Following a caution-free race at Mid-Ohio, where Arrow McLaren secured a dominant 1-2 finish, the championship battle continued to intensify. The team delivered a strong performance through pace, strategy and execution, converting its advantage into a memorable result. With seven races remaining in the 2026 season, the series now heads to Nashville Superspeedway for the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix, where drivers will continue their push for championship points as the fight for the title enters its final stages.
Practice
Practice 1 at the 2026 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix gave teams their first opportunity to tackle the demanding Nashville Superspeedway, as high speeds and changing track conditions shaped the session. Kyle Kirkwood topped the timesheets after setting the only lap above 197 mph, continuing Andretti Global’s strong form on oval circuits.
The biggest incident occurred when David Malukas lost control of his Team Penske Chevrolet and crashed heavily into the outside wall, bringing out the red flag. The impact caused significant damage to his car, and the AMR Safety Team attended to Malukas before transporting him to a local hospital for further evaluation. Team Penske later confirmed that he remained under evaluation, with further information to be shared when available.
Once the session resumed, drivers gathered valuable data on tyre wear, race balance and running in traffic ahead of qualifying. Several championship contenders, including Álex Palou, Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward, focused on long-run pace rather than outright speed as they prepared for the remainder of the Nashville weekend and Sunday’s race under the lights.
Update on Malukas
After Practice 1, Team Penske confirmed that David Malukas would miss qualifying because the team could not repair the No. 12 Chevrolet in time following his heavy crash. The team withdrew the No. 12 entry from the qualifying session while Malukas remained under evaluation at a local hospital.
Soon after the announcement, rumours spread throughout the paddock that Conor Daly could step into the No. 12 if Team Penske repaired the car in time for the rest of the weekend or if doctors later cleared Malukas to return to the cockpit.
Qualifying
Qualifying for the 2026 Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix saw drivers battle for the best starting positions around Nashville Superspeedway. Kyle Kirkwood continued his strong weekend by claiming the NTT P1 Award and securing pole position after backing up his Practice 1 pace. Josef Newgarden and championship leader Álex Palou also produced strong two-lap runs to qualify near the front.
David Malukas missed qualifying after his heavy Practice 1 crash. Team Penske withdrew the No. 12 Chevrolet as the crew could not complete repairs in time, while Malukas remained under evaluation at a local hospital.
Graham Rahal also failed to set a qualifying time after mechanical issues delayed the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda in pit lane. The team missed IndyCar’s 60-second time limit, forcing Rahal to start at the back of the grid. Teams then focused on race strategy and tyre management ahead of the 225-lap race.
Qualifying result
- Kyle Kirkwood
- Josef Newgarden
- Scott McLaughlin
- Álex Palou
- Scott Dixon
- Alexander Rossi
- Christian Rasmussen
- Marcus Armstrong
- Rinus VeeKay
- Marcus Ericsson
- Santino Ferrucci
- Pato O’Ward
- Nolan Siegel
- Will Power
- Caio Collet
- Mick Schumacher
- Felix Rosenqvist
- Kyffin Simpson
- Christian Lundgaard
- Louis Foster
- Sting Ray Robb
- Romain Grosjean
- Dennis Hauger
- David Malukas
- Graham Rahal
Before qualifying, Malukas and Christian Lundgaard both received a nine-place grid penalty for taking an additional engine.
Daly Driving for Penske?
During qualifying and before the highline practice session, Team Penske had not confirmed whether Conor Daly would replace David Malukas in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet following Malukas’ Practice 1 crash. However, Will Buxton later confirmed that Daly drove the No. 12 entry during qualifying as Malukas’ substitute.
Daly’s qualifying run focused on installing and bedding in the rebuilt car (which did not happen, due to the car not being fixed in time), as the No. 12 Chevrolet carried a grid penalty and would start from the back regardless of its result. Team Penske continued evaluating Malukas’ condition and had not decided whether he would return for highline practice or Sunday’s race.
Malukas Cleared to Race
IndyCar officials cleared David Malukas to race at Nashville Superspeedway following his Practice 1 incident.
Highline Practice
As drivers completed as much running as possible ahead of Sunday’s race, David Malukas used the session to rebuild his confidence after returning to the car for the first time since his Practice 1 incident earlier in the day. Meanwhile, ongoing car issues kept Graham Rahal out of the session, preventing him from turning any laps.
Race
The FIFA World Cup Final went into extra time, so race officials delayed the start of the INDYCAR Music City Grand Prix until the match concluded. The race got postponed to Monday 3pm ET, due to the weather worsening on Sunday. It was also announced that the race would be reduced to 225 laps instead of the normal 300 laps.
Racing take two
Race officials reduced the race to 225 laps because temperatures reached 91 degrees in Nashville. The drivers could not get into a two-by-two formation in time, so they completed an extra pace lap. Kyle Kirkwood led the field when the green flag waved.
