Music City Is Set To Make Some Real Noise With IndyCar Street Race Big Machine Music City Grand Prix roars into Nashville with lots of mics and music By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, August 3, 2023 - 10:54 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Eighty laps, 168 winding street miles, and more music than you can shake a guitar at. That's the third edition of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix (Sunday, Aug. 6, NBC Sports) in Nashville, where both IndyCar and the city are looking to what's becoming an annual event to burnish both brands.
The temporary 2.17-mile street circuit takes 26 NTT IndyCar Series racers by the Tennessee Titans' Nissan Stadium, through 11 twisty turns, and over the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge above the Cumberland River (the first motorsports course of its kind in the world to cross a major body of water), and into downtown Nashville. All done to a soundtrack that will feature Florida-Georgia Line's Brian Kelley, Chris Janson, M tley Cr e's Vince Neil, Gavin Degraw, and other special guests.
Upshift, Downshift, Crowds, Roar If negotiating those turns are tricky, so is capturing the race's signature sounds. That's the job of A1 Mike Pope, aided by submixer Rob Sweeney. Some of the music might sneak into the broadcast here and there, but most of it will be that characteristic effects mix of upshift, downshift, crowds, and roar.
Street courses are obviously always a little more difficult, mainly in terms of access, explains Pope, who has mixed IndyCar races for 13 years. Of course, on this course here in Nashville, we've got some experience. This is our third year here.
Getting the audio signals around the sprawling downtown campus involves an infrastructure of eight Calrec Hydra network boxes daisy-chained into the Artemis submix console aboard the B unit of IMS Productions' three-trailer production rig (which also handles robos and graphics), buttressed by a parallel Dante network in spots.
The cameras on the truck still have two audio analog inputs, but they also have network connections, Pope explains. Those network connections are what we use for Dante boxes, which also can be configured for intercom. We've done that in the past, but, for this race, we're also using the Dante to bring microphone signals back, primarily for the upshifts or downshifts and maybe a roar - whatever is needed to get the signal back to the submix console.
With more than 50 microphones deployed in total, he can call on Audio-Technica BP4027 long stereo shotgun mics on hard cameras and shorter BP4029 mics for crowd capture and other applications. Sennheiser 416 super-cardioid shotguns have become indispensable for up/downshift sounds and for use on robo cams. A Shure VP88 rounds out the main four-pack of the various transducers that Pope and Sweeney use to cover the vast majority of the race.
All of those are workhorse mics, Pope says.
The camera audio inputs have become a valuable resource for racing effects capture, with improved pre-amps that can collect the full-range audio needed for motorsports. And, because the track is dedicated to IndyCar, the console gain and trim structures are already tuned for the sport.
A lot of the show is already dialed in for us, notes Pope, who mixes it on a Calrec Apollo desk.
Radio, Comms Are Complicated A pair of Calrec Brio consoles are used to mix the audio for the big-screen video around the track, some of which will make its way into the broadcast sound via direct feeds to the main mix desk. According to Pope, the radio mix, mixed by Pat Sellers, is perhaps the most complicated part of the event's audio due to the unpredictability of sources and is on a scant 1.5-second profanity delay.
You're a cat on a wire out there with the radios, he says of the occasionally salty audio nuggets that come across the RF infrastructure provided by BSI. But they're critical because, whenever audio leads the narrative, it's usually because of what's coming through the radios.
The show's comms are conventional but also complicated, built around an RTS ADAM platform with nearly 600 ports spanning seven trailers. It's a fairly standard configuration but made notable by its scale, says Pope.
Not all of them are active, he points out, but they're there. I would say we would have at least 12-16 external panels that we use. In general, it's structured mostly the same, but the comms load can change from a street course or an oval or a road course.
The Big Machine Music City Grand Prix has become somewhat notorious for its crashes - the track varies in width from 37 ft. to 80 ft. - and that takes a toll on the audio infrastructure, from the loss of the occasional microphone to destruction of some of the fiber cabling.
Sometimes a car can hit the concrete barriers and move it, and it can cut fiber, says Pope. We've had it happen.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
Music City Is Set To Make Some Real Noise With IndyCar Street Race Big Machine Music City Grand Prix roars into Nashville with lots of mics and music By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
