ALEX PALOU WINS MUSIC CITY GP AS GANASSI MASTER NASHVILLE STRATEGY
Alex Palou won the 2026 Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, taking his fifth victory of the IndyCar season and the 24th win of his career. The Spaniard controlled the final part of the race after a strong strategic call from Chip Ganassi Racing, holding off Josef Newgarden and David Malukas in the closing laps.
The race was originally scheduled for Sunday but was postponed to Monday because of heavy rain. Once the event finally started, the 225-lap contest became a battle of strategy, tyre management and timing around the caution periods, with Palou’s team making the right decisions at the key moments.
The turning point came during the two caution periods of the race. Ganassi decided to pit Palou just before the first yellow flag caused by Caio Collet’s crash in Turn 4. The team repeated the strategy during the second caution, triggered by Dennis Hauger’s incident on lap 180, allowing Palou to keep the lead while several rivals lost track position after stopping under green conditions.
In the final 32-lap sprint to the finish, Palou had to defend against Josef Newgarden and David Malukas. Running on the harder tyre compound, the Ganassi driver managed the gap perfectly and crossed the finish line first, adding another important victory to his championship campaign.
The result also moved Palou alongside IndyCar legends such as Bobby Rahal and Ted Horn with 24 career victories. With his fifth win of the 2026 season, the Spaniard extended his advantage in the championship standings and strengthened his position as the driver to beat.
Newgarden finished second after showing strong pace in the final stint, while David Malukas completed the podium in a remarkable comeback. The Andretti driver started last after his heavy crash during Friday practice, which forced him to spend time in hospital before being cleared to race. His podium was his best result of the season and continued his strong championship form.
Behind the podium finishers, Scott McLaughlin recovered to fourth after losing positions earlier in the race. Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson completed the top six, while Pato O’Ward endured a difficult weekend and finished outside the leading group after struggling for pace throughout the event.
Mick Schumacher achieved an important milestone by finishing eighth and scoring his first IndyCar top-10 result. The German driver showed strong pace on the Nashville oval, continuing a trend of better performances on oval circuits compared to street and road courses.
Kyffin Simpson finished ninth, while championship contender Kyle Kirkwood completed the top 10 after a frustrating race. The Andretti driver started from pole position and appeared to be one of the favourites for victory, but a green-flag pit stop dropped him into traffic. Once behind other cars, Kirkwood struggled to recover the lost positions and missed the chance to fight for the win.
Arrow McLaren had a difficult weekend, especially Christian Lundgaard. The Danish driver finished 16th after struggling throughout the race, particularly on the oval. His performances on this type of track have become one of the reasons why Arrow McLaren decided to bring Scott Dixon into the team for the 2027 season.
Dixon himself was involved in an incident during the race when he made contact with Alexander Rossi on lap 122. Rossi moved suddenly towards the pit wall before Turn 3, leaving Dixon with little time to react. Both drivers were able to walk away without injuries.
The race also saw retirements for Christian Rasmussen after a crash in Turn 2 and Marcus Armstrong due to a mechanical issue. Will Power finished 20th after losing performance because of damage to the rear-right suspension following contact with the wall.
After Nashville, Palou leads the championship with 457 points, extending his advantage to 83 points over David Malukas. Kyle Kirkwood sits third, 87 points behind, followed by Christian Lundgaard and Pato O’Ward.
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