In a big announcement earlier today, Indy Car announced that the series finale, originally scheduled for the streets of Nashville, will be moving the speedway at the Nashville Fairgrounds.

On the surface, this looks like a backwards step for Indy Car, followed not long after the announcement that the introduction of the new hybrid engines was being put off until after the Indianapolis 500 at the end of May.

Scott Borchetta, previously the sponsor of the Nashville race but now in charge of it, and Indy Car's Mark Miles spoke to the media this afternoon about the change.

Like Vancouver years ago, and very possibly Toronto as early as next year, the change to the schedule came about as a result of construction in downtown, notably at Titan Stadium, which has been an important part of the race since it's inception.

A new issue for 2024 and the new September date is a possible conflict with the NFL and the Titans. With the three previous races held in early August, a home game for the Titans was never a concern for race organizers, but with the new date moving to mid-September, it moves into the beginning of the NFL schedule. A huge problem now arises from the fact that the NFL won't release their schedule until May, and a Titans home game on the same weekend as the Music City Grand Prix would be a disaster for the race.

When asked if there wasn't enough due diligence done back in August in the lead up to the schedule release, Borchetta characterized that, in a very frank and honest answer, as “probably a good assessment”. He went on to say the team didn't look deep enough into the new track layout planned for the 2024 race and how it would be affected by by construction at the stadium and along the new route.

Borchetta also acknowledged that he was not happy with the new traffic plan presented to him by the city and didn't want his brand, Big Machine, or Indy Car to be associated with the black eye of badly disrupting traffic in order for the event to take place.

Another concern raised was for fans that had already booked their accommodations downtown, although tickets for the race have not yet gone on sale. Borchetta addressed this by saying the fan experience is most important to him, and there will be shuttles running to the track, as well as much of the planned entertainment and festivities continuing to take place downtown.

With construction at Titan stadium continuing at least until the start of the 2027 NFL season, it seems likely the race will continue at the Speedway at least until then, and through the end of the current contract, which runs through the 2026 race. Borchetta reiterated that his group will be in touch regularly with the city and still plans to go back to racing downtown as early as possible, but also acknowledged that there will be ongoing challenges for a downtown race.

Mark Miles was asked if he felt the late schedule change would have any effect on the current TV rights negotiations and felt it wouldn't be a concern at all, and pointed to the current positives of Indy Car, including virtually all measurement metrics being up, including TV, streaming and merchandise sales.

Miles was also asked about the non-points race in Argentina with the on-going political disruptions there and said that, while negotiations were on-going and the series would like to go to Argentina, it's very unlikely that will happen in 2024.

Was this an ideal situation to be in? No, definitely not, but street circuits in downtown locations are always going to be a challenge and will always run the risk of last minute disruptions, especially for construction and changing political fortunes.

At the end of the day, the move to the Speedway is the right one, it's just unfortunate this decision couldn't have been reached early, or possibly foreseen before the schedule announcement.

One last note to end on, I was incredibly impressed with Scott Borchetta. He got asked some tough questions today and was very forthcoming and honest with his answers, and I think the race in his hands, at the end of the day, will do well.