Posted on by Holly Cain

LEBANON, Tenn. — It took a record five overtime restarts to settle Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, but two-time series champion Joey Logano finally emerged as the race winner, securing his first win of the season and a bid into the 2024 playoffs in dramatic fashion.

With race leaders falling out of contention with each late-race restart — 31 extra laps and 15 total cautions on the day — Logano and his Team Penske team gambled that his No. 22 Ford Mustang had enough fuel for a final push to the checkered flag. Ultimately, Logano’s No. 22 turned 110 laps with that final tank of fuel.

The reward was the trip to Victory Lane on Sunday — the first for Ford at the 1.33-mile Nashville track — and a coveted ticket to the postseason for Logano and his team.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Logano finished 0.068 seconds ahead of Spire Motorsports rookie Zane Smith — the best Cup Series career showing for the former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion. 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick was third, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Preece and RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher.

The 34-year-old Logano said he wasn’t sure how much fuel was left or if he would definitely make it to the checkered.

“I know into (Turn) 3, my fuel light came on, and it stumbled across the line. That was definitely all of it,” Logano told NBC Sports post-race. “But so proud of this Shell-Pennzoil Mustang team. It’s been a stressful few weeks trying to get into the playoffs, and being able to win here is huge for our season. Felt great to get that. Boy, it feels good.

“I’m out of breath. We had it won off of (Turn) 4, and then the caution came out, and I was like, oh, my God, but you can’t pit. You’ve kind of got to go for it. Boy, it was close. But we’ve got to give a lot of credit to Roush Yates, not only building horsepower but building fuel mileage. That’s what won today.”

SHOP: Buy winner’s gear

Logano still had barely enough fuel to do a brief victory burnout in front of the sold-out Nashville crowd that stayed to the epic end despite a one-hour, 21-minute red flag for rain and lightning only 136 laps into the 331-lap race. His crew chief, Paul Wolfe, confirmed Logano’s Mustang ultimately ran out of gas.

“We just got to the point. … we’ve gotten this far, let’s just stick with it,” Wolfe said of the team staying out instead of pitting for fuel. Fortunately, it was enough, but he did run out on the last lap.”

Even before all the extra laps, the race’s scheduled ending featured an amazing duel between pole-winner Denny Hamlin, racing for what would have been a series-best fourth victory, and the 2023 Nashville winner Ross Chastain, racing for his first win of the season. For 30 laps, they raced in front of the field, with Hamlin cutting into Chastain’s lead before finally overtaking him with seven laps remaining in regulation of the originally scheduled 300-lap race.

But just as Hamlin and Chastain were seemingly settling the trophy, Logano’s teammate Austin Cindric spun out with four laps remaining, forcing the first overtime.

Hamlin and Chastain restarted next to one another in the first overtime, but Chastain was hit from behind by Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, whose Chevrolet’s splitter hit the apron and unintentionally moved him into Chastain’s car. The accident eliminated Chastain with a 33rd-place finish, and Hamlin had to hold off the field in two subsequent overtimes before having to pit himself for fuel – a decision the team struggled to make but ultimately were forced to do.

MORE: Chastain exits after overtime contact

That left Logano and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe on the front row for the fourth overtime restart. Smith had moved into second place around Briscoe when the final caution came out for SHR’s Josh Berry.

Only one (Reddick) of the top 11 cars lined up for the fifth overtime restart had won a race this season, but a highly motivated Logano got a stellar jump on the field at the drop of the flag and was able to keep the challengers behind with other incidents happening as the checkered flag flew.

“The winning side of me is pissed with the second place, especially after hearing the 22 (Logano) was going to run out for the past 10 laps, I don’t know how many restarts,” Smith said of his runner-up showing. “But no, I wouldn’t have done anything different. I felt like I chose the right lane, and it’s crazy how much different these cars drive with cleaner air. Just proud of our strategy there.”

Logano’s Team Penske teammate and reigning series champ Blaney finished sixth, followed by 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, Larson, Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric and SHR’s Noah Gragson.

