Andretti INDYCAR and INDY NXT Gear Up for Music City Season Finale
Andretti INDYCAR and INDY NXT will wrap up the 2025 season this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway with two full days of on-track action. The 1.33-mile concrete oval, known for its unique D-shape and 14 degrees of banking, promises high-intensity racing to close out the year. Fresh off last weekend’s Milwaukee Mile penultimate race that saw the Andretti INDY NXT team secure its seventh Championship title, clinched by Dennis Hauger, and a podium sweep, the team looks to carry that momentum into Nashville. On the INDYCAR side, Andretti will look to build on last year’s success at the Superspeedway, where Kyle Kirkwood claimed his first oval pole and Colton Herta captured his first oval victory.
Race Details
| INDYCAR Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix – Nashville Superspeedway |
| Round | 17/17 |
| Track Type | Oval |
| Turns | 4 |
| Laps | 225 Laps |
| Track Length | 1.33 Miles |
| INDY NXT Music City Grand Prix – Nashville Superspeedway |
| Round | 14/14 |
| Track Type | Oval |
| Turns | 4 |
| Laps | 65 Laps |
| Track Length | 1.33 Miles |
Notes
INDYCAR
- For the second consecutive year, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES heads to Tennessee for the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway. After a 16-year hiatus, Andretti INDYCAR swept the weekend during the 2024 event with a pole position from Kyle Kirkwood and the win the following day from Colton Herta after leading 91 laps.
- Last year’s performance at Nashville Superspeedway added to Andretti INDYCAR’s strong record at the oval, which includes one pole (Kirkwood – 2024), three wins (Kanaan – 2004, Franchitti – 2005 and Herta – 2024), five podiums, 10 top-five finishes and 479 laps led in seven appearances.
- While Colton Herta delivered Andretti INDYCAR’s third overall win on the Nashville oval, teammates Kyle Kirkwood and Marcus Ericsson have also found previous success in the Music City. Kirkwood made history as the first American driver to win on the downtown Nashville street circuit in 2023, while Ericsson claimed the inaugural Big Machine Grand Prix title in 2021.
Colton Herta
- After claiming his first career oval win at Nashville Superspeedway last year, Colton Herta will make his second appearance at the track, aiming to defend his title this weekend.
- During the 2024 event, Herta quickly moved the Gainbridge Honda up from his starting spot of ninth and was running in fourth by Lap 10. Herta ran consistently in the top five throughout the race before making a daring pass in traffic around the race leader to take the lead with just four laps to go.
- In addition to claiming the top step of the podium, Herta concluded the 2024 season with a career-best second in the INDYCAR Championship Standings.
Kyle Kirkwood
- Piloting the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda this weekend, Kyle Kirkwood is set to make his second start at the Nashville Superspeedway, where he claimed his first career oval pole at last year’s event.
- In 2024, Kirkwood led the first 67 laps of the 206-lap race before an untimely yellow dropped him to 10th. Despite the yellow and a Track Limit penalty that forced the No. 27 to give up a position, Kirkwood fought his way back to come away with a fourth-place finish while leading the most laps in the race.
- Currently fifth in the INDYCAR Championship Standings, Kirkwood heads into the season finale just 28 points from the top three.
Marcus Ericsson
- Making his second appearance at Nashville Superspeedway, Marcus Ericsson will look to capture his fifth career victory and second win in the Music City this weekend.
- Last year, Ericsson started from the eighth row, but a strong strategy and quick pit stops moved the Swede up the field as high as fourth.
- On Lap 135, Ericsson lost control and made contact with the wall in Turn 4, causing an 11-lap caution. He was then issued a drive-through penalty for taking service in a closed pit. Unfortunately, crash damage forced the Swede to retire early from the race.
| NTT INDYCAR SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS |
| Driver Championship Standings |
| Colton Herta | 352 points | 6th |
| Kyle Kirkwood | 405 points | 5th |
| Marcus Ericsson | 219 points | 20th |
INDY NXT
- Andretti INDY NXT will close out the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone season this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, after delivering a historic race performance last weekend at The Milwaukee Mile that saw the team clinch the 2025 INDY NXT by Firestone Championship for Dennis Hauger, secure the win with Salvador de Alba and sweep the race podium with de Alba, Hauger and Lochie Hughes.
- Last year, after racing on the D-shaped oval track for the first time in 16 years, the Andretti INDY NXT team made an impressive return with a win from the pole position (Foster), five top-10 finishes and 65 laps led.
- Prior to last year’s race, the team competed at this track three other times from 2005-2008, where they collected four podiums, six top-five finishes and one lap led.
Lochie Hughes
- Lochie Hughes will make his racing debut at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend with the Andretti INDY NXT team after scoring a third-place finish at The Milwaukee Mile last weekend and rounding out the team’s all-Andretti podium.
- Although he hasn’t raced at this track before, Hughes did participate in the two-day, Series-wide testing session at Nashville Superspeedway, where he finished fifth and third in Sessions 1 and 2.
- Hughes has had strong performances so far this season on ovals, notably scoring a win on his INDY NXT oval race debut at World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR).
Salvador de Alba
- After securing his first INDY NXT career victory last weekend at The Milwaukee Mile, Salvador de Alba will use his oval-racing skills to close out the season this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. While competing here last year, the Mexican driver earned a top-five finish.
- During the test earlier this year on the Tennessee oval, de Alba wrapped up the first session inside the top-10 and improved the second day, finishing inside the top-five.
