The Music City Grand Prix, a new IndyCar race in Nashville, Tennessee, announced NASCAR on NBC analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the latest addition to its ownership group.
Earnhardt joined a lineup that recently added pop superstar Justin Timberlake for the NTT IndyCar Series race weekend that will be held in the streets of downtown Nashville on Aug. 6-8.
“I’ve been excited about the Music City Grand Prix since I first heard about it,” Earnhardt, a 15-time most popular driver and 2021 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, said in a release. " It will be an incredible event combining great music and racing in one of my all-time favorite cities. I’m excited to be part of the ownership group for this event and look forward to not only this year’s inaugural event, but to great racing in Nashville for years to come.”
Earnhardt attended his first Indianapolis 500 in 2019, helping on the NBC broadcast of the race as an analyst.
“It’s hard to put into words how excited we are with the addition of Dale Earnhardt Jr. to our already incredible ownership team,” said Music City Grand Prix CEO Matt Crews. “Over the past two decades the Motorsports Industry has had no greater ambassador. His influence goes well beyond motorsports and his passion for music, food and Nashville make him a perfect addition to the team.”
I’m really pumped about this. Looking forward to an incredible event combining music and racing in one of my favorite cities. https://t.co/4bNFtJ9U3r
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) February 19, 2021
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.