There were nine race leaders and 20 lead changes on the day.

For much of the early day, Christopher Bell, last week’s winner, looked like he was positioned to earn the first back-to-back victories of his career. But pit strategy put Bell’s No. 20 JGR Toyota the farthest back in the field. He spun out alone in Turn 2, racing in 15th place on the restart with 74 laps remaining.

Bell swept the opening two stage wins to lead the series with nine stage victories on the season and was out front a race-best 131 of the first 229 laps — more than twice as many laps as any other driver in the field at that point.

“Just put myself in a bad spot, lost my cool, got back in traffic with all those yellow flags and put myself in a really bad spot going into (Turn) 1,” said Bell, who wound up 36th in the 38-car field.

Larson’s eighth-place showing was good enough to keep the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead by 20 points over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who was among those who had an incident on the race’s final lap. Hamlin is 43 points back with eight races remaining to decide the regular season champion.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is the Grant Park 165, the main event for the second annual Chicago Street Race Weekend. The street-circuit event is scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App), with 75 laps (165 miles) on tap.

Note: No issues were found in post-race technical inspection at Nashville Superspeedway, making Logano’s victory official. NASCAR officials also indicated that no cars would return to its Research & Development Center for further evaluation.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

Ross Chastain went from a chance to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway to wrecked in the event’s first attempt of overtime.

On an extra-time restart at Lap 305, Chastain charged into Turn 1 on the outside and challenged Denny Hamlin for the race lead. Kyle Larson, in third place and entering behind Hamlin on the bottom of the track, clipped the apron and drifted high into Chastain, whose No. 1 Chevrolet spun backward into the SAFER barrier.

MORE: Race results | At-track photos

His Trackhouse Racing entry was then struck by Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch. Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Dillon were also collected.

Chastain led 45 laps in Sunday’s Ally 400 before Hamlin passed him for the lead with seven laps remaining in regulation. A spin on Lap 299 by Austin Cindric down the backstretch sent the event past its scheduled 300-lap distance.

Chastain, who entered as the defending winner at Nashville, is still searching for his first victory of 2024. The No. 1 car ultimately was credited with a 33rd-place finish in the 38-car field.

Posted on by Staff Report

Christopher Bell crashed out of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.

With 73 laps to go, Bell entered Turn 1 in a gaggle of cars before his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota snapped sideways. His car quickly spun left-rear first into the SAFER barrier between Turns 1 and 2, ultimately resulting in damage too significant to continue. Bell was credited with a 36th-place finish.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“I just carried too much speed in there and put myself in a really bad aero spot and spun it out,” Bell said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center. “Great car. Great effort by this 20 group, and I let them down today.”

Bell had dominated Sunday’s Ally 400, leading a race-high 131 laps before the incident. A Lap 218 caution for Chase Elliott’s Turn 4 spin ultimately shook up pit strategy throughout the field. The No. 20 team elected to take four tires and a full tank of fuel, dropping Bell outside the top 10 for the ensuing restart.

“The yellows didn’t help there in the third stage,” Bell said. “Lost some track position, but you’ll have that. And then I got a very bad restart. Once I was buried, I just got frustrated and put myself in a bad spot. So I’ve got no one to blame but myself.”

Bell entered as the series’ most recent winner after a June 23 victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 29-year-old Oklahoma native has won three Cup races this season, including the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day Weekend.

Contributing: Cameron Richardson

Posted on by Staff Report

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway was temporarily red-flagged due to inclement weather.

A lightning delay and eventual rain overshadowed the 1.33-mile concrete oval in Lebanon, Tennessee, necessitating a yellow flag on Lap 136 of the Ally 400, the fourth caution period of the day. The field was brought to pit road and stopped on Lap 137.

MORE: Race results

Christopher Bell was scored as the race leader ahead of Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott at the time of the delay. Completing the top 10 were pole-starter Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr. and Carson Hocevar.

John Hunter Nemechek spun at Lap 116 to trigger the second caution of the day, the first for an on-track incident. A Ty Gibbs spin followed 10 laps later to trigger the event’s third yellow flag.