- De Alba has performed well on ovals in the past, with all three of his podium finishes being captured at oval races (Iowa Superspeedway – 2024, 2025 and Milwaukee Mile – 2024).
Dennis Hauger
- Coming off a Championship-clinching performance last weekend at The Milwaukee Mile, Dennis Hauger will make his Nashville Superspeedway race debut this weekend.
- At the test here earlier this year, Hauger made a strong impression as he wrapped up the final session with the fastest lap time of the field.
- On the other ovals he has competed on this year, Hauger has had consistently strong performances, recording a pole and top-five finish in WWTR and a podium at Iowa Speedway.
James Roe
- James Roe will make his second INDY NXT start at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend after last year saw the Irish driver finish the race inside the top five, making up six positions from where he took the green flag.
- During the Series-wide test earlier this year, he finished up Session 1 in third and Session 2 in sixth.
- Roe has a strong history on ovals, earning his sole INDY NXT career pole position at Iowa Speedway last year, which he was able to convert into a podium result for the No. 29 Topcon Dallara.
Seb Murray
- Representing Andretti Cape INDY NXT, Seb Murray will make his Nashville Superspeedway race debut this weekend. While testing at this track with the team, Murray finished Session 2 just outside of the top-10.
Michael d’Orlando
- Michael d’Orlando will make his second INDY NXT career start at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend to wrap up the season.
- Although he didn’t participate in the test at this track earlier this year, d’Orlando put on an impressive performance in last year’s race, impressively moving up from 17th to sixth place to take the checkered flag just outside the top five.
| INDY NXT CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS |
| Andretti INDY NXT Driver Championship Standings |
| Lochie Hughes | 436 points | 3rd |
| Salvador de Alba | 374 points | 5th |
| Dennis Hauger | 564 points | 1st |
| James Roe | 215 points | 12th |
| Andretti Cape INDY NXT Driver Championship Standings |
| Seb Murray | 211 points | 13th |
| Michael d’Orlando | 50 points | 23rd |
Team Quotes
Colton Herta
No. 26 Gainbridge Honda
“Nashville was a big question mark for us last year, but it turned into a perfect weekend with my first oval win. The Gainbridge Honda was strong every session, and even though we were missing a little in qualifying, we are feeling confident that we will have the speed this weekend. Our race setup, pit work and strategy were all on point last year, which made my job a lot easier in the car. I’m excited to get back to Nashville to defend my title.”
Kyle Kirkwood
No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda
“Last year’s race in Nashville was great for us at Andretti. We won the pole and led early, but an untimely yellow set us back. Even then, we fought back to the front and showed the pace we had. Strategy didn’t work out in the end, but the speed gave us options all day. If we bring the same speed again, I’m confident we can fight for a strong result in the Sam’s Club Honda.”
Marcus Ericsson
No. 28 Browning Chapman Honda
“Nashville is such a cool place to end the season. The oval is quick and puts on some great racing. We were strong there with Colton getting the win, so we know that our cars will be strong again. The goal is to finish on a high and end the season strong in Nashville with the Browning Chapman crew.”
Rob Edwards
Chief Operating Officer
“It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of August and we are heading to the final race of the 2025 INDYCAR season. It has been an up and down season for the team, but we are looking forward to the opportunity to finish strong like we did at Nashville last year.”
Lochie Hughes
No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“I think that Nashville is probably the coolest city in the U.S. that we get to race at, so I’m looking forward to going out there. It’s going to be my first time racing on a Superspeedway, so I’m sure that will be a fun place to wrap up the season. After how we did last weekend in Milwaukee, I’m excited to get out there and give it all we’ve got to get on that podium again.”
Salvador de Alba
No. 27 Grupo Indi Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“Nashville is a super-fast track with high-speed, high-commitment corners where we’re almost flat out the entire race to maximize what the car can do. Coming off our first win last weekend in Milwaukee, I’m excited to end the season on another oval where we can fight to be on top again.”
Dennis Hauger
No. 28 Rental Group Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“We’re finally at the last race of the year, so it’s time to leave it all out there in Nashville. I’m super happy for the team to be coming into this weekend with the Championship, but I still want that oval win. We’ve come so close this season to getting it, and this is our last chance to make it happen, so I’m excited to be out there with the team one more time.”
James Roe
No. 29 Topcon Dallara
Andretti INDY NXT
“Nashville Superspeedway is a very big commitment track and is a lot of fun to race on. We had a strong race there last year, so I hope it’s no different this time around. Let’s look to end the season on a strong note.”
Seb Murray
No. 2 Lottery.com Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
“I’m excited to finish the season off at Nashville Superspeedway. Everyone speaks so highly of it and says it’s a great race to end the season on, so I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, we can end on a high note after last weekend’s race didn’t end the way we would have liked.”
Michael d’Orlando
No. 3 Rising Star Racing/Priority Dallara
Andretti Cape INDY NXT
“I’m really excited to get back to Nashville for the finale. We had a great weekend last year at this track with some good pace, so I hope we can bring that again this weekend. I’m a little disappointed that the year is almost over already, and I wish I had gotten more than three races, but I’m super thankful to Rising Star Racing and Priority for the opportunity to get back in the car this season. Let’s go have some fun this weekend!”
Don Lambert
Team Manager
“Nashville is a really exciting superspeedway track, and the only one on the INDY NXT calendar, so we are looking forward to getting out there and are hoping to carry the momentum from Milwaukee to cap off our final race of the season. Even though the Championship fight is over, the team is still focused on executing high-performance racing and going for a win at every event. We’re looking forward to ending this season on a high note.”
