Supporting the NTT INDYCAR SERIES this past weekend on the streets of downtown Nashville, the Toyota GR Cup North America teams and competitors competed in the Music City Grand Prix. Despite the weather challenges that plagued their weekend, including the cancellation of both qualifying and the first race of the weekend, Gonzalez was able to find his way to the top step of the podium in race two and add another victory to his 2023 campaign.
As Friday hosted two practice sessions, Tyler Gonzalez used practice one to get his bearings on the intense street course as he learned to navigate the just over the two-mile temporary circuit. Friday evening’s second practice was the real test of speed where Gonzalez secured the quickest lap time, without knowing how important that moment would be for the following day.
Saturday rolled around and so did the rain. It did not take long before it was clear that qualifying was set to be canceled. It was announced that race one would have drivers lining up in order from practice two results, meaning Tyler would be starting from the inside of the front row, or so that was the plan.
Into the night, the rain surrounding Nashville turned into a thunderstorm and as lighting was apparent, race one was eventually postponed to a different race event to be decided at a later date. That meant that Gonzalez and the rest of the field would only have one race to be hosted Sunday afternoon.
“We didn’t get any on-track time Saturday which made our laps for practice two on Friday mean even more,” Tyler explained. “Every session is important during a race weekend but when a practice session decides the grid for Sunday’s race it becomes even more apparent how every session counts.”
Sunday meant that it was finally race day in Nashville for Tyler Gonzalez in the #57 Copeland Motorsports entry. Starting from pole position, Tyler knew that he would have the rest of the pack fighting to overtake him, and although he is currently leading the championship, every point matters. Between multiple yellow flags throughout the race, in which Tyler controlled every restart to perfection, the final caution period with six minutes to go forced the race to finish under yellow conditions. Gonzalez had the lead through the entire race and as the race came to an end under a safety car, the Copeland Motorsports driver claimed another victory extending his championship lead, as well as adding to the collection of wins for this season.
Gonzalez continued after Sunday’s race, “It has proven to be a very successful season, not only for myself but also for the team supporting me at Copeland Motorsports. If it wasn’t for them, we would not be in the position we are in. The fight is far from over.”
For more information on Tyler Gonzalez, please search for him via his social media pages at ‘Tyler Gonzalez Racing’.
Photo: RTD Media