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Kyle Kirkwood, Nashville Superspeedway

By the Numers: The Music City Grand Prix in Nashville

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The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway got underway on Monday after being delayed by more than 21 hours due to severe weather on Sunday. Although the race was shortened to the same distance as last year, it featured slightly fewer passes for position. Alex Palou won the race thanks to a very fortunate caution period that came just seconds after he had made his third pit stop. What stood out during the race weekend? We break it all down by the numbers!

246 - A total of 246 passes for position were recorded during this year's race. That is slightly fewer than last year, when 284 passes for position were recorded.

150 - Alex Palou's victory was the 150th IndyCar win in the history of Chip Ganassi Racing.

83 - Thanks to his victory, Alex Palou's championship lead has grown to an 83 points! Malukas moved up to second in the championship standings after finishing third in the race.

74 - Graham Rahal had little to enjoy during the race at Nashville Superspeedway. The RLL driver lacked pace throughout the event and was passed a staggering 74 times! He comfortably led this unwanted category, as Will Power and Louis Foster, who ranked second and third, were passed just 29 and 25 times, respectively.

27 - Josef Newgarden and Rinus VeeKay were the most productive drivers when it came to overtaking, making a total of 27 passes on track! Scott McLaughlin ranked second in this category with 26 passes for position.

24.120 - While chasing down the leaders, Scott McLaughlin set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 207 with a time of 24.120 seconds.

24 - Alex Palou's victory was the 24th of his IndyCar career. He now shares 18th place on the all-time IndyCar wins list with Bobby Rahal.

23 - By finishing eighth, Mick Schumacher recorded his first top-ten finish in the IndyCar Series. He became the 23rd of the 25 full-time drivers to score a top-ten result this season. The only two drivers yet to accomplish that feat are Sting Ray Robb and Caio Collet.

22 - Despite crashing in practice, David Malukas put together an impressive charge through the field. The Team Penske driver started last (25th) and finished third - a gain of 22 positions!

8 - Scott McLaughlin, Kyle Kirkwood, Rinus VeeKay and Santino Ferrucci were the biggest victims of the final caution period among the frontrunners. Having made their final pit stops before the caution, they all lost a lap. After receiving the lap back as a result of the pit stops made by the drivers ahead of them, only McLaughlin managed to mount a true comeback drive, gaining eight positions over the final 32 laps. Kirkwood, VeeKay and Ferrucci, who were running the harder tire compound unlike McLaughlin, were unable to make similar progress and finished a disappointing 10th, 12th and 13th, respectively.

7 - Seven different drivers led at least one lap: Alex Palou (97 laps), David Malukas (59 laps), Scott McLaughlin (32 laps), Kyle Kirkwood (24 laps), Louis Foster (10 laps), Will Power (2 laps) and Felix Rosenqvist (1 lap).

4 - Sometimes, champions need a little luck to win a race. Alex Palou held a lead of approximately four seconds over Scott Dixon when he dove into the pits, only for Dixon to collide with Alexander Rossi and trigger a caution period. As a result, Palou was able to complete his pit stop without losing a lap, inherited the lead after his rivals made their pit stops and never looked back. The timing could hardly have been any better.

3 - It was another race to forget for ECR; for the third time this season, neither of the team's drivers saw the checkered flag. Christian Rasmussen hit the wall after making a mistake of his own, while Alexander Rossi was taken out by Scott Dixon while attempting to enter pit lane.

3 - Only three penalties were handed out during the race:
  • Dennis Hauger received a drive-through penalty after improperly entering pit lane.
  • Christian Lundgaard was required to restart at the back of the field after making an emergency pit stop while pit lane was closed.
  • Louis Foster received a drive-through penalty for a pit lane collision.

  • 2 - With his runner-up finish, Josef Newgarden has now completed the full set of podium finishes at this track! The Team Penske driver finished third in 2024, won the race last year and added a second-place finish this season.

    PhotographyPenske Entertainment
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