The red flag was lifted at approximately 6:40 p.m. ET with a return to green-flag racing at the conclusion of Lap 140.

Live coverage continued on NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio until USA Network took over from NBC at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Joey Logano later scored the victory after a Cup record of five overtime periods, netting his first points-paying victory of 2024.

Posted on by Alex Cadavid

Editor’s note: The projected finish has been updated after Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions. The top four remains unchanged, but Brad Keselowski moved up into fifth place while Ross Chastain dropped from sixth to ninth. Ty Gibbs moved up from 10th to eighth.

After Christopher Bell prevailed in the wet weather at New Hampshire, he matched William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson with three wins this season — marking the first time ever that four drivers have three wins through the first 18 races. Bell, Byron, Hamlin and Larson all eye Music City as a chance to break the four-way tie and gain control of the standings as the regular season comes to a close.

It also bodes well that both Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have a history of success at Nashville Superspeedway. A win for either organization would add a jolt of momentum, especially with the playoffs around the corner and both organizations hunting for a championship.

RELATED: Set your roster | See weekend schedule

Racing Insights gives the edge to the JGR duo of Hamlin and Bell on the concrete track at Nashville, but the Hendrick challengers in Larson and Byron aren’t too far behind in the early projections.

Looking at Hamlin, he’s won the last three races on concrete, and he’s finished sixth or better and led over 80 laps in the last two races at Nashville. All signs point to why he’s the favored driver entering Sunday’s Ally 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A strong run for Hamlin could be just what the No. 11 team needs before the postseason starts; after a runner-up finish at Gateway, his best finish was 24th in the next three races.

As for the other three-win drivers, Bell and Larson have finished in the top 10 in all three Cup contests in Nashville. Larson has an average finish of 3.33 at the track, and his 754 laps led this year are the most in the Cup Series. Bell is riding a hot hand with two wins and five top-10 finishes in the last five races. And while Byron has been quiet since his red-hot start to the season, the No. 24 driver is still arguably the best in the Next Gen era and has two top 10s at Nashville.

OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

ROSS CHASTAIN: Chastain is currently in the playoff picture on points, but it never hurts to have a win at this point in the season. Nashville seems to be his bread and butter, finishing in the top five in all three races there, including a win at the track last year.

RYAN BLANEY: It’s worth pointing out that three of the four drivers with three wins made up last year’s Championship 4. Blaney has shown true speed — just has been unlucky at the end of races. Blaney finished third at Nashville in 2022, so a win isn’t out of the question for him.

ERIK JONES: Jones showed speed last year at Nashville, earning an eighth-place finish. He also just missed the top 10 the year before, making him a solid wild-card pick this week.

DANIEL SUÁREZ: It could be a strong weekend for both Trackhouse Racing teams. In Suárez’s three starts at Nashville, he’s never finished worse than 15th.

COREY HEIM: With Silly Season in full swing, Heim has turned heads in both the Truck and Xfinity Series with solid performances. Not only will Sunday be his third Cup start, but it’s also an audition for teams looking for a driver next season.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR ALLY 400

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results.

FinishCar NumberDriver
111Denny Hamlin
220Christopher Bell
35Kyle Larson
49Chase Elliott
56Brad Keselowski
624William Byron
719Martin Truex Jr.
854Ty Gibbs
91Ross Chastain
1045Tyler Reddick
1112Ryan Blaney
124Josh Berry
1348Alex Bowman
1422Joey Logano
158Kyle Busch
1617Chris Buescher
1723Bubba Wallace
1834Michael McDowell
192Austin Cindric
2010Noah Gragson
2147Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2216AJ Allmendinger
2399Daniel Suárez
2414Chase Briscoe
2543Erik Jones
2638Todd Gilliland
273Austin Dillon
2877Carson Hocevar
2941Ryan Preece
3051Justin Haley
317Corey LaJoie
3221Harrison Burton
3342John H. Nemechek
3431Daniel Hemric
3571Zane Smith
3650Corey Heim
3715Riley Herbst
3866Chad Finchum
Posted on by Brandon White

SOUTH BOSTON, VA. — Not a competitive lap had been turned in Saturday’s Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway before Connor Hall found himself in a deficit.

