Pato O’Ward wins pole position for the IndyCar Series season finale at Nashville Superspeedway. David Malukas also starts on the front row for the 225-lap Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix on a 1.33-mile oval (299.25 miles).
Alex Palou owns the season championship, O’Ward is locked in as the runner-up, and Scott Dixon leads Christian Lundgaard by 7 points for third.
(2-lap qualifying average; Christian Rasmussen and Callum Ilott’s 9-spot grid penalties are reflected)
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(All times ET; all IndyCar sessions are on IndyCar Live, IndyCar Radio and Sirius XM Channel 218)
“I’d give the nod to Scott McLaughlin, who finished top 5 here a year ago and who finished on the podium at Milwaukee. After an eight-race stretch with seven finishes outside the top 10 (and five outside the top 20), the No. 3 team has turned things around, and he’s primed to shine. Other possibilities include Christian Lundgaard, Colton Herta, Marcus Armstrong, Felix Rosenqvist, David Malukas, Santino Ferrucci and Josef Newgarden.”
“Louis Foster. The RLL driver enters this weekend with an eight-point lead on Robert Shwartzman, which is quite a hill to climb when the those drivers are likely to be finishing outside the top-10. They have identical average finishing positions on ovals this year, and so with Foster’s cushion, I have to give him the edge. But a fluky thing like a crash involving either could throw the situation up in the air.”
“Of the 27 drivers in this year’s full-season field, 14 were not in his current ride for all of 2024. (Nolan Siegel only joined Arrow McLaren midway through last year; Christian Rasmussen only drove on road and street courses at the start of 2024). I see less change in the coming offseason. I would say only 10 drivers could be in a different situation (or seats that could look different) in 2026. Of those 10, I think five will get a switch-up before 2026.”
TV: Coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025, on Fox. Green flag is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. Will Buxton is the play-by-play voice, with analysts James Hinchcliffe and Townsend Bell. Kevin Lee and Jack Harvey are the pit reporters.
Alex Palou has won eight races, Kyle Kirkwood three, Pato O’Ward two, and Scott Dixon, Will Power and Christian Rasmussen one each. Palou has clinched the season championship.
Colton Herta won the 2024 season finale over Pato O’Ward. Dixon has won seven races at this track.
FoxSports.com, Fox Sports app.
IndyCar Nation is on SiriusXM Channel 218, IndyCar Live and the IndyCar Radio Network (check affiliates for each race)
Sunday: Partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid 80s.
Six sets of primary and four sets of alternate tires are available. One set of primary and two sets of alternate tires must be used during the race.
The 2025 IndyCar Series schedule includes 17 races, all televised on Fox. (Times are ET; %-downtown street course, &-road course, *-oval)
(Team and drivers; *-Indianapolis 500 only)
(Through 16 of 17 races; Alex Palou has clinched the championship)
Nathan Brown is your best IndyCar follow, and keep up with coverage throughout the season with IndyStar’s motorsports newsletter.
IndyCar qualifying, starting grid at Nashville Music City Grand Prix: Starting lineup, start time, TV – IndyStar
