Pop superstar Justin Timberlake has been added to the previously announced ownership group for the Music City Grand Prix as the downtown streets of Nashville, Tennessee, will play host to the inaugural NTT IndyCar Series race on Aug. 8.
Justin Marks, who recently announced co-ownership of his new Trackhouse team in the NASCAR Cup Series with musical artist Pitbull, also was announced as part of the Music City Grand Prix, along with former Delta Airlines COO Gil West.
This will be at least the second foray into auto racing for Timberlake, who was part of the late Dan Wheldon’s 2011 Indianapolis 500 victory through a sponsorship with the William Rast clothing company. Timberlake is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, who has been a minority owner of the Memphis Grizzlies and also became an investor last year in an effort to bring a Major League Baseball team to Nashville.
“I am incredibly proud of the ownership group we have assembled,” Music City Grand Prix CEO Matt Crews said in a release. “Our group combines game-changers in the world of business, music and motorsports. Each brings something unique to the table that will be invaluable as we merge motorsports, music and food into a one-of-a-kind event. This event will be one to remember and one to be celebrated year after year in the heart of Music City. We look forward to the team’s unique perspectives and the magic that soon will become the inaugural Music City Grand Prix.”
Exciting news from Music City this morning 🎶🏁
— Big Machine Music City Grand Prix (@MusicCityGP) February 4, 2021
Welcome the newest members of our ownership group @jtimberlake @JustinMarksDG and Gil West
• • •#musiccitygp #indycar #nashville #visitmusiccity #musiccity #justintimberlake #justinmarks pic.twitter.com/dYCZlmh0fO
Other owners in the group: Teddy Phillips, CEO of Phillips and Jordan, Inc.; Kevin Clayton, president and CEO of Clayton Homes; Scott Borchetta, president and CEO of the Big Machine Label Group (which also has sponsored NASCAR races, teams and tracks); Brad Lager, chairman & CEO of Herzog Contracting Corporation; JR Hand, president/CEO of Hand Family Companies; Darby Campbell, owner and president of Safe Harbor Development; Stanton Barrett, movie director, stunt coordinator, NASCAR veteran; Drew Kitchen, attorney for Maynard Cooper; Andy Moats, EVP/Music Sports & Entertainment at Pinnacle Financial Partners; Amish Purohit of Alpha Development; John Thompson, CEO of MTA Distributors; Ace Harrington, COO of MTA Distributors.
The inaugural Music City Grand Prix was announced last September and will feature an 11-turn, 2.17-mile circuit that will cross the Korean Veterans Memorial Bridge twice over the Cumberland River (click here for the track map) and employ parking lots adjacent to Nissan Stadium as its paddock.
The Nashville event will be shown on NBCSN.