A slow leak in his right-rear tire during time trials hindered Hall’s qualifying effort and relegated him to 23rd in the starting grid. A tire change prior to the green flag sent Hall to the rear of the 32-car field, leaving him with 200 laps to prove his Nelson Motorsports Toyota belonged at the front.

Hall made the most of his circumstances by methodically picking off his competition one-by-one. The final obstacle was fending off an intense charge from defending Virginia Late Model Triple Crown champion Trevor Ward, which Hall accomplished to claim his maiden Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 victory.

Finally breaking through for a South Boston win in the facility’s most prestigious event was fulfilling for Hall in numerous regards.

“I always joked that [South Boston] was going to be the last track I actually got a win at,” Hall said. “I checked this one off the list on their biggest platform. To get to race one of my really good buddies for the win was pretty much a dream come true for him and I.

“Other than the fact only one of us could win, this is as much of a win-win for two buddies as it could be.”

The conclusion to the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 closely resembled how the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway ended last September, except with the roles reversed.

Instead of chasing down a Nelson Motorsports car for the victory, Ward had to play both offense and defense against a familiar red No. 22, this time with Hall driving instead of Landon Huffman. Ward proved resilient on both fronts, as he successfully took the lead back from Hall in the closing stages after losing in on a previous restart.

Despite initially using the bottom line to his advantage, Ward found himself under relentless pressure when Hall found momentum on the bottom inside of 20 laps remaining. Hall swiftly gained the upper hand on his friend, pulling away with the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 checkered flag while Ward settled for second.

The disappointing defeat on Saturday yielded plenty of optimism for Ward. With his small program being reinforced with assistance from 2023 Bowman Gray Stadium track champion Brandon Ward and Reynolds Chassis, Ward said his expectations were met through the first leg of the Virginia Triple Crown.

Ward has every reason to believe another title is imminent following the near miss at South Boston.

“I wish we could have gotten up there and battled a little harder,” Ward said. “I pushed the right front off late in the race on that last restart. I was able to fight it, turn it with the throttle to get the lead back, but it wasn’t enough to hold [Hall] off. We put on a good show for the crowd and the good lord has blessed me with the opportunity to chase another Triple Crown.

“Going into Martinsville, I’m really amped up for it.”

Ward knows the path to a successful Virginia Triple Crown defense will involve usurping Hall, who added onto a stellar 2024 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series campaign with his 17th overall victory.

Hall also brought Nelson Motorsports their second victory in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200. A key pillar of Late Model Stock culture, Nelson Motorsports previously prevailed in South Boston’s crown jewel back in 2021 with Bobby McCarty as the driver.

Every aspect of delivering another Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 for team owner Barry Nelson was earned for Hall. From having to recover from a flat tire in qualifying to fending off a close friend for the victory, 200 grueling laps in the summer heat at South Boston left Hall both physically and mentally exhausted.

Surviving such a scorching night required Hall to be disciplined in applying every bit of knowledge he possessed on how to excel at South Boston.

“I know how hard it is to pass here,” Hall said. “Frankly, I think the reason why is because I didn’t know exactly what I needed in the race car. This year I did a lot of homework and understood through testing what I felt like I needed. My crew chief nailed [the setup]. I didn’t do much other than being the ding dong behind the wheel.”

Hall hopes the South Boston win serves as a catalyst to close out 2024 by winning his second NASCAR Weekly Series title and his first Virginia Triple Crown. The latter goal will be far more challenging for Hall, as he must maintain the highest average finish amongst his competitors to emerge victorious in the fall.

The journey to a Virginia Triple Crown championship is only beginning for Hall, but the spirited drive put together on Saturday evening showcased that he and Nelson Motorsports are prepared for any scenario.

