Drivers Give First Impressions Of Nashville Street Circuit

NASHVILLE – NTT IndyCar Series drivers competing during this weekend’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix expected a few problems here and there on the 11-turn, 2.17-mile temporary street course.
 
However, after Friday’s 75-minute practice session, the general consensus from the NTT IndyCar Series drivers is, “It’s really not that bad.”
 
Even Pato O’Ward, who crashed in turn three midway through the practice session and did not return, had positive reviews on the unique street course.
 
“What a cool track,” O’Ward said. “It is very physical and unlike any other place we go to, specifically the braking zones. Our car felt fine until I made a mistake going into turn three and hit the inside wall, sending me into the outside wall in turn three. 
 
“We didn’t get much running in today but tomorrow we will. We will be ready for qualifying, I’m not worried.”
 
The Arrow McLaren SP driver will return to practice Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. 
 
What makes this course so unique is it combines Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, with the 1,660-foot, clear span Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge before transitioning into the streets of downtown Nashville. The lap is completed with another run over the bridge before returning to the stadium side of the race course.
 
“There are a couple of big bumps, but the worst one is probably going into turn four,” Team Penske driver Will Power said. “If they could grind that down a little bit, it would be really nice. The track is cool, man. I really enjoyed it. Really typical street course, bumps, and cambers of the road you got to deal with.
 
“It was fun. Fun, apart from the coming off the bridge heading into the city. That’s a bit sketchy with the bumps. That one big bump, that’s it, the rest are pretty good.”
 
Power believes a really good driver will use the bump for a passing opportunity.
 
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got to be a little careful, but maybe not,” Power said. “Like you’ll kind of lift over that bump and it does upset the car. I almost lost it there following someone. But we came in, we raised the ride height, it got better for us.
 
“It’s the biggest bump on the track. Everywhere else is pretty good, pretty good. Everywhere else is fine.”
 
Power believes turn nine may be the best place to pass.
 
“It’s a fast corner,” he said. “You actually flow a lot of speed through that corner. Like you don’t brake as long and as hard as you would like if you wanted to pass someone. Yeah, I think it will be a passing zone, but it’s faster than typical street course corner.
 
“They could almost add a curve further out if they wanted to create a bit of a passing zone. Yeah, it’s a fun corner right now.”
 
Colton Herta was the fastest driver in Friday’s practice session with a lap at 1:16.5875 for a speed of 98.711 mph in the No. 26 Honda for Andretti Autosport. He also had a positive viewpoint of the track.
 
“I feel like when you go to these street circuits that are bumpy and technical like this one is, it’s about having the least worst car, if that makes sense,” Herta said. “It’s never going to handle nice, so you just kind of try to get it into an operating window where it’s better than everybody else’s.
 
“I thought the bridge was going to be bumpy, but I didn’t expect coming off the bridge to be quite that bumpy. It could make it a little tricky if you’re braking for nine. Especially four it makes it tricky. I didn’t expect it to be quite like that.
 
“But it’s not a negative thing. I think it adds character to the track. It’s actually pretty interesting to follow people through there and see if people are staying out wide or cutting in, trying to avoid the bumps, just finding different lines.
 
“It’s very technical. Even though it looks like a bunch of 90-degree corners, the bumps are in interesting places, braking while turning, hard brake zones. I think the biggest thing, like I don’t know if you noticed it, the cold brakes I thought were so much harder here.”
 
Power compared the circuit to a mix between street circuits of the past in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Baltimore, Md. Those two street courses are no longer on the schedule.
 
Who was the winner of the first races at both of those circuits? None other than Power.
 
“I think this circuit, like I said, it’s very much like Brazil, like Baltimore when we raced there,” Power explained. “It’s a typical street course. A lot of 90-degree corners, different surfaces. Some new surfaces under old surfaces, this sort of thing.
 
“Like Colton said, you have to have a reasonable car, not the worst car, and you can be okay. Driver makes a big difference on a track like this is what I’m trying to say.”