Schumacher Earned His Best INDYCAR Finish With Eighth Place in the Borchetta Bourbon Music City GP; Foster 17th and Rahal 19th

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Borchetta Bourbon Music City Grand Prix – Nashville Superspeedway

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

RACE NOTES / QUOTES – July 20, 2026

SCHUMACHER EARNED HIS BEST INDYCAR FIINSH WITH EIGHTH PLACE IN THE BORCHETTA BOURBON MUSIC CITY GRAND PRIX THAT WAS POSTPONED AFTER SUNDAY’S RAIN; FOSTER 17TH AND RAHAL 19TH

GRAHAM RAHAL, No. 15 Fifth Third Bank Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “It was just a tough weekend from the word go. We had the fuel pressure thing in qualifying, then a part failure that probably meant that it was a good thing we didn’t qualify. And then in the race, not having had a session before to try it and see what we had. And I think we made a couple of changes for the race that were probably positives and also a couple of things that made the car too neutral for me on corner entry, which I’m very sensitive to naturally. I never felt like I was comfortable and nor did I feel like I had much speed; that was my bigger problem. It was a lot to overcome today.”

FAST FACTS: He started 23rd after two cars (Lundgaard & Malukas) were given 9-grid penalties. He struggled in the race and ultimately parked the car with approx. 15 laps to go so that he didn’t impact the outcome of the race as he would only lose one position… On Saturday, Rahal thought he had an issue in final practice and later hit the wall with 30 minutes to go in the session. When the team went over the car, it was discovered that a part failed in the right rear upright… On the qualifying line, Rahal’s race car would not fire up during the 60 seconds allowed when it was his turn to make an attempt. It fired up immediately after the time lapsed but he was not allowed to make a run so he was scored in 25th. A post qualifying review revealed that the engine wouldn’t maintain fuel pressure and kept shutting off… The 2026 race will mark the fourth time Graham will race at Nashville Superspeedway. His best start and finish came in his first race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2008 where he started 10th and finished 12th with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing in a rain-shortened event. In 2024, he started 19th and finished 23rd and in 2025, he started 21st and finished 22nd. His best start on the streets of Nashville is ninth in 2022 and best finish is fifth in 2021. … He moved from 13th to 12th in series point standings with a total of 229.

LOUIS FOSTER, No. 45 Desnuda Organic Tequila Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “We did a really good job over the weekend to get the Desnuda car in a position that we could race. We just had a few issues throughout the race and a few strategy calls that didn’t go our way. And it just kind of fell apart a little bit. We had the potential for a probably close to a top 10 had just a few more things gone our way. This is the happiest I have been in an oval car all year. There is still a lot to improve, but that’s definitely the happiest I’ve been. I felt competitive for the first time in a while on an oval. We were able to make overtakes, able to go forward at times. And we went forward overall in the race so I’m generally happy with it. And big congrats to Mick on a P8 finish. That’s really good for him.”

FAST FACTS: Foster qualified 20th but started 19th after Lundgaard was given a 9-spot grid penalty for an unapproved engine change. In the race, he stayed out during the first caution period for rookie Collett and led 10 laps. A late race drive through penalty for hitting Lundgaard in the pits caused him to go down a lap and contributed to a 17th place finish after running strong early on… Foster made his second INDYCAR start here this weekend. Last year, he clinched the Rookie of the Year honors here with a 20th place finish after starting 23rd. Foster won Rookie of the Year by a 213-211 margin. He competed in the INDY NXT race here in 2024 where he led all 65 laps from pole to win the event. His top oval start this year is 16th in Phoenix and his top oval finish this year is 20th at WWTR… He is 18th in the point standings with 173.

MICK SCHUMACHER, No. 47 NEREUS™ Dallara/Honda/Firestone: “I couldn’t have done it without the team. The pit stops have been amazing all day. We knew we had a good car after FP2 and we just put it to work. I think we can be really proud of everything we’ve done this weekend. Hopefully many more of those moments come.

“In terms of pace, we were definitely supposed to be higher. I think the car was so good that I think we could have really been higher up than that. It was just difficult to pass and I felt a little loose at times. The open communication that we had all race with the team has been so good. Jeff (Troyer, spotter) and Ryan (Briscoe) on the stand coaching me throughout the whole race was good. This is how the weekend is supposed to go and you see it. When we have a clean weekend, this is the sort of finish – a top 10 position — that we can expect consistently, if not higher. I’m just very proud of the team. We’ve just got to build on that momentum, and do it until the end of the year.”

FAST FACTS: He started 16th and ran a strong race in the top-10, including many laps in sixth. He took the final restart in sixth place, battled with Scott McLaughlin for many laps and ultimately finished eight, to earn his top series finish to date. On Saturday, he set the fourth fastest time in final practice… It was his first race here, his fourth oval event in his rookie INDYCAR season and the first one he will not have tested at prior to race weekend. His overall INDYCAR top start and finishes have come at oval tracks, and he has acclimated well as the most novice of all drivers in the field in terms of oval experience… He moved up one spot to 24th place in series point standings with 132.

NEXT UP: The series will take next weekend off before returning to action at Portland International Raceway for Round 13 of 18, August 9.