Posted on by Holly Cain

LEBANON, Tenn. — John Hunter Nemechek survived a steamy hot afternoon and held off a highly motivated field to win the Tennessee Lottery 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday afternoon.

It’s the second Xfinity Series win of the season for Nemechek in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota — and 11th of his career in the series. The 27-year-old North Carolinian won Stage 2 and led a race-best 76 of the 188 laps, including the final 46, after taking the lead on a restart from Cole Custer, who navigated a corner too high, allowing Nemechek to get by.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“Feels good to be back in the 20 machine, we’ve been close to winning a lot this year in this thing,’’ said Nemechek, who will make his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Nashville on Sunday when he competes in his full-time ride, the No. 42 Toyota for Legacy Motor Club. “Being able to capitalize on it is huge. … It’s great to get it done here in Nashville.”

It was a Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2 with Nemechek’s teammate Chandler Smith rallying to a runner-up finish — 0.366 seconds behind Nemechek — on a day that left many in the field standing outside their cars on pit road after the checkered flag taking water and resting after in-car temperatures neared 130 degrees. Several of the drivers either didn’t wear a “cool suit” or had malfunctions with the ones they did use.

Much of the hard work came from the rear of the starting grid, where championship contenders such as Jesse Love, Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed rallied to race up front after starting from the rear for unapproved pre-race adjustments.

WATCH: Nemechek discusses Xfinity performance at Nashville

Creed’s No. 18 JGR Toyota ran among the top 10 after starting at the back of the 38-car field, only to have engine issues in the closing laps.

Richard Childress Racing teammates Love and Hill had impressive hard-earned finishes in their Chevrolets despite the weather challenges and positions on the starting grid — rallying to third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively.

NASCAR Cup Series regular and former Xfinity Series title contender Noah Gragson rounded out the top five in the No. 30 Rette Jones Racing Ford – his second start in the car this season.

“I have no idea,’’ a smiling Love said of how he passed 69 cars on the day and finished top five when his cool suit was not working properly.

“Just proud to be part of a team that doesn’t give up,” he continued. “That was probably the hottest I’ve ever been. Just proud of my guys.”

Another driver suffering from the heat when his cool suit didn’t work was Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst, who still managed a sixth-place finish despite the circumstances. The 2023 Nashville race winner, AJ Allmendinger, finished seventh, followed by Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer and Sam Mayer.

MORE: Weekend schedule: Nashville

Custer holds on to the Xfinity Series championship lead by 15 points over Chandler Smith but was — as expected — frustrated not to come away with his first victory of the season after leading an impressive 64 laps himself. He fell all the way back to fifth, losing the lead to Nemechek on that race-deciding restart and ultimately had his work cut out to stay among the top 10.

“I think I overdrove on that restart a little bit into Turn 1,’’ said Custer, who started second in Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 00 Ford. “There’s a couple things I could have done better. Everyone’s got dirty air, and man, it was hard to make speed. I felt like we were solid when we were in the top three cars, but once we got back there, it was tough to get the car to handle.

“I can’t say enough about our guys. We’re bringing cars that compete for wins every week, it’s just heartbreaking every week not to win. We’re bringing good cars and leading laps, we’ll get it eventually. We’ll keep digging.”

Xfinity teammates Ty Gibbs and Nemechek divided the stage wins, but Gibbs dropped from victory contention in a final-stage incident. A nudge from the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Justin Allgaier sent Gibbs’ No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota spinning into the Turn 4 wall on Lap 135. Allgaier managed to recover for a top-10 result, and Gibbs continued for a 20th-place finish.

The Xfinity Series’ next race is The Loop 110, part of Chicago Street Race Weekend. The 50-lap, 110-mile event through the streets of the Windy City is scheduled Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. ET start (NBC, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).

Note: NASCAR Xfinity Series post-race inspection cleared at Nashville Superspeedway without issue, confirming Nemechek as the race winner.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

LEBANON, Tenn. — Christopher Bell has reached the Championship 4 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in the last two seasons.

