Nashville Preview: Maybe this year will be tame? Don't count on it, Alex Palou.

Alex Palou's worst nightmare could unfold on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, this weekend.

No, it has nothing to do with country music.

Clinging to a 80 point championship lead like a lifeboat, he'll enter the rough and tumble Music City Grand Prix weekend, hoping to keep up his streak of top eight finishes if he can. At worst, he'll want to make it through the weekend in one piece.

Last year, 11 cars were eliminated with contact-related issues in Nashville, including an incident that took championship contender Marcus Ericsson out of contention.

Ericsson's final five races last year left a little disappoint seasoning to an otherwise delicious year, but his worst result was at Nashville, an incident that likely knocked him out from being a serious title competitor.

Palou's championship cushion is luxurious, as we covered last week. It's possible his charge in the final third of the most recent race at Iowa Speedway earned him some unlucky finishes, but he'd much rather extend his lead than watch it shrink from a marshal's post near Nissan Stadium.

Nashville is a tricky track designed to cause chaos. The calmest section of the course is probably the area near the finish line in front of the stadium, across from pit lane, but nearly every other part of the circuit features an aggressive chicane, 90 degree corner, incredibly rough surface or a worryingly narrow track width.

This will be the last iteration of the Music City Grand Prix on this layout. With construction set to commence next year on a new Tennessee Titans stadium, a new track and pit lane will be used. In fact, it will be the season finale, taking the slot Laguna Seca holds now.

Palou told Nathan Brown at the Indianapolis Star this week he's not a fan of the move from a competition aspect.

"I just think it’s tough to put a season-finale that’s normally the biggest race outside the Indianapolis 500 at a place where the race can go so many different ways," Palou said. "I wouldn’t like that."

Despite the championship leader's thoughts, next year's IndyCar championship weekend could be one of the biggest motorsports events on the calendar. With real estate on famous Lower Broadway, a broadcast TV time slot and a simplified circuit that should be the short track of street circuits, the atmosphere will be rocking for a title-deciding scrum in the heart of Nashville.

This weekend, Palou can finish anywhere and be safe, but just dragging the car home at worst should preserve at least a one race lead in the championship.

If Josef Newgarden wins — something the Indy 500 winner and series champion hasn't done yet in his hometown — and Palou has a nightmare scenario of finishing 25th or worse, he'd would lose at least 45 points from his championship lead.

That would put Palou in an uncomfortable situation with World Wide Technology Raceway left on the calendar, but wouldn't necessarily blow open the championship race just yet.

Bottom line: Palou can survive a ring of fire. Newgarden needs to walk the line if he wants to leave Nashville with a championship chance. And Scott Dixon? He's 100 points back, and he'll need a win like he had last year and some friends in low places if he wants to get back into this thing.

Sorry, not sorry, for the country music tie-ins.

Fast Facts
courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series

• There are 13 drivers still mathematically eligible for the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship: Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Scott McLaughlin, Pato O’Ward, Will Power, Colton Herta, Christian Lundgaard, Alexander Rossi, Kyle Kirkwood, Felix Rosenqvist and Romain Grosjean. Any driver who trails the points leader by 216 points or more following the race will be eliminated from contention.

• The 80 points that separate Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden is the second-largest point margin since INDYCAR SERIES racing was unified in 2008. Before this season, the average lead with five races to go since 2008 was 41.4 points.

Weekend Schedule (all times Central):

Friday, Aug. 4
1:55-2:40 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
3-4:15 p.m. — NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (75 minutes), Peacock

Saturday, Aug. 5
9:35-10:20 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone practice, INDYCAR LIVE
10:40-11:40 a.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES practice (45 minutes green flag time or 60 minutes), Peacock
1:05-1:25 p.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Qualifying (eight minutes green flag or 15 minutes), INDYCAR LIVE
1:45 p.m. – Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award (three rounds of NTT INDYCAR SERIES knockout qualifications), Peacock
5:25-5:55 p.m. – NTT INDYCAR SERIES final practice, Peacock

Sunday, Aug. 6
9:10 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix “Drivers, start your engines”
9:15 a.m. – INDY NXT by Firestone Music City Grand Prix (35 laps/73.5 miles/55 minutes), Peacock (live)
11 a.m. – NBC coverage begins
11:30 a.m. – Big Machine Music City Grand Prix (80 laps/168 miles), NBC (live)