– The IndyCar weekend in Nashville kicked off on the 1.333-mile oval on Saturday with the opening practice (FT1). While Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti-Honda) set the fastest time in the 60-minute session and David Malukas (Penske-Chevrolet) had a severe crash, Mick Schumacher (Rahal-Honda) placed 22nd at the start of the 12th of 18 race weekends of the 2026 IndyCar season.
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For the first time running with the Nereus design on his #47 Rahal-Honda, Schumacher set his personal fastest lap at 24.293 seconds (192.644 miles per hour). Despite this, Schumacher was the highest-placed driver of the three-car Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) team in 22nd place. Louis Foster and Graham Rahal started the Nashville weekend only in 24th and 25th on the timing sheet, respectively. The fastest time was set by Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti-Honda) at 23.744 seconds (197.097 miles per hour).
Severe crash by David Malukas – Steering wheel flies off!
The opening practice did not go without incident. Penske driver David Malukas, the highest-scoring driver in the three oval races so far this season, had a severe crash. After oversteering in Turn 1, the red #12 Penske-Chevrolet crashed rear-first into the outer SAFER barrier of Turn 2. The impact was so severe that even the steering wheel was one of the parts that flew off!
After exiting the destroyed car, Malukas was able to stand on his own but visibly needed a moment to compose himself. He walked the few meters to the track safety vehicle (AMR Safety Team), which took him to the mandatory check at the track’s Medical Center. From there, Malukas was taken to a nearby hospital for further examinations.
The accident happened after about 20 of the 60 minutes of practice, after which the session had to be red-flagged for several minutes. Behind Kyle Kirkwood, who set the fastest time, and points leader Alex Palou (Ganassi-Honda), who placed second, Malukas ended up third fastest thanks to a lap time set before the crash. The top 5 in the FT1 results were completed by Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist (Shank-Honda) and Santino Ferrucci (Foyt-Chevrolet).
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Only oval race in 2026 with two tire compounds
Nashville holds a special place among the oval weekends on the 2026 IndyCar calendar, as it is the only race weekend outside of a road course where two tire compounds must be used. IndyCar tire supplier Firestone provides, as on permanent road courses and temporary street circuits, a hard and a soft compound.
For the 300-lap race on Sunday evening at the Nashville oval, the rule is to run at least two stints on the red-marked soft tires (“Reds”) and at least one stint on the unmarked hard tires (“Blacks”).
Qualifying begins at 21:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time). As is usual on ovals, it will be held as a single-car time trial. As is typical on short ovals, each driver must complete two flying laps in a row. Unlike Phoenix and St. Louis, however, in Nashville the starting grid is determined not by the average of both laps but simply by the faster of the two laps (IndyCar Nashville: schedule, TV, track data, livestream, and more).
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