However, no driver has made their path more difficult to reach the title round than the fifth-year veteran.

Each of the past two campaigns featured single victories for Bell during the regular season, each enough to get the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team into the postseason. What followed were a pair of marches into the Championship 4 courtesy of clutch, round-ending triumphs, propelling Bell toward an opportunity to win the Bill France Cup. Consider an NHL team having to win multiple Game 7s to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Those are the odds Bell overcame in each of the past two playoff runs.

Rousing victories from Bell at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course and Martinsville Speedway two years ago netted his first title berth at Phoenix Raceway, while a 66-minute swing last year at Homestead-Miami Speedway opened the door for the Norman, Oklahoma native to receive a November desert sequel.

Despite coming up short in both opportunities, Bell has responded in 2024 with three wins in the regular season, the first time he’s done so at the Cup level.

It’s this type of season Bell has waited for.

RELATED: Nashville schedule | Cup standings

“Oh my gosh, man, we’ve been trying to work towards this for the last three years,” Bell said. “And it feels very, very rewarding to have playoff points in the bank right now, and we’ve still got a great opportunity to get more, so this is what everybody wants in the regular season is to get out of here with a bunch of playoff points. It feels much different than what we’ve had in the past, that’s for sure.”

Through the first half of the 2024 regular season, it appeared as though Bell was primed for another single victory to carry him into the playoffs, but a rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 and last week’s outclassing of the field have netted Bell 22 playoff points so far, including the seven stage wins.

With a win at Phoenix in March, a mistake-free postseason for the No. 20 crew could lead to a trilogy for Bell that ends with him hoisting that elusive championship trophy.

“It just goes to show that it can happen at any point,” Bell said. “Before Charlotte, I think I had six [playoff points], maybe. And then at Charlotte, I was able to win the race, win a couple stages, and that bumped me up into the teens. So it doesn’t take much to get a big boost in the playoff points. So, hopefully, we can keep stacking them up, and that’s what we’re here for. It feels nice to finally be running how I feel like this 20 car should be running.”

Posted on by Cameron Richardson

LEBANON, Tenn. — Eight races remain before the 16-driver field will be set for the Cup Series Playoffs beginning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in September.

While there are still many opportunities for drivers on the outside looking in to work their way into the postseason picture, the trends say it’s nearly impossible at this point in the calendar for those to work their way into the playoffs solely on points.

Since the introduction of stage racing in 2017, only three drivers have accomplished the task and only did so with a minute three-point gap or less to the elimination line.

Racing Insights chart
Provided by Racing Insights

Bubba Wallace, who sits 17th in the playoff standings 13 points back of Joey Logano for 16th, is the only active driver to make it in on points and did so just last season.

The last five weeks have been rough for the No. 23 23XI Racing team as Wallace hasn’t scored a top 10 and was involved in a multicar wreck last Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, taking him out of the provisional playoff grid. He sees Nashville as a place where he and his crew can rebound.

RELATED: Nashville Cup lineup | Cup playoff standings

“One bad race last weekend took us out thanks to ole’ [Noah] Gragson but we just got to throw that behind us, focus on (Sunday),” Wallace said. “We’ve been really good here (at Nashville). We haven’t had a green race here though. So that’s what we’re focused on. We’ve said that a lot this week, is having a green race here, showing up with speed. Didn’t get the good qualifying draw, but it is what it is. We didn’t crash. We learned a lot about the car in practice and that’s what we’re focused on.”

Someone having an even worse stretch in the early weeks of summer is two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch.

The longtime veteran can’t seem to shake off the miserable woes that have struck the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team. Despite showing speed capable of top-10 results (minus Loudon), Busch has DNF’d in three of the last four events. In that span, Busch was in line for a top-five performance before being spun on the final lap at Sonoma by Ross Chastain.

RELATED: Inside the numbers on Busch’s slump, potential comeback

On Saturday, he stressed the challenge drivers face while trying to inch their way back into the battle for the Bill France Cup given how the midpack can change abruptly from race to race.

