2026 INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series | Race Preview | Race 6 at Nashville Superspeedway

The sixth round of the INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series stays oval racing once again with the 33 top-ranked virtual INDYCAR iRacers on Thursday night. Nashville Superspeedway will be the third and final oval race of the season, with two more road races to follow. Team VRS’s Michele Costantini now leads the standings, just a single point ahead of last week’s winner, Team Hype w/ Powerslide’s Philip Kraus. Can they build the gap over the road specialist teams, or can Team Redline or Drago Racing grab control back?

Coverage at Nashville Superspeedway begins at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be live on IndyCar’s YouTube channel, as well as across all of iRacing’s social media channels.

TRACK FACTS: NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY

In 2001, national-level NASCAR racing returned to Nashville when the 1.333-mile Nashville Superspeedway opened and played host to what are now known as the O’Reilly Auto Parts and Craftsman Truck Series for the first time. Over its first decade, the track became a staple of the schedule for both series, expanding each to two events, while also adding INDYCAR racing for the first eight years of its existence. However, without a NASCAR Cup Series date on its calendar, 2011 proved to be the track’s final season, and it would shut down after choosing not to seek NASCAR sanction for 2012.

However, in June 2020, NASCAR awarded Nashville Superspeedway a Cup Series date for 2021, effectively bringing the track back to life. For the first time ever, in June 2021, the venue hosted all three national NASCAR series. The track’s resurgence allowed for INDYCAR to take advantage of the venue in 2024, when the Music City Grand Prix on the Streets of Nashville could not continue as scheduled. INDYCAR will once again take on the concrete oval in 2026. Like Dover Motor Speedway, its sister track, Nashville features a concrete racing surface that will present a unique challenge to the many real-world racing stars who will take it on for the first time.

LAST RACE: KRAUS RETURNS TO VICTORY LANE, COSTANTINI TAKES CONTROL OF CHAMPIONSHIP

The point has been hammered in at this point in the year that the oval-centric drivers are at a larger disadvantage this season, considering there are only three on the calendar, not even half of the schedule. However, those first two races, where the field collapsed in the fountain at Long Beach, then where the leaders wrecked at Portland, somewhat allowed for names like Kraus and Alexander Russell to have a shot with three races to go. At Phoenix last week, Russell dominated until the final pit stop, where Kraus took control and never gave it up.

However, the driver everyone should be most concerned with is Costantini, the new points leader, and perhaps the Avatar of both oval and road racing in this field. His road finishes haven’t been spectacular, but he’s shown the potential to run inside the top-five or ten at Long Beach and Mugello. He’s won at Indianapolis, and ran second last week at Phoenix behind Kraus. That’s not to say that Kraus hasn’t bettered himself on the lefts and rights, as he picked up the best finish among the two at Long Beach, finishing in fourth, but it seems that Costantini is maximizing points gained on ovals this year, and that could prove to be a championship-winning move.

DRIVERS STANDINGS ENTERING PHOENIX RACEWAY

1. No. 66 Michele Costantini | Team VRS, 140 points
2. No.19 Philip Kraus | Team Hype w/ Powerslide, -1
3. No. 53 Michael Romanidis | Drago Racing Chevy, -2
4. No. 96 Luke McKeown | Team Redline Honda, -6
5. No. 27 Alexander Russell [R] | Powerslide Motorsports, -25

LAST SEASON: TEAM HYPE SWEEPS TOP FOUR AT NASHVILLE AS PINTO CLAIMS TITLE

In the final battle of the 2024 INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series season, three drivers entered the battle with a shot to win the title. Edoardo Leo needed a perfect day, but in not winning the pole, his chances were immediately dashed, which left the leader coming in, Diogo Pinto from Team Redline, going up against a driver that was sure to be in the fight for the win, Team Hype’s Philip Kraus.

The Team Hype group of Kraus, Robert Maleczka III, Jason Brophy, and Joshua Chin ran the race of their lives, the quartet sweeping the top four spots. Kraus would have needed both a win and for Pinto to finish 15th or worse. However, Pinto moved up into 11th, and by finishing there, it didn’t matter where Kraus finished. Maleczka III wound up taking the win of the four as Pinto claimed the inaugural title.

NEXT UP: BACK-TO-BACK ROADIES TO CROWN A CHAMPION

It will be interesting to see how many points, if any at all, the oval drivers can bank before heading back to the road courses to finish out the season. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be the penultimate battle, with WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca closing out the year. Mid-Ohio was voted to be the seventh track on the schedule by the community on X, beating out Barber Motorsports Park. Last season, Edoardo Leo claimed his second-career win at the venue in a Team Redline 1-2-3 finish.

All of the action from Mid-Ohio starts at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be live on INDYCAR’s YouTube channel, as well as across all of iRacing’s social media channels.

For more information on the INDYCAR Thrustmaster iRacing Pro Series, visit www.iracing.com/indycar-esports/.
For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.

You may also like...

Recommended

iRacing Weekly Tune-in | eSports & Community Events | February 12th to February 18th, 2026

Recommended

Daniel Faulkingham tops 37 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series split winners at Daytona

Recommended

2025-26 eNASCAR College iRacing Series | Great Lakes Gauntlet | Week 1 Tournament Preview

Recommended

2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Qualifying Series | Race Preview | Round 1 at Daytona