IndyCar: 2021 Nashville qualifying – Full starting lineup
By Asher Fair
The starting lineup for the inaugural IndyCar race on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee is set following Saturday’s qualifying session.
After more than a full month off going all the way back to Independence Day weekend, IndyCar is back this weekend with the inaugural race on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, the long-awaited Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.
This race is the 11th of 16 races on the 2021 schedule, and Saturday’s qualifying session was an intense one to start the impressive 27-car field for the main event.
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Andretti Autosport’s Colton Herta took the pole position for this 80-lap race around the 11-turn, 2.17-mile (3.492-kilometer) temporary street circuit in Nashville, Tennessee by recording a top lap time of 73.6835 seconds (102.601 miles per hour) in the Firestone Fast Six round of qualifying behind the wheel of his #26 Honda.
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Set to start alongside Herta on the front row in second place behind the wheel of his #9 Honda is Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, whose top lap time of 74.2327 seconds (101.842 miles per hour) in the Firestone Fast Six was a whopping 0.5492 seconds (0.759 miles per hour) slower than that of Herta.
Championship leader Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing qualified in third place behind the wheel of his #10 Honda, but he is set to start in ninth as a result of a six-place grid penalty he was issued due to an unapproved engine change.
So set to start in third place is Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi after qualifying in fourth behind the wheel of his #27 Honda. Set to join him on the second row in fourth behind the wheel of his #7 Chevrolet is Chevrolet’s top qualifier, Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqivst.
Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee.
Starting Lineup
1st – Colton Herta
2nd – Scott Dixon
3rd – Alexander Rossi (+1)
4th – Felix Rosenqvist (+1)
5th – Romain Grosjean (+1)
6th – Jack Harvey (+1)
7th – Simon Pagenaud (+1)
8th – Pato O’Ward (+1)
9th – Alex Palou (-6)
10th – James Hinchcliffe
11th – Will Power
12th – Josef Newgarden
13th – Graham Rahal
14th – Ryan Hunter-Reay
15th – Helio Castroneves
16th – Sebastien Bourdais
17th – Santino Ferrucci
18th – Marcus Ericsson
19th – Dalton Kellett
20th – Conor Daly
21st – Max Chilton
22nd – Rinus VeeKay
23rd – Scott McLaughlin
24th – Takuma Sato
25th – Jimmie Johnson
26th – Ed Jones
27th – Cody Ware
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Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 5:30 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon for the live broadcast of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix from the streets of Nashville, Tennessee.