A massive audience awaits at the Nashville Superspeedway

It is not often that the world of soccer and the raw, unbridled pace of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES collide, but this Sunday, that is exactly what we have on our hands. With the World Cup championship game acting as a massive television lead-in on FOX, the organizers are looking at a potential audience of 40 million people. The goal is simple: get them to watch the start of the Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway and hope they stay for the ride. If the numbers hit the mark, we could be looking at one of the highest viewership ratings of the entire season.

Because soccer matches are notoriously fluid, the series is remaining flexible with the start time. However, the plan is to drop the green flag as soon as the post-match ceremony wraps up, with an estimated start around 5:30 p.m. ET. For those of us who live for the details, FS1 will kick things off with a pre-race show at 4:30 p.m. It is a calculated gamble, but it is one that could push last year's average of 1.142 million viewers well into new territory.

Turning our focus to the track, the Nashville Superspeedway is a beast that demands respect. Last year, the facility proved just how wild oval racing can be, setting track records with 284 total passes for position, including 130 in the top 10 and 74 in the top five. Twelve different drivers led during that event. It is a grueling test of endurance this time around, as the race has been expanded to 300 laps, totaling nearly 400 miles—making it the second-longest race on the calendar after the Indianapolis 500. To spice up the strategy, teams will again have two different Firestone Firehawk tire compounds to manage throughout the day.

The history books here are fascinating. Josef Newgarden of Team Penske famously won his hometown race here last year, and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward showed incredible pace, leading 116 of the first 126 laps before contact in Turn 2 derailed his day, leaving him in 24th. Meanwhile, Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing took second place last year, a result that helped seal his status as the series champion. Currently, Palou leads the standings by 56 points over Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood.