The Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway is poised to be one of the most-watched IndyCar races in history.
The 399-mile race is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 19, immediately after the FIFA World Cup final award celebration on Fox.
That’s assuming the game finishes in regular time. IndyCar has agreed to push the start time in the event that extra time and a possible penalty kick shootout are required to decide the game. The pre-race show will be on FS1 before Fox takes over.
The World Cup final is expected to draw an audience of at least 40 million on Fox, which would make it one of the most-watched sporting events of the 21st century. The current record for events aside from NFL Super Bowls is the 50.1 million that tuned in to watch the USA versus Belgium World Cup game on July 6.
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The recent viewership record for an IndyCar race other than the Indy 500 was set this year during the 2026 Grand Prix at Road America at 1.803 million, which was a 131% increase from 2025 thanks in part to a boost from the Spain versus Saudi Arabia World Cup game that preceded it.
The Indy 500 stands apart and often drew tens of millions of viewers in the 1980s and early 1990s, while Fox’s high for the race during the so-called modern era is 2025’s 7.05 million average.
Nashville native Josef Newgarden is the defending Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix champion and is currently the favorite to win at +320 odds, according to Caesars Sportsbook, followed by Alex Palou at +420 and Pato O’Ward at +470.
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