“Everybody in that spot, 12th place through 20th, can be so random each week that you’re battling for those points in positions and stage points, everything throughout the day, everything throughout the race going into every weekend,” Busch said. “Like it’s just those eight to 10 guys are on top of one another and it’s hard to make point advantages because one week you might be 12th, the next you might be 22nd and the other guy was 20th and now he’s 12th. So he’s net ahead. So that’s why it’s difficult.”

Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace compete in a NASCAR race.
James Gilbert | Getty Images

On the flip side of results, Chris Buescher has been in contention to win races multiple times this season. From being on the short end of the closest finish in Cup Series history to contact for the lead and cutting a tire at Darlington, Buescher’s fate seems to be handled by everyone except for himself.

However, the 31-year-old driver has built a stable 50-point cushion to the elimination line with top fives at Sonoma (including a stage win) and New Hampshire.

MORE: Winning may be only way into postseason

But points are not on the mind of Buescher as he’s craving to return to Victory Lane for the first time since the regular-season finale at Daytona last year.

“We haven’t even thought about the point side of it honestly,” Buescher said. “It’s been figuring out how to win a race. Honestly, it just feels like that’s what it’s gonna take. With us included, there’s some fast race cars from this year that have been very close and haven’t been able to seal the deal. Knowing that, I don’t think we can sit here and think that points are going to do it for us.

“I don’t like points racing generally anyway. But I think we’re mainly on the same boat that we all agree that what it’s going to take is going to be more than a stage point or two here or there.”

There could be consolation for Buescher as his three wins in 2023 all came in the final five weeks of the regular season but he would prefer it to come before pressure mounted.

“Certainly wanted to win them earlier this year,” Buescher said. “That was our big goal was, ‘how do we fire off this season more competitive?’ and we did that. We were significantly more competitive to fire off this year than last and we came close a lot of times here so we accomplished part of that goal but the second half of that was win races early so that we’re not heading into summer stretch with the stresses of our situation.”

Still, a lot of time remains between Nashville and the checkered flag at Darlington but for those not currently in the playoff picture, an uphill climb remains and with a plethora of unique tracks waiting in the wings, those still within reach need to start producing on the right side of the results sheet.

“Fast cars cure all,” Busch said. “Being able to have confidence and to go out there and run hard and run fast and put myself in positions to win, that’ll certainly make a lot of gains and make everybody happy.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

LEBANON, Tenn. — Stewart-Haas Racing’s Josh Berry comes to Nashville after tying his best showing of the season with a third-place finish at New Hampshire last week. The Tennessee native holds high hopes for his NASCAR Cup Series race at his home-state venue and for his chances to win before the Playoffs start Sept. 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The four-car SHR team — as it has operated — announced it would be dissolving at the end of the year, and Berry, along with teammates Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece, are now left to find work elsewhere. Joe Gibbs Racing announced this week that in 2025, Briscoe will fill the seat of the No. 19 Toyota left by retiring driver Martin Truex Jr. The other drivers, however, are still racing for their futures.

RELATED: Sunday’s starting lineup | At-track photos

Berry, in his first full season of NASCAR Cup Series competition, believes he won’t only make the playoffs based on points but can win a race. He also enters Sunday’s Ally 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) optimistic about being able to stay in NASCAR’s premier series going forward, encouraged by his recent pace — four top-10 finishes in the last six weeks.

“I feel good about having a spot in the Cup Series next year, I think our results have been really strong the last couple months,’’ said Berry, who has two top-five finishes in three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at Nashville. “I don’t really know other than winning a race at this point is all I can do. We’ve finished in the top five, we’ve led laps, we’ve shown the potential of what we can do. I think that’s been a big confidence boost for me and I really think the whole situation for myself and my team, you really find out a lot about yourself when your back is against the wall and everyone’s performing at a really high level.

“We’re fighting together. I’m at my best when my back is against the wall, and I have to perform.”

Berry matched a career-best in Saturday’s Cup Series qualifying by earning the second starting spot for Sunday’s 300-lap event.