IndyCar: Nashville polesitter called his shot six months ago

IndyCar added a race on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee in 2021, and after three years of running on the same circuit, that circuit was adjusted for 2024, and the race was made the season finale for the first time.

But due to construction on the new Tennessee Titans stadium, IndyCar had to move the race again, and this time, it was moved to Nashville Superspeedway, the four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.145-kilometer) Lebanon, Tennessee oval that hasn't hosted a race since 2008. The 2024 season is set to become the first with an oval race finale since 2014.

Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood won on the streets of Nashville last August, and Andretti Global have not been particularly strong on ovals as of late. Kirkwood himself has thrived in road and street course races, winning two street races last year and placing fourth in this year's non-oval standings while sitting down in 11th in oval points.

Speaking to Beyond the Flag before the 2024 season, Kirkwood admitted that he wasn't as concerned about the switch to the oval as one might expect, due to the fact that IndyCar wasn't going to use the same Nashville street layout that was used when he won last year.

"They were going to change it inevitably," Kirkwood said. "It wasn't ever going to be that same exact track that that I drove on and won at, so I mean, that was bittersweet as it was."

Kirkwood calls his shot, takes Nashville pole

He admitted that moving away from the streets of Nashville, in general, was a little bit disappointing after his win, but six months in advance, he called his shot: he showed up and was "super strong" at the oval.

"Maybe a little bit disappointed it moved from downtown, but at the same time who knows? Maybe it'll be a blessing in disguise for us and we'll be super strong at the oval there."

They sure were.

On Saturday afternoon, Kirkwood took the pole position for the 206-lap Big Machine Music City Grand Prix with a two-lap average speed of 201.520 miles per hour behind the wheel of the No. 27 Honda. It is the first oval pole of his three-year IndyCar career, and it gives him the opportunity to ascend to as high as fifth in the oval standings.

Back in March, Kirkwood did go on to add that he looks forward to returning to the city streets, though six months later, perhaps he may want to rethink that sentiment.

"I look forward for it to come back. I assume that's the goal of IndyCar, and I think it's really just the construction that has kind of hindered the progress of being able to run at that racetrack downtown, so I can look at it both ways.

"I'll let you know more when we show to the track how we're doing there."

I think he let everybody know on Saturday, though whether or not he can have success on Sunday remains to be seen.

A full starting lineup can be found here.

The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix is set to be broadcast live on NBC from Nashville Superspeedway beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 15. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!