Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway (⏰ Sunday, 7 p.m. ET | 📺 NBC, NBC Sports App | 📻 PRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race in Tennessee, the 17th points-paying race of the 2023 Cup Series campaign.
Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | Nashville 101
📍 Location: Nashville, Tennessee 📐 Track length: 1.33 miles 🎟️ Buy tickets: Ally 400 sold out | Limited upgrades available 💰 Cup Series race purse: $8,516,134 📏 Race distance: 399 miles | 300 laps 🔢 Stages: 90 | 95 | 115 -- 🚪 Entry list: See Cup Series drivers entered 📋 Starting lineup: Ross Chastain on pole | Full recap 🚗 Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit 🏆 Most recent winner: Chase Elliott | No. 9 holds on, claims victory at Nashville Key things to watch 🔑 Top story line THIRD TIME IS ANOTHER WINNING CHARM? The first two renditions of this race, dating back to 2021, have favored Hendrick Motorsports. After all, two of the team's drivers -- Kyle Larson in 2021 and Elliott last year -- have found Victory Lane in each of the previous two Nashville contests. The team has already collectively won five races in 2023, spearheaded by William Byron's three tallies in addition to Larson's two. However, the other two drivers in Elliott and Alex Bowman have yet to find their winning stride with both only mustering up a combined six top-five finishes so far this season. Of course, there are factors as to why the pair has yet to find consistent momentum. Bowman missed four races with a fractured vertebra, while Elliott missed six of his own due to a snowboarding injury and an additional one due to a suspension. Regardless, the pair, in conjunction with Larson and Byron, have collectively shown the potential and ability to leave their mark at the Tennessee track. Among all organizations, Hendrick Motorsports leads all in total top-five finishes at Nashville (four). The question heading into this weekend's contest will be if this potential -- not to mention track record -- continues. ICYMI: How Elliott can surge back into postseason picture | How Cup Series teams stack up at season midpoint compared to 2022 History tells us... VETERANS ARE WINNING LATELY. Although parity continues to be the name of the game with the Next Gen car, more experienced racers have started to find their stride on a week-to-week basis. How so? Well, look no further than the last seven races. Dating back to the spring running at Talladega Superspeedway on April 21, five of the seven race winners have accumulated 30 or more total Cup Series wins. Leading the way is Kyle Busch, who won his 62nd and 63rd career Cup races at Talladega and World Wide Technology Raceway, respectively. Kansas Speedway winner Denny Hamlin, in addition to Martin Truex Jr. -- who won at Dover Motor Speedway and most recently at Sonoma Raceway -- further proves the recent trend of longtime Cup Series stalwarts getting the job done. Even William Byron and Ryan Blaney -- who picked up career Cup wins No. 7 and 8 at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, respectively -- can count toward the current veteran movement as both drivers have raced full-time in the Cup Series for more than five years before entering 2023. Sunday's running at Nashville should provide an interesting indicator as to whether this trend will be extended or not. Larson and Elliott in each of the last two years at the track certainly illustrated it. 🔍 FULL ANALYSIS: He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for... KEVIN HARVICK. Although the major headliner news this week revolved around the 47-year-old's 2024 replacement, Harvick has a chance to add more Stewart-Haas Racing news to the fold this weekend. Among all active drivers, Harvick ranks fourth in average finish at Nashville (7.5). His fifth-place finish in 2021 and 10th-place running there last year additionally gives Harvick the honor of being one of only five active drivers to finish inside the top 10 in both races (Larson, Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano being the others). In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Harvick has shown success, too — he has two career wins at Nashville, with his first coming in April 2006 and his most recent in April 2010. In other words, the track record and history are there for a driver with an already rich legacy to his name. Sunday's running gives Harvick the opportunity to add to that legacy. Saturday's sessions Warm temperatures equated to slick track conditions for the Cup Series field, especially during Saturday's qualifying sessions. Nevertheless, Ross Chastain was the driver to come ahead and claim his first career pole in the Cup Series. The pole win was also the first for the Trackhouse Racing team. Chastain's teammate Daniel Suárez and 23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace, among others, spun out in Turn 4, signifying that temperatures had indeed made for a slick superspeedway.