Team Penske NTT INDYCAR SERIES Race Report - Nashville

September 1, 2025

Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix
Lebanon, TN - August 31, 2025

JOSEF NEWGARDEN No. 2 ASTEMO CHEVROLET

START: 6TH  
FINISH: 1ST  
POINTS: 12TH (-395)

RACE RUNDOWN: Josef Newgarden and the No. 2 Astemo Chevrolet team got back to their winning ways in Sunday's Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway, leading 60 laps en route to the team's first win of the season. The victory was the 32nd of Newgarden's to break a four-way tie for 10th place on the all-time list, and it continues his streak of seasons with at least one win to 11. Newgarden rolled off the grid from the sixth position and maintained positioning inside the top five following his second pit stop of the day. The two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion took his first lead of the night on Lap 147 and eventually built a lead of over two seconds. After pitting for the final time on Lap 186, Newgarden briefly lost the lead to teammate Scott McLaughlin during the pit cycle. He would take advantage of McLaughlin running too high in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 205, allowing Newgarden to race underneath him to hold off the No. 10 of Alex Palou for his first victory in his hometown. The win vaulted Newgarden to 12th-place in the final series standings.

NEWGARDEN'S THOUGHTS: "I'm just glad we got one without anything going wrong. For the No. 2 crew. Just happy to celebrate with this team. They deserve it. It's rewarding for our team; they've done a great job. Obviously, Will won in Portland, which was a huge lift for everybody, and he really deserved it. I think he could have won this race today. It was a shame to see what happened to him. He's a legend. It was great for our team, Astemo, and Team Chevy. Tough year, tough, tough year, but good to get a win here at the end."

SCOTT MCLAUGHLIN No. 3 DEX IMAGING CHEVROLET

START: 8TH  
FINISH: 3RD 
POINTS: 10TH (-355)

RACE RUNDOWN: Scott McLaughlin and the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet team were in position to score the victory late in Sunday's Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway before a late-race bobble on the track resulted in a third-place finish. It was the second podium finish for McLaughlin in as many races as the team rounds into form with momentum heading into an important offseason. After starting from the eighth position, McLaughlin used a strong restart after the first caution period to power to the third position. He would keep the Astemo machine at the front of the field for the remainder of the race as the team alternated through the hard and soft Firestone tires. A great pit sequence on the team's final pit stop of the day led McLaughlin to pass teammate Josef Newgarden for the lead after blending back onto the track. Unfortunately, as McLaughlin attempted a larger arc into Turns 1 and 2 on the 200th lap of the race, he washed up the racing surface - making slight contact with the outside wall - to allow Newgarden to retake the lead. McLaughlin would drop two additional spots on the subsequent restart after the caution flag for his near spin but would rally back at the checkered flag to just take the third position.

MCLAUGHLIN'S THOUGHTS: "I'm just really gutted for my guys. I just got a little high there. Just trying to protect my entry and, just got too high.  I can't believe the DEX Imaging Chevy was okay. I think it was a little bent at the end, but I wanted a podium bad, and I just kept my foot in it. And the last lap, I just sent it, and I was like, if I hit the fence, I hit the fence. I don't know. But the handle only went away little bit. But I just held it flat, and didn't really care if we went in the fence or not. And thankfully, it stuck, and I was glad to get the boys a podium. But congrats to Josef. Congrats to the team Penske. It's a great end to our year. We were good today. Just not good enough.”

WILL POWER No. 12 VERIZON CHEVROLET

START: 12TH 
FINISH: 21ST 
POINTS: 9TH (-354)

RACE RUNDOWN: Will Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team used a strong effort to drive to the front of the field in Sunday's Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix before a pit road mishap effectively ended their chance at a second victory of 2025. Power began Sunday's 225-lap race from the 12th position and spent the first 100 laps of the race dialing in the handling of his Chevrolet. After restarting from the ninth position following the team's second pit stop of the day on Lap 101, Power drove his way to the lead before another caution flag on Lap 127. As most of the teams elected to make pit stops under this yellow flag, Power ran long in his pit stall and had to be pushed back slightly. Additionally, he made contact with one of the tires laying in his stall that had be retrieved before service could be completed. Upon launching from the stall, the No. 12 stalled and took several additional seconds to re-start. Per the INDYCAR SERIES rulebook, Power was penalized for making contact with his pit equipment as the resumed. Upon losing three laps during the sequence, Power battled in an attempt to get back to lead-lap racing but could not catch any breaks needed to be successful. The No. 12 team finished the year with one victory at Portland and six top five finishes to score Team Penske's highest points finish for the 2025 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. 
 

POWER'S THOUGHTS: "The Verizon Chevy was fast today, and it definitely showed there to start the race. I wish it had all played out differently so we could end the season with a strong result that I know our team was capable of. Really excited for Josef (Newgarden) to get the win, though.”  

The next race for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will be the 2026 season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.