Are all of the "official" Indycar post-season ceremonies in Nashville, as was discussed during the off-season?

2024 is over, and notwithstanding from the off-track insanity, this was one of the best seasons in my lifetime. Now's the perfect time for me to share my thoughts on where we'll be in 5 years. Bear with me, it won't be super organized. I don't know everything about this offseason so there'll probably be a mistake

Honda -- The increased revenue from the 2024-25 seasons will be just enough for Honda to stay as an engine manufacturer. I still expect that there will be a lot of drama and that a deal does not work out in the series' favor.

Tracks -- The Detroit street circuit will be dropped from the schedule entirely and the series will look for a replacement in the southeast.
Texas will not even come close to returning to the series, as it's clear Mark Miles has no intention of returning to it, and that Texas does not want the series back.
Milwaukee will become the championship finale in 2026. The track will become something of a crown jewel event, and I predict the state fair will have a close relationship with the track and Indycar.
Thermal will eventually be deemed a failure and dropped from the schedule before 2029. I seriously doubt Indycar tries a similar non-championship race again.

Teams -- Rahal Letterman Lanigan will not exist in any form by 2029. The organization, even with the unbelievable funding from Hyvee, is in complete bedlam. Graham Rahal will not inherit the team from his Dad and will instead focus on his lucrative small businesses.
Ed Carpenter Racing will lose Rinus Veekay and Christian Rasmussen, and will be up for sale in 2027. Carpenter will move on from the series forever with no regrets.
Andretti Global will continue on its upward trend with Herta and Kirkwood, and become complete equals with Team Penske and Chip Ganassi again.
Juncos Hollinger will completely condense around Grosjean and become a one-car team. This will be a good move and they will get their first win in 2026.
Meyer Shank Racing fully commits to Rosenqvist (and possibly Rossi but it's too early to say) and continues to grow as an organization. They get a few wins and rejoin IMSA in 2027 now that the money is there.

Drivers -- The 3 car lineup at Team Penske continues until 2026. Will Power will not be a superstar anymore, but the incredible money he brings plus the fact he's best friends with Roger is enough to continue the full-time partnership at 48. Josef Newgarden wins a 3rd Indy 500, but he is quickly replaced as the leader of Penske by Scott McLaughlin. He comes very close to winning a championship one time, but is overall not one of the best in the series anymore.
Scott McLaughlin becomes the biggest rival of Palou, and wins the championship handily in 2025. I predict he gets 14 wins in the next 5 years. Easy Motorsports Hall of Fame career.
Santino Ferrucci joins Penske in 2026 in a 4th car. Santino is still a developmental prospect, but by 2029 he has overshadowed both Newgarden and Power. I predict that in 2029 he will have an unbelievable year and go on to win the championship. This man is on the worst team in modern Indycar history and is a threat to win every weekend. It's only a matter of time...

Scott Dixon is obviously still racing full-time at Chip Ganassi, and while no longer a favorite to win the championship every year, is still winning plenty of races and the perfect mentor for the young stars. I think he'll have an incredible year in 2026 and come just short of winning that 7th title (last major hurrah.)
Alex Palou gets his first oval win at Nashville in 2025. He is still generally considered the best driver in the series, and doesn't leave Ganassi in the end. By 2029 he will be a 4-time champion and have nearly 25 wins. The Linus Lundqvist experiment comes to a major halt in 2026 after a dreadful season, and Chip lets him go. This proves to be a mistake, and Linus ends up going to Andretti and being arguably more successful.

Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood are an incredible duo on Andretti. With the team revived, they both become equal performers and have constant championship runs. Colton Herta wins the championship in 2028, with Kirkwood barely finishing behind in 2nd. The only thing that keeps Kirkwood behind less oval success. Marcus Ericsson never quite fits in at Andretti and leaves some time before 2029 with limited success. He is only able to tie 6th place in the standings.

Pato O'Ward is unable to get the Astor cup, largely due to team inconsistency. He remains the series' most popular driver but the calls for a race in Mexico fall on deaf ears. Christian Lundgaard becomes a superstar now that he's not trapped by a failed team. He instantly shines with Zac Brown, and becomes a top 5 driver by 2027. Like Kirkwood, he is only behind O'Ward because of oval struggles. Nolan Siegel ends up a bust, similar to Oliver Askew. He leaves the series for greener pastures in IMSA/WEC before 2029. Since I'm short on time I'll stop there.

One final prediction: Roger Penske does not sell the series. Don't worry, I'm still praying that it happens.
I hope you guys were as entertained as I was this season! Visit your local tracks before racing season is over!

