First some personal news. My surgery which was originally scheduled for August 10 has been moved to the 22nd. I will be attending next weekend’s Gallagher Grand Prix at IMS. I hope to be well enough to get to World Wide technology braceway for that event, and i am scheduled to go to the final two races ion the West Coast.

Today’s schedule: Eastern Time

4-5:15 Practice 1

The Music City Grand Prix holds its final race iun the current track configuration. The race becomes the season finale in September of 2024 with a new track layout.

I wrote some of my thoughts about the changes for next year here:

The New Finale- Some Thoughts

A concern I did not mention last night is what happens when a Titans football game is scheduled for the same weekend as the finale? Hotel space would be tough to find, and I can onlynimagine the traffic mess. I don’t antici[ate a prioblem next year. I hope Indycar has a plan for that.

Indycar’s third attempt to run a clean race on the Nashville street course may again devolve into a crashfest. 2021 and 2022 saw a coimbined 17 yellow flags covering 43% of the two races. There were also three red flags over the two races.

Points

I think Alex Palou gets back some of the points lead he lost at Iowa this weekend. He finished third last year at Nashville. His Chip Ganassi Racing Team has won both races here, and Sunday could be Palou’s turn to win. Hs average finish at Nashville is fifth.

Palou’s closest rival, Josef Newgarden, has an average fibnish of eighth on his hometown track.

Andretti Street Strength

Andretti Autosport has been very strong on street circuits this season, but they only have one win to show for it. The team has won poles at St. Pete (Grosjean) and Long Beach (Kirkwood). Kirkwood won at Long Beach and Grosjean finished second.

Romain Grosjean needs a strong weekend as he begins a five race audition for an Iundycar seat for 2024. What was thought to be a certain contract extension has turned into an uncertain future for the former F1 driver.

Rahal Momentum

Rahal letterman lanigan racing had a very good weekend at Toronto, and they hope to continue the street course momentum in nashville. Christian Lundgaard won the pole and the race in canada. graham rahal also finished strong. The team began a rebound at Mid Ohio and I see no reason why they can;t keep improving obv=ver the final five races.

Lundqvist Debut

Finally Linus Lundqvist, 2022 Indy NXT champion, gets to make his Indycar debut. Lundqvist will sub for Simon Pagenaud, who will miss his fifth straight race as he recovers from the concussion he suffered iat Mid Ohio.

It’s a shame that thatb then previous year’s Indy NXT champ has to enter Indycar under this set of circumstances. I hope his first race leads o an opportunity for 2024 and maybe another race or two this season.

I am leaning toward Alex Palou winning again this weekend and shoring up his huge lead.

I’ll be back after this afternoon’s practice.