NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — In four short months, the streets of downtown Nashville will come alive with the sounds of music, food, and racing.
IndyCar racing will be back for its second year and fans can expect a totally new experience for the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.
Last year, the inaugural event drew a crowd of more than 100,000 people. The track took competitors around Nissan Stadium and over the Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge in downtown Nashville.
Organizers are excited to announce new events and track changes for this year's race weekend, August 5-7.
The biggest change for racing fans is the shift of the restart zone.
Instead of restarts occurring at the finish line in front of Nissan Stadium, they will now move to the long straightaway as the field exits the Korean Veterans Bridge and toward turn nine.
Organizers say these changes will present more immediate passing opportunities, something that race fans look for.
There are other course improvements coming. According to race organizers, they are:
- Turn 11 apex being opened approximately six feet to not only increase the track width but provide better vision for drivers.
- Transition areas at both ends of the KVB Bridge are being smoothed as much as possible to reduce the potential of the cars bottoming coming on and off the bridge.
- Resurfacing at the turn five apex to minimize the bump.
- Track width into turn nine being reduced to 50 feet to accommodate additional suites in a primary viewing area.
- Additional gates are being added to maximize track crossings at several locations.
More waterfront attractions will also be added for the race weekend.
The Pro Watercross National Tour will have its inaugural invitational event on Friday and Saturday. Organizers tout the jet ski riders will compete on courses on the Cumberland River. Fans will be able to watch all competitions from the East Bank.
Another new waterfront attraction is the General Jackson Riverboat. It'll be part of the planned entertainment on the Sunday of race weekend, ahead of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES race at 2 p.m.
Fans will be able to board the riverboat to grab food and drinks.
