It was the third consecutive win for Honda at Nashville; and its fifth street circuit victory of 2023. Scott McLaughlin, in the No. 3 DEX Imaging Chevrolet for Team Penske took second. Alex Palou (No.10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) finished third. He now holds an 84-point drivers’ championship lead with four races remaining:

“We had the speed today,” said Palou. “Before the race, we expected more yellows, and that was not the right call. But hey, we survived and made it work. We were saving a ton of fuel throughout the race, which was tough. But we made it work and we’re on the podium.”

“I really tried my best but just couldn’t get there,” said McLaughlin post-race. “The DEX Imaging Chevy was great, and I’m very proud of everyone. There’s another top-three, another very good points day. We were really hoping to get the win. But, you know, we weren’t best today compared to Alex (Palou) and profs to him.” When asked about cool suits McLaughlin said, “I don’t know the rule exactly. I decide not to wear one because as well I’ve had one fail in Supercars. It was so hot. It was almost hotter than it was. The hardest thing today is yellows and red flags. As soon as you stop, it gets 30 degrees hotter right away, knocks you around a little bit.”

Kyle Kirkwood (No. 27 Andretti Autosport Honda) the race winner and second career IndyCar victory said, “I have to give it up to the #27 crew: the AutoNation Andretti Honda team. They played everything in my favor, gave me all the tools I needed today. I really only made a couple of passes on-track, they cycled me to the front on strategy and made smart decisions all day…This [second win] definitely feels like some kind of redemption [after crashing out of last year’s race], it’s super cool.”

The NTT INDYCAR Series next heads back to Indianapolis for the Gallagher Grand Prix Saturday, 12 August. It will share the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course with the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup series for the racing weekend, Saturday’s race airs live on USA Network at 2:30 pm ET. Additional coverage can be found on Peacock, and through IndyCar Radio and SiriusXM Channel 160.