Rosenqvist Charges from 17th to Fifth at Nashville Superspeedway
Lebanon, Tenn. (July 20, 2026) – After rain pushed Sunday’s Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix to Monday, Meyer Shank Racing (MSR) finally took to Nashville Superspeedway for a hot and humid 225-lap race. Felix Rosenqvist charged from 17th to fifth in the No. 60 SiriusXM Honda, while Marcus Armstrong’s promising run was cut short by an engine issue that forced the No. 66 Remax Honda to retire.
With temperatures reaching 92 degrees and humidity above 60 percent, INDYCAR shortened the race from its originally scheduled 300 laps. The race also marked the first oval event of the season to feature both Firestone tire compounds, with teams required to use both the harder primary and softer alternate tires throughout the race.
Starting eighth on primary tires, Armstrong quickly moved the No. 66 into sixth before settling into the top 10 during the opening stint. The New Zealander remained in contention through the first half of the race before the team detected an engine issue. MSR made the decision to bring Armstrong to pit lane on Lap 106 and retire the car to avoid risking an on-track incident.
Starting 17th on primary tires, Rosenqvist steadily worked his way forward throughout the opening half of the race. With one of the fastest cars on track, the Swede climbed into the top 10 before extending a green-flag stint and moving into third before a caution came out on lap 183.
Rosenqvist brought the No. 60 – featuring SiriusXM The Highway and Riley Green – to pit lane for alternate tires and remained in P3. After briefly dropping back on the re-start, he continued to fight near the front of the field and ultimately crossed the line in fifth, gaining 12 positions from his starting spot.
The team now shifts back to a road course mindset, as the series prepares for the nextround of action at Portland International Raceway, Aug 7-9.
Meyer Shank Racing Driver Quotes:
Felix Rosenqvist: “It was never straight forward and the first stint, we struggled with starting in the back. Our car was not good when the track was green, but it got better and better. Once we put the reds on, we were able to pass people and that was the key to us going long. And then in the last stint, we didn’t really have anything for the guys around us and maybe I cooked my tires a little bit. But good recovery for us for sure.”
Marcus Armstrong: “I didn’t know apparently the engine was slowly failing throughout the race and then it was just about to let go. So, the team made the decision to bring me in because if you drop oil, you can spin and we didn’t want to crash the car. And then when we got to the box, it was smoking. Definitely an unfortunate end to the weekend.”
