LEBANON, Tenn. – In a race twice delayed by lightning, Chase Elliott stole the thunder from a contingent of Toyota drivers who showed early dominance.
After a late caution slowed the action in Sunday’s Ally 400, Elliott remained on the track and led the field to a restart with four laps left at Nashville Superspeedway.
Elliott pulled away from runner-up Kurt Busch and powered his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet across the finish line by a margin of 0.551 seconds.
In fashioning his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season, his first at Nashville and the 15th of his career, Elliott overcame a long pit stop on Lap 120 that dropped him to 25th in the running order.
“I’m so proud of our team,” Elliott said. “We had a setback about halfway, but we were able to get the NAPA Chevy dialed back in and get back in the mix. It was a long day, a fun day… I’m so proud of our team. We’ve had a pretty rough month, month and a half. It’s just nice to get back going in the right direction.
“Getting a win is always huge. To do it in a really cool city like Nashville is even better. I’m looking forward to that guitar (trophy).”
Elliott beat three Toyota drivers — pole winner Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch — who collectively led 250 of the 300 laps at the 1.33-mile concrete track.
It might be more accurate to say the Toyota drivers beat themselves by pitting during the 10th and final caution on Lap 293, the result of a blown engine in Josh Bilicki’s Chevrolet.
While Elliott and Kurt Busch stayed out under caution, along with eight other drivers, Kyle Busch, Truex and Hamlin all came to pit road for tires. Of the three, only Hamlin advanced over the final four laps, finishing sixth behind Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain.
Kyle Busch and Truex ran afoul of heavy traffic on the final lap and came home 21st and 22nd, respectively.
Hamlin, who led a race-high 114 laps, was out front for the first 41 circuits before lightning halted the action for one hour and 28 seconds. After the resumption and two more cautions, Truex passed Hamlin for the lead on Lap 66 and help through the end of Stage 1.
Truex, who led six times for 82 laps, also won the second stage, but Elliott’s car came to life in the final third of the race. Elliott had a one-second lead over Kyle Busch, with Hamlin and Truex trailing in third and fourth place, when Bilicki’s engine failure caused the final caution with nine laps remaining.
Kurt Busch’s only regret about his runner-up finish was not being more aggressive on the final restart.
“I wanted to throw some fenders, but I didn’t get the job done,” the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota driver said. “Everybody will be smiling, but I let them down. I should have come up with a better plan.
“We were going to stay out no matter what, and I needed to start throwing fenders to move people around. I didn’t get after it, and I made too many mistakes and didn’t stick with our strength. I’m not going to say what our strength was, but we did a lot of things good.
“We didn’t have one exceptional item. We’re second with our Toyota Camry. I want to do it over, but you don’t get those at this elite level and Chase got the job done.”
The second lightning delay, which also brought rain and necessitated track drying, lasted two hours, eight minutes and 35 seconds. It occurred on Lap 139, just 11 laps short of halfway.
Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick ran sixth through 10th, respectively. Elliott leads the series standings by 30 points over Chastain.
At Lap 50, shortly after the first delay, Alex Bowman’s day came to a premature end. Contact from Corey LaJoie sent his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet spinning into the Turn 2 SAFER barrier. Bowman was able to drive away from the scene, but a flat-spotted right-front tire tore away critical body panels. The team couldn’t repair the car before the damaged vehicle policy’s six-minute clock expired, adding to the list of disappointing summer results for Bowman.
Chase Briscoe found trouble at Lap 61 when his No. 14 Ford slid sideways entering Turn 1 while battling with Ty Dillon. Both cars spun into the outside retaining wall but were able to continue.
This marks the second Cup race at Nashville, a 1.33-mile concrete oval in Lebanon, Tennessee. Hendrick Motorsports has won each event at Nashville, with Kyle Larson claiming the inaugural victory in 2021.
NOTE: Post-race inspection concluded with no issues, confirming Elliott as the race winner.
Lightning strikes within an eight-mile radius of the track delayed the Ally 400 before significant rain doused the track. Racing resumed shortly after 10 p.m. ET. Coverage continues on USA Network, Peacock, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
A 30-minute stoppage is mandated whenever lightning is detected within an eight-mile radius of the race track. The first stoppage of the race was issued at Lap 42. After multiple lightning strikes and a delay of a little more than an hour, the race resumed when NASCAR gave the all-clear signal. The second pause lasted just over two hours.
Denny Hamlin has dominated the event and maintains the lead at the red flag. His No. 11 Toyota has paced the field for 78 of the 139 completed laps. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell run second, third and fifth, respectively. Kevin Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing Ford completes the top five in fourth place.
The race is not deemed official until the halfway mark is reached, which is Lap 150 at Nashville.
I’ve taken a very conservative approach to betting on Sunday’s NASCAR Ally 400 (5 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) at Nashville Superspeedway.
In my mind, there are simply too many unknowns heading into today’s race to get overly heavy, from a bettor’s perspective, on the Ally 400.
However, 50 minutes of practice on Friday helped clear up some of those questions.
While I’m still not planning on a big betting card for today’s race at Nashville, one driver’s odds to win the Ally 400 are simply too good to pass up.
