Nashville Grand Prix Arrives in Music City With a Sound All Its Own The NTT IndyCar Series race poses singular challenges for the audio folks By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Friday, August 6, 2021 - 11:22 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Nashville is the site this weekend of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, the season's second-largest NTT IndyCar Series race, with 28 cars competing on a 2.17-mile track layout in the city's downtown area. Produced by IMS Productions, the broadcast on Sunday (5:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) will deploy a small army working from three IMS mobile units with plenty of audio firepower to capture that IndyCar roar.
With 2,000 barriers and fence panels in 12-ft. sections, the course traverses the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Cumberland River and circumnavigates Nissan Stadium, where 1,200 linear ft. of 18-ft.-wide concrete pit boxes have been built and a pit lane repaved in the parking lot. The race is scheduled for 80 laps, during which competitors will cover 173.6 miles on a temporary street circuit with 11 turns.
The Music City Grand Prix covers 173.6 miles in 80 laps on a street circuit - and the Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge.
The event is bookended by concerts on Friday and Saturday - featuring Jamey Johnson, Vince Neil, Tyler Farr, and other artists - and a post-race Grand Ole Prix show on Sunday with Alan Jackson, Justin Moore, Riley Green, Danielle Bradbery, and Callista Clark. It's expected to be the largest sports event to take place in the city outside of a conventional sports venue since the 2019 NFL Draft took place there. That three-day event brought in 600,000 people.
For the Music City Grand Prix, IMS Productions, which also produces the Indianapolis 500 race, has rolled in IMS HD-5 mobile units. To capture that familiar sound, an estimated 60 microphones are being deployed, including 15 Audio-Technica AT-4027 stereo shotguns mounted on cameras, two Sennheiser 416 short shotguns on each of eight robo/POV cams, three ShureVP88s stereo condenser microphones (for the roar effect), four A-T AT-4029 stereo shotguns for crowd mix, and three or four daisy-chained Sennheiser MEG 66 supercardioid shotguns on seven of the 11 turns to capture the approaching downshift sound. In addition, 11 of the 28 cars in the race will be fitted with cameras and microphones, remotely controlled by BSI, which is onsite providing the wireless infrastructure for the race.
The Bridge Over the River Cumberland It will be a unique race, but, if you ask everyone what's most singular about it, you tend to get a very consistent answer.
The bridge, says A1 Mike Pope, who has mixed numerous Indy 500, NASCAR, and IMSA races over the past 30 years, going back to the old Saturday Night Thunder races on ESPN.
That bridge, says Rob Sweeney, the race's audio submixer, who plots microphone placements around the course with a staff of sharp-eared A2s.
The bridge, says IMS Director, Operations, Ken Ferguson.
The bridge, adds BSI RF EIC Miles Denton.
Submixer Rob Sweeney sums up the challenge of the bridge: It's the fastest part of the track, and it's where the cars are going in both directions, plus it's real compact.
That bridge is the 1,660-ft.-long, 102-ft.-wide clear-span Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge, which normally accommodates an estimated 17,000 cars a day but, on Sunday, will have 28 cars hitting close to 200 mph. In both directions. Simultaneously. Capturing that sound will be pulling a very loud rabbit out of a very slender hat.
I've never done IndyCar over a bridge like this on a modern circuit, says Ferguson. It's hard to get a camera on there, so we're using robotic cameras on it. The fence builder for the race worked with us, making custom cuts in the fence panels for the cameras.
Seven Sony P1 robo cams using Talon robotic systems are being deployed, along with four Sony HDC-4300 super-slo-mo cameras, a P-4300 robotic with super-slo-mo capability, and seven Panasonic HC-X1500 POV cameras - all of which are available for both broadcast and live-event use. In addition, 12 Sony 2500 manned cameras and four handheld cameras (including one jib-mounted) are dedicated to the NBC Sports production. And there's a helicopter-mounted camera.
Denton describes the bridge as unique in Grand Prix courses. His crew had to lay fiber along the length of the span for the RF in-car transmission infrastructure while the bridge was still in use by daily commuters. It was closed off on Thursday to prepare for practice runs.
Pope also marvels at the bridge but acknowledges that, in some ways, the race could be just another auto race once it comes up on his 144-input Calrec Apollo console aboard the HD-5 A unit. The faders of wireless radio channels from 11 racers are arrayed on one central section of the board, with other sources around them: announce-booth talent, RF talent packs, graphics sound effects, crowd mics, EVS playbacks. And, of course, the sound-effects channels from submixer Sweeney's Calrec Artemis desk on a 5.1 fader are close at hand. Pope's particular challenges, though, include learning the distinct acoustical signatures of this racecourse, which weaves among the glass-and-stone high-rise offices and hotels that have overtaken much of this part of Nashville's downtown in recent years.
A1 Mike Pope's particular challenge in mixing the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix has been the distinct acoustical signatures of a course among glass-and-stone high-rises.
We have some of the same sort of [acoustical considerations] with the Pagoda at Indy, he notes, referring to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's architectural icon. Especially last year, with no one in the stands.
Also, Pope says, the engine sounds are much higher-pitched than at I
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Nashville Grand Prix Arrives in Music City With a Sound All Its Own The NTT IndyCar Series race poses singular challenges for the audio folks By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
