The NTT IndyCar Series has announced that the 2024 season finale will not take place on the streets of Nashville as originally intended.
The Music City Grand Prix will instead be run on the 1.333-mile Nashville Superspeedway, located approximately 20 miles outside of downtown.
Construction of a new Tennessee Titans football stadium, which overlooks the street course that IndyCar planned to run, has forced the change of venue with short notice.
The race is still planned to take place on September 15, and will still serve as the season finale.
“With construction set to begin for the new Titans Stadium, the Grand Prix operations team knew they’d be faced with new challenges, knowing that the course used for the first three years would have to change dramatically for 2024’s race,” said Big Machine Label Group Chairman and Founder Scott Borchetta.
“With several key locations around the stadium not available as in years past and with the proposed course change to run through the streets of downtown Nashville, we simply don’t have the proper space needed by the race teams nor the proper access for downtown businesses and residences to execute the world-class event that is expected by our amazing fans, IndyCar teams and sponsors.
“With the significant challenges of the proposed new layout and unknowns with the new stadium construction, which has been the center of operations for the first three years of the Grand Prix, the decision has been made to move the 2024 race to the Nashville Superspeedway.
“This has no bearing on our great relationship with the Tennessee Titans. The team’s management has been nothing but supportive regarding the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, and we fully intend to continue conversations with them and the City of Nashville as to when the right time will be to return to the streets of Nashville.”
IndyCar contested races at Nashville Superspeedway eight times from 2001 to 2008, but has not returned since then.
The track was effectively shut down in 2012 after slow ticket sales forced it to stop hosting lower-tier NASCAR events. A renewed effort saw the track reopen in 2021, with the speedway hosting NASCAR cup races for the past three years.
Now the track is anticipating a return of IndyCar as well, but it is not known for how long the track will remain on the calendar.
For now, the plan is to return the Music City Grand Prix to the streets of downtown as soon as logistics allow.
