Pre-Race Notes: Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix
Lebanon (Nashville), Tennessee | July 18-19, 2026
The NTT INDYCAR CAR SERIES and INDY NXT by Firestone are back in action this weekend at the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix on Nashville Superspeedway’s 1.33-mile (14-degree banking) D-shaped concrete oval in Lebanon, Tennessee.
NTT INDYCAR SERIES
- Firestone will provide approximately 1350 Firehawk primary and alternate race tires to 25 NTT INDYCAR SERIES entries for practice, qualifying, and Sunday’s 300-lap race on the 1.33-mile oval.
- For a third consecutive year at Nashville Superspeedway, Firestone will supply softer-compound alternate (red-sidewall) Firestone Firehawk race tires for oval competition, adding another layer of strategy as teams manage their primary and alternate tire allotments throughout the race.
- Per INDYCAR rule 15.3.6.3., two (2) sets of alternate tires and one (1) set of primary tires must be used in the race, and a car must complete two (2) laps on each set of required tires.
- The Firestone Race Tire Engineering (RTE) team designed and developed a new front-right Firehawk race tire for this year’s Nashville oval race based on data gathered and validated at Phoenix Raceway and World Wide Technology (WWT) Raceway (St. Louis), along with a test at Nashville Superspeedway in April.
Each NTT INDYCAR SERIES entry will have the following Firestone Firehawk race tire allocation:
- Primary (black sidewall) sets per entry: 7
- Alternate (red sidewall) sets per entry: 5
- Highline-only practice set per entry: 1 (carry over set from St. Louis)
Notes from Cara Krstolic, Chief Engineer and Director of Race Tire Engineering and Production:
“Our team approached this year’s race at Nashville Superspeedway by building on the success and learnings at both Phoenix and St. Louis short oval races to develop a new primary and alternate right-front tire with new constructions features and materials. This new right-front tire construction retains the same width and characteristics as this year’s short ovals but has a slightly larger diameter, resulting in more load-carrying capacity and enhancing lateral cornering performance.
The construction and tread compounds for the left-side and right-rear tire for both primary and alternate tires remain the same as what we provided in 2025.
INDY NXT by Firestone
Firestone will provide approximately 300 race tires to 24 INDY NXT by Firestone entries for practice, qualifying, and the 65-lap (86.45-mile or 55-minute) race on Sunday morning.
Each INDY NXT by Firestone entry will receive the following Firestone Firehawk race tire allocation:
- Primary: 3 sets per entry (One carryover set from the April 2026 Nashville open may be used in practice.)