Before diving into my reasons, I want to share how I became a fan of IndyCar and McLaren.

Back in 2022, I was trying to impress a girl who was a big IndyCar fan (her family has been hardcore fans for generations). So, I started watching IndyCar. She told me she was an Andretti fan because of their tradition, and mentioned that Penske were usually seen as the antagonists and often considered cheaters. For a while, I rooted for Andretti, until I discovered a young driver from Texas who, like me, was actually from Mexico. Instantly, I became a McLaren and Pato O'Ward fan. The moment I got hooked was during the 2022 Indy 500. That race, with Pato and Ericsson fighting for the win, had me on the edge of my seat. Pato ended up with mixed results, but showed immense potential for the next season.

When 2023 arrived, I believed this was McLaren and Pato's year. Rosenqvist and O'Ward made a great duo with strong chemistry, and Rossi brought his experience to the team. But then the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg happened, and everything went downhill. Even though Pato was trying to stay consistent, it became clear that something was off within McLaren. The drivers made mistakes, but there were also issues with mechanics, pit stops, and strategy that just weren’t clicking. The team ended the season without a single win.

2024 started with Rosenqvist leaving the team. Malukas joined, only to end up not running a single race before being replaced by Callum and Pourchaire, both delivering mediocre results. The Malukas situation eventually led to Siegel taking his place (not saying one is better than the other, just that McLaren couldn’t make up its mind). The team started the season with low performance, and luck didn’t seem to be on their side until the "Push-to-PassGate" incident at St. Petersburg gave Pato his first win for the team (confirming Penske as the evil antagonists, lol). But let’s be honest, it didn’t really feel like a win. And I don’t even need to mention how Newgarden beat Pato at the Indy 500. We had to wait until Mid-Ohio when Pato finally secured his first undeniable victory over Palou. That win felt like a breath of fresh air for the team since 2022, and Milwaukee gave Pato his third victory, making him one of the greatest Mexican drivers in history amidst the "Pato who?" controversy.

It became very clear that McLaren was relying solely on Pato to win races. No disrespect to Rossi or the other drivers, but it was obvious the team didn’t have a real chance outside of the Mexican driver.

Next year, Rossi will be out, with Lundgaard taking his seat. To me, it seems like McLaren doesn’t know how to move forward, making drastic decisions in hopes that something magical will happen. For us fans, it feels like all we can do is hope that Pato has a strong season next year, and wishfully think that Lundgaard will be a good competitor or partner for the other drivers.

I just hope the team improves their cars and strategy this time around.

Watching the race right now and the stands seem only about 50% full. I thought the idea of moving away from Laguna Seca was to have more excitement around the season finale. I'm seriously not seeing that.

I really wonder why they:

1. Switched from a road course through Nashville proper to a vanilla short oval. I would totally get the excitement of a road race through downtown, but not an oval that could be anywhere.
2. Switched away from Laguna which seemed much better attended the last 3 years.

Full disclosure: Laguna is my home track and I've been attending for years.

Season Finale Round 17: 2024 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway

👋 Welcome to the r/INDYCAR post-race discussion thread for the 2024 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

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📅 NEXT RACE

The 2025 INDYCAR season commences next March...

Season Finale Round 17: 2024 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at Nashville Superspeedway

👋 Welcome to the r/INDYCAR race discussion thread for the 2024 Big Machine Music City Grand Prix.

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🏁 RACE INFORMATION

• 🔁 Laps — 206
• 📏 Distance — 267.8 miles (430.982km)
• 🟩 Green flag — 2:30pm Central Daylight Time (UTC−05:00)

📺 BROADCAST INFORMATION

All broadcasts commencing in approximately 15 minutes from the posting of this thread — at the top of the hour — unless otherwise specified.

📝 STARTING GRID

Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Official Starting Line Up and Tire Designation

Season Finale Round 14: Nashville Superspeedway

👋 Welcome to the r/INDYCAR INDY NXT race discussion thread for the 2024 Music City Grand Prix.

For additional live chat and conversation, you may also wish to join us in our Discord server.

Some notes for our live race discussions:

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• Bigoted comments regarding the invocation, national anthem(s), and any other special pre-race ceremonies will not be tolerated.

🏁 RACE INFORMATION

• 🔁 Laps — 65
• 📏 Distance — 84.5 miles (135.990km)
• 🟩 Green flag — 11am Central Daylight Time (UTC−05:00)

📺 BROADCAST INFORMATION

All broadcasts commencing in approximately 20 minutes from the posting of this thread, unless otherwise specified.

📝 STARTING GRID

INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix Official Starting Line Up