The 2021 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix was an IndyCar motor race held on August 8, 2021 at the Nashville Street Circuit in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the eleventh round of the 2021 IndyCar Series and the first ever edition of the Music City Grand Prix.
The race lasted for 80 laps and was won by Marcus Ericsson of Chip Ganassi Racing, scoring his second win of the season.
Background
In September 2020, IndyCar announced that the series will add a street race in downtown Nashville, Tennessee for the 2021 season.
The inaugural event was held on the weekend of August 6-8, 2021 at the newly created Nashville Street Circuit. It was the eleventh race of the 2021 season, marking the conclusion of the midseason summer break, which started following the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. During the race weekend, the GT America series, the Trans-Am Series TA2 class, and the Stadium Super Trucks also competed as support series for the race.
This was the first of the two Big Machine-sponsored races in the 2021 season, the other being the following race, the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Championship standings before the race
Chip Ganassi Racing's Álex Palou retained his lead in the driver's standings following his third-result at Mid-Ohio, over Pato O'Ward of Arrow McLaren SP and teammate Scott Dixon in second and third respectively. Mid-Ohio race winner Josef Newgarden of Team Penske remained fourth, while Ganassi driver Marcus Ericsson moved up to fifth, thanks to his second-place finish at the previous race.
Honda extended their lead over Chevrolet to 73 points after four Honda drivers finished in the top five at Mid-Ohio.
Entrants
Practice
Practice 1
Practice 1 took place at 4:10 PM ET on August 6, 2021. The session was interrupted 22 minutes in by an accident involving Pato O'Ward, who clipped the wall in Turn 3 and crashed into the barrier on the opposite side. O'Ward was able to leave his damaged car uninjured. Another incident involving Conor Daly occurred towards the end of the session, as his car slid into the tire barrier after exiting the bridge section. Daly climbed out of his damaged car unharmed. Colton Herta topped the first ever practice session held at the Streets of Nashville with a time of 01:16.5875, besting Scott Dixon and rookie Romain Grosjean in second and third.
Practice 2
Practice 2 took place at 1:00 PM ET on August 7, 2021. With six minutes remaining in the session, Alexander Rossi made contact with the concrete wall in Turn 10, dislodging his front wing and sending it under his car, causing suspension damage. Colton Herta went fastest for the second time in the weekend with a time of 01:15.3529, ahead of Andretti Autosport teammate Rossi in second and Scott Dixon in third.
Qualifying
Qualifying took place at 4:30 PM ET on August 7, 2021.
In Round 1, Jimmie Johnson, who was sorted into the first group, experienced a heavy crash in Turn 10, wrecking his No. 48 Carvana Honda. This left Johnson unable to set a time in the session and reduced qualifying time for the other 12 drivers in the group, who only had three minutes and 20 seconds to set a lap.
During the final seconds of the Fast 12, Josef Newgarden crashed into the wall in Turn 11, causing major damage to the right side of his car. The incident also triggered a local yellow, hindering the laps of other drivers, which led to Newgarden losing his fastest lap, demoting him to last in the session and promoting Romain Grosjean into the Firestone Fast Six.
Colton Herta qualified first and took the first ever pole position of the Music City Grand Prix, with a time of 01:13.6835 and a gap of nearly six-tenths over Scott Dixon, who went second fastest. Championship leader Álex Palou finished third fastest, but would start the race ninth, as a result of a grid penalty given after an unapproved engine change.
Qualifying classification
Notes
Bold text indicates fastest time set in session. - Álex Palou received a nine-place grid penalty following an unapproved engine change during a test at the Portland International Raceway a week prior to the race.
Race
Race report
The race started at 5:30 pm ET on August 8, 2021. As a result of his accident during qualifying, Jimmie Johnson started with a NTT Data-liveried car, as his No. 48 Carvana Honda was deemed too damaged to be used for the race. The first lap went underway with a rolling start on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge and saw no incidents occur, with polesitter Colton Herta leading the race.