laps, but it was Indycar's second oldest Brazilian who emerged to join legends Foyt, Unser and Mears with four appearances on the Borg Warner Trophy.
Tony Kanaan is of course, Indycar's oldest Brazilian. He was already an Indycar veteran when the Titanic's keel was laid down.
Rounds 7 & 8: Detroit Double.
It was at this point in the season where we'd started to notice that Indycar powerhouse Penske was yet to win a race this year, and the pressure was starting to mount for de facto lead driver Josef Newgarden. In race 1, it was the other, other Ganassi car of Marcus Ericsson who won from 15th on the grid, without hitting Romain Grosjean on the way. Ganassi was really showing itself to be the team to beat this year. In race 2, Pato O'Ward became the first twice winner of the season, propelling himself into the championship lead. Newgarden lead every lap but the final 3, and Admiral Roger Penske must have been wondering if promoting himself from mere team captain to series owner was really such a good idea. On second thought, he'd probably not too worried. He's doing a fine job at running things so far.
Round 9: Elkhart Lake.
Another heartbreak for Josef Newgarden, leading most of the way and having his car go into limp mode right at the end. Benefitting to take his second win of the year was leading Ganassi driver Scott Dixon Alex Palou. Wait, really? Yes. Really. The Young Spaniard™ has been a revelation this year, finally giving the number 10 car a driver worthy of the seat that hasn't been seen since Dario Franchitti.
Round 10: Mid-Ohio.
Last time out, Newgarden finally broke through and brought Penske its first win of the season. But he was chased home by Ganassi's winning trio of Ericsson, Dixon and Palou.
That's us up to date. The season so far has been incredibly exciting. I haven't even touched on some other stories like Aussie Supercars Ace Scott McLaughlin or Mr Carvana Caution himself, NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. But I need to introduce the next race. The points standings sit as follows:
The Circuit
The new street circuit in Nashville follows what I'd loosely describe as a ladle layout.
Taking inspiration from Formula E, the circuit features a run out and back over each carriageway of the spectacular Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge. The start takes place on the return leg of the bridge. A few square lefts bring the track round to the pits and finish line. A chicane and a square right bring the cars on to the bridge for the run up the handle of the ladle.
Rather than a hairpin that would bring to mind memories of the A1GP Beijing track, the circuit takes a trip around a car park to bring itself back onto the bridge. Not much to describe, but sometimes a simple 11 turn track with a couple of long straights is all you need for action, and we know Indycar doesn't need much to bring the action.
When is it on?
Full weekend schedule is available here. Key points are Qualifying at 15:30 Central Time on Saturday and Race Broadcast at 16:30 Central Time, with Green Flag at Approximately 16:45 Central Time on Sunday. As always, the actual race start is a mystery shrouded in an enigma known only to the Gods of Indycar and Karen Gillan, and she doesn't know she knows it.
She's got the right flag though.
Official Indycar website page for the event is here. Spotter guide isn't available yet, so look out for it. I might even edit into this OP if I remember/can be bothered.
Personally I'm really excited for more Indycar this year, and it's great to be seeing a new circuit in a new market. Indycar seems to be in rude health right now. We're expecting a very healthy grid of 27 cars, which is the most outside Indy since 2013. Multiple winners have kept things unpredictable and there's no sign things are going to change any time soon. So grab a whiskey (with an e, it's Tennessee) and relax for some Sunday afternoon/evening excitement.
Now all I have to do is figure out what the Big Machine is. Could it be a Love Machine? ... Probably not.