Josef Newgarden passed Kirkwood on lap three, but Kirkwood reclaimed the lead on lap five. A few laps later, Christian Rasmussen passed Marcus Armstrong, before Rinus VeeKay overtook Armstrong one lap later. On lap 19, Caio Collet turned into the wall too early and brought out the caution.
Louis Foster led the field back to green on lap 32. One lap later, the drivers who had pitted for fresh tyres charged through the field, and David Malukas took the lead. On lap 38, VeeKay passed Armstrong for seventh. After several laps of green-flag running, Malukas pitted on lap 61 after spending several laps behind Graham Rahal, allowing Scott McLaughlin to take the lead.
Will There be Anymore Yellow Flags?
On lap 67, Josef Newgarden passed Álex Palou for third place. Palou fought back over the next few laps and regained third between laps 70 and 73. On lap 75, Christian Rasmussen ran high and nearly crashed. Rinus VeeKay passed Palou for sixth on lap 87, while Will Power continued to lead the race.
On lap 107, David Malukas lapped Sting Ray Robb and stretched his advantage over Team Penske teammate Scott McLaughlin to around two seconds. Mechanical issues forced Marcus Armstrong to retire between laps 87 and 115. On lap 115, Rasmussen lost the rear of the car, ran into the marbles, and hit the wall. A few laps later, Marcus Ericsson and Romain Grosjean made slight contact.
Race control deployed the caution on lap 123 after Alexander Rossi and Scott Dixon collided on the start-finish straight. Rossi slowed at the final moment to enter the pit lane, leaving Dixon with nowhere to go. Dixon hit the back of Rossi, slid onto the grass, and nursed his damaged car back to the pits with a broken front wing. Rossi hit the wall and retired from the race, while Dixon continued.
Palou led the field back to green on lap 140. Rasmussen returned to the track despite running more than 60 laps behind after mechanical or electrical problems delayed him in the garage. On lap 166, Malukas passed Ericsson for eighth place.
Dennis Hauger stopped in the pit lane on lap 182 after contact, bringing out another caution and allowing several drivers to make a free pit stop. Palou led the field back to green on lap 195, and Ericsson climbed to second within a single lap of the restart. Rasmussen later pitted and retired from the race. Graham Rahal retired on lap 218 after a difficult weekend plagued by car problems.
Álex Palou took victory in Nashville. Mick Schumacher achieved his best finish of the season and his best result on an oval by finishing eighth.
Newgarden situation with Foster
A reporter asked Josef Newgarden about his attempts to overtake Louis Foster. Newgarden paused, gave a puzzled look, and replied, “We just needed more laps.”
Driver of the Day
David Malukas is my driver of the day after crashing in practice one to going straight into the highline practice and the last practice and dominating the race with being at the front of the pack to overtaking drivers left right and centre really shows what Malukas is really about on ovals.
Top Ten
- Alex Palou
- Josef Newgarden
- David Malukas
- Scott McLaughlin
- Felix Rosenqvist
- Marcus Ericsson
- Pato O’Ward
- Mick Schumacher
- Kyffin Simpson
- Kyle Kirkwood
Tyre Stratergy
Tyre strategy played a major role throughout the race. Some drivers benefited from their tyre choices, while others lost out when the cautions disrupted their plans. Kyffin Simpson suffered from the timing of the Rossi and Dixon caution, as he had to make an extra pit stop and lost the advantage of being on the preferred strategy.
How it affects the championship
By winning the race, Palou extended his championship lead over David Malukas, who moved into second place in the standings after overtaking Kyle Kirkwood. With only six races remaining, the victory moved Palou closer to securing the championship title.
Standout performance
Álex Palou – After going around five races without a victory, Palou returned to the top step of the podium at Nashville. The win moved him closer to securing the championship, as he continued to execute his strategy perfectly and maintained his pace throughout the race. Palou stayed on the preferred strategy, kept pushing when it mattered, and controlled the race once he moved into the lead.
Team Penske – Finishing second, third, and fourth was a strong result for Team Penske. David Malukas produced an impressive recovery drive, moving from 24th on the grid to finish third while sticking with the leading tyre strategy throughout the race. Scott McLaughlin and Josef Newgarden also showed strong pace, staying close to Palou and remaining competitive until the final laps.
Mick Schumacher – Schumacher secured eighth place, marking his best finish of the season and his strongest result on an oval. The result provided another important step in his rookie campaign and helped him move closer to the Rookie of the Year battle with six races remaining.
Disappointing Performance
Graham Rahal – Rahal endured a difficult weekend from the start after car issues affected his qualifying session. He failed to set a qualifying time within the required limits and missed the high-line practice session because his team continued repairing the car. Even after completing repairs, the car still did not show the performance needed. Rahal managed to finish the race, but he crossed the line on lap 218, nine laps behind the rest of the field after another challenging weekend.
Feature Image Credit: Penske Entertainment by James Black
Edited by Alexandra.
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