Highlights All Around the Track

The streets of downtown Nashville were once again filled with visitors and fans last weekend, this time for one of the premier motorsports events in the world.

But what they saw on the track was just a small piece of the weekend’s excitement.

Twenty-four-year-old Florida native Kyle Kirkwood held off polesitter Scott McLaughlin to claim his second win of the IndyCar season, while Nashville resident (and 2023 Indianapolis 500 champion) Josef Newgarden finished fourth. After leading 34 of the race’s 80 laps, Kirkwood became the first American winner of the Music City Grand Prix, after Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson and New Zealand’s Scott Dixon won in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

In addition to this year’s highlights on the track, IndyCar also announced that next year’s Music City Grand Prix will be the 2024 IndyCar season finale, when next year's champion will be crowned.?The course will also be modified, as the race will primarily run across the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, proceeding through Lower Broadway and 4th?Avenue. And the IndyCar Series Awards Dinner will take place two nights later at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Quite a pair of additions to the Nashville calendar.

The event and its drivers were not the only ones who were prominently recognized this weekend, however. After incoming Middle Tennessee State University freshman and future Army Reserve officer Lancy Fripp was honored with a four-year scholarship to MTSU, the Harbaugh Foundation surprised the university with a $25,000 donation to the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans?and Military Family Center.

Upon presenting the check to MTSU officials and retired military personnel, Harbaugh Foundation director Joe Balla said: “We are honored to help support veterans and the programs spearheaded by Lt. Gen. Huber, whose leadership has been keenly focused on helping veterans get the educational support they need for the next chapter in their lives.”

Steve Smith, Nashville Stars Board Member and Chairman of the MTSU Board of Trustees, echoed his enthusiasm for the weekend. "One of my goals is to make sure MTSU is one of the best schools in the country for honoring and assisting our veterans," Smith said. "The Daniels Center is the centerpiece of our commitment to make sure military veterans can further their education after they finish their service to our country."

This commitment is another way that MTSU provides a key means of support for?the racers' performance. The university's Concrete Industry Management program developed the material for the barricades used in the race.

The Nashville Stars welcome this major investment in our community and the impact that IndyCar Series has on this city and on MTSU.?