Marcus Ericsson Wins Disastrous Inaugural Music City Grand Prix

Marcus Ericcson pulled off a stunning win in the disastrous inaugural Music City Grand Prix.

The inaugural Music City Grand Pix featured an abundance of airborne cars, massive traffic jams, and controversial penalties. There were nine caution periods and two red flags. The first caution flag was flown on Lap 2 for a stall by Dalton Kellett. A third yellow flag was flown on Lap 16 for a spin by Scott McLaughlin, who was punted by Ed Jones. A 10-car pileup occurred during the Lap 19 restart on Turn 11. After a 21-minute red flag, the race was restarted but without Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Dallara-Honda was disqualified for unapproved work during the stoppage. Four more yellow flags were raised in the next 30 laps. It was an absolute mess of a race.

Earlier in the race, Ericcson was involved in a crash that sent his car airborne. Erricson’ No. 8 Dallara-Honda was launched 4 feet into the air when he ran into Sebastien Bourdais on a Lap 4 restart. The Swedish racer was given a new nose, a wing and a penalty for avoidable contact.

It was only a minor issue for Ericcson as he focused and drove into the lead Lap 40 of 80 and controlled the second half of the chaotic event. Ericsson claimed victory about 1.5 seconds before his teammate Scott Dixon, who took second place.

“It’s unbelievable,” Ericsson said. “It just shows in IndyCar anything can happen. You can never give up. If you have a good car and a good team, you still can win.”