Pato O’Ward talks about winning pole for 2025 Music City Grand Prix
Pato O’Ward talks about winning pole for 2025 Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville’s Josef Newgarden held off IndyCar champion Alex Palou in the final laps to win the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix on Aug. 31 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Newgarden had to hold off Palou in the final 15 laps following a restart after taking the lead when Scott McLaughlin nearly crashed in turn 1 with 21 laps to go.
Newgarden earned his first win of the season and extends his streak of at least winning one race a season to 11, since 2015. It has been a trying season for the Penske driver, who entered the final race of the year in 16th in points.
it was a very eventful race that was dominated early by Pato O’Ward before the McLaren driver crashed with less than 100 laps to go. Will Power was in position to take advantage but had a pit stop of more than 30 seconds to go a lap down.
Follow along with the Tennessean’s race updates below:
Josef Newgarden wins at his hometown track, by a half-second over Alex Palou! This should be a popular win.
After a trying season, Newgarden finally is able to extend his streak of at least one win a season.
Josef Newgarden has a tenuous lead over Alex Palou with five laps to go. Can he hold on?
Scott McLaughlin nearly loses it off of turn 1 and scrapes the wall but keeps going! The caution is out. Josef Newgarden is the leader. Wow!
Scott McLaughlin drives to the outside of Alex Palou, bogged down by traffic, and takes the lead.
A lap later, Josef Newgarden drives under Palou for second. Penske vs. Penske for the win!
Alex Palou, despite an earlier cut tire, has the lead by 1.6 seconds over Scott McLaughlin with Josef Newgarden close by. But there is heavy lap traffic.
Josef Newgarden puts on hard-compound tires after sliding through his box a bit for his final stop of the race.
Alex Palou is ahead of Newgarden after an earlier stop. We’ll see how it all sorts out.
Josef Newgarden goes to the lead and is in control in his hometown race. Can he keep control and finally put together a full race this season?
Dr. Julia Vaizer, IndyCar medical director, reports that David Malukas is in good spirits but is being sent to IndyCar’s trauma center for “precautionary evaluation and advanced imaging”.
Will Power overshoots his pit and apparently stalls out on a very long pit stop under caution. Believe he is going to be a lap down.
Pato O’Ward crashes from the lead! He had an apparent issue through turns 1 and 2, a cut right-front tire.
He is in the wall and done for the day. That changes things.
Will Power moves past Colton Herta for second. Three Penske cars in the top six.
Pato O’Ward leads Colton Herta and Alex Palou, with Josef Newgarden into 4th. Caution took a while for some wall repairs.
Rookie Louis Foster, a lap down, tries to make it difficult for David Malukas to pass him and succeeds. Foster and Malukas makes contact into turn 1. Not sure why Foster was racing so hard there, and Malukas misjudged the space he had on the outside.
Malukas backs into the wall and is done for the day.
What do you think?
Drive-through penalty issued for Foster, and he’ll have to serve it under green.
Alex Palou cuts a right-front tire down but keeps control of the car into turn 3 before nursing the car to pit road. The stop happens early in the pit cycle but can work OK for the series champion.
Pato O’Ward leads by about three seconds over Alex Palou, with Scott McLaughlin in third. Josef Newgarden is in 7th, not really moving up or down in this first stint.
This is worth the ticket, as Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou continue to battle for the lead. O’Ward may finally have the edge, but Palou clearly doesn’t want to give it up.
The restart brings about some aggressive racing, and here comes Alex Palou for the lead! Side-by-side for a couple laps now.
Christian Rasmussen loses control in turns 1 and 2 and backs into the wall. He is done for the day.
Last week’s winner doesn’t last a full turn.
Pato O’Ward has the advantage over David Malukas, who is in a three-wide battle for second.
Trouble! It’s last week’s winner Christian Rasmussen toward the back of the pack.
It’s a sunny Sunday in Wilson County, and the grid is about to roll at Nashville Superspeedway. 225 laps today at the 1.33-mile concrete track to wrap up the 2025 IndyCar season.
The top 10:
- Pato O’Ward, No. 5Â Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet
- David Malukas, No. 4 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Dallara-Chevrolet
- Christian Lundgaard, No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet
- Alex Palou, No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda
- Scott Dixon, No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda
- Josef Newgarden, No. 2 Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet
- Nolan Siegel, No. 6 Arrow McLaren SP Dallara-Chevrolet
- Scott McLaughlin, No. 3 Team Penske Dallara-Chevrolet
- Kyffin Simpson, No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda
- Felix Rosenqvist, No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Dallara-Honda
Find the full starting lineup here.
The Music City Grand Prix will be aired on the radio by the IndyCar Radio Network. The race can also be heard on SiriusXM Radio, channel 218.
- Green Flag Time:Â Â Approx. 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, August 31
- Track:Â Nashville Superspeedway (1.33-mile oval) in Lebanon, Tennessee
- Length:Â 225 laps, 299.25 miles
- TV coverage:Â FOX
- Radio:Â IndyCar Radio
- Streaming:Â Watch FREE on Fubo; SiriusXM for audio (subscription required)
The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