As soon as practice got underway on Friday, it was clear the Toyota teams showed up with speed, especially in race trim.
Toyota drivers finished first, second, fifth and sixth in 15-lap averages in practice, which is pretty impressive considering there are only six Toyotas in the field.
When it comes to my favorite value, I’m taking Martin Truex Jr., who drives the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, at 15-1 odds.
Truex didn’t have much short-run speed in practice; however, that didn’t seem to matter in qualifying as he secured a respectable 10th-place starting spot.
But where Truex’s car really seemed to excel was on the long runs.
The JGR driver posted the seventh-best 10-lap average in practice and improved to the fifth-best average over 15 laps.
Perhaps more important is the fact that Truex confirmed his pace in an interview during qualifying, saying the car has great long run speed.
When a former Cup Series champion driver, in the series’ best equipment, really likes a car that showed plenty of speed in practice, I pay attention.
When that driver is also available at 15-1 odds (DraftKings), I bet.
The sample size of who typically runs well at Nashville Superspeedway is rather small. After all, the Cup Series has run just one race on the 1.333-mile layout. After an extended 50-minute practice session and qualifying on Saturday, not much has changed on who was expected to be quick and the teams that had work to do.
Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: Ross Chastain
Starter 2: Kyle Larson
Starter 3: Joey Logano
Starter 4: Denny Hamlin
Starter 5: Martin Truex Jr.
Garage pick: Daniel Suarez
NEXT IN LINE: Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell.
RISING: Martin Truex Jr. announced this weekend he will return to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023, so now he can focus solely on the competition. So far, so good at Nashville, as the No. 19 car will take the green flag from 10th, a big improvement from beginning the 400-mile event in 35th last year.
Starting 30th wouldn’t seem like much of an improvement, but Bubba Wallace had a massive catch on his qualifying run. In Friday’s practice session, it was the No. 23 team that topped the chart on the short and long run. That was a boost of confidence for Wallace, and he’s not foreign to coming from the back, having multiple pit-road woes in 2022. After winning the pole, Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing, said Wallace should be confident entering the race because he has a fast car.
FALLING: Kyle Busch was the lone car to have an issue in qualifying when the No. 18 Toyota backed into the wall. Busch had an ill-handling car at Nashville last year, and it doesn’t look as though much has changed this time around. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see him do KFB things and get a good finish.
Just about every week this season, Tyler Reddick has had speed that is capable of being in contention of winning a race. Meanwhile, the No. 8 team is still looking for its first checkered flag 16 races into the year. His 16th-place qualifying run is among the worst of the year for the two-time Xfinity Series champion.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Tyler Reddick vs. Austin Dillon:
Remember what I just said above? Yeah, about that. Compared to Dillon, Reddick has shown more outright speed this season and did rank in the top 10 on 10-lap averages in practice. If an outside racing groove gets worked in, the No. 8 car could come to life.
Ross Chastain vs. Daniel Suárez:
This is the toughest matchup of the week. Both Trackhouse drivers have a bunch of momentum and made the final round of qualifying on Saturday. However, Chastain is my pick to win the race, so it’s tough betting against the No. 1 team.
Aric Almirola vs. Kevin Harvick
Harvick’s team made a vast improvement from practice to qualifying, and Sunday will be the first race since Martinsville Speedway that the No. 4 car has qualified inside the top 10. This matchup is near equal on all fronts –- the two are separated by seven points through 16 races –- but the No. 10 car has shown more speed on tracks similar to Nashville this season, so Almirola is the surprising choice.
Kyle Larson vs. William Byron
Earlier in the week, this might have been a tougher choice. But with Larson being fourth in practice on single-lap speed (granted, Byron was fifth) and second on the best 10-lap average, the No. 5 car gets the vote. Larson also starts third and dominated the inaugural Cup race at Nashville, leading 264 of 300 laps.
Kyle Soper accomplished something Saturday evening that no other Riverhead Raceway regular had done in 27 years.
By earning his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour victory in Saturday’s Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 on Saturday evening, Soper became the first Riverhead regular to win a Tour race at the track since Ed Brunnhoelzl Jr. back in 1995.
Although Soper’s achievements at Riverhead include three track championships, he considered ending the long drought for Riverhead regulars to be a major highlight in his career.
“I wasn’t even born when [Brunnhoelzl] won, so this is quite an accomplishment,” Soper said. “I’m just so glad that I’m a [Whelen Modified] Tour winner now.”
Eight of Soper’s 14 Whelen Modified Tour appearances entering the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 had been at his home track of Riverhead. Although Soper had finished inside the top five three times, he came away from each race feeling more could have been done to position himself better for the win.
One recurring issue that Soper attributed to his struggles in Whelen Modified Tour races at Riverhead was his qualifying speed, as his front row start back in 2017 marked the only time Soper had qualified inside the top five at the facility.
Soper was determined to resolve his qualifying woes during the Whelen Modified Tour’s second of three visits to Riverhead this season, and he turned to a fellow Modified veteran in Jimmy Blewett for advice on how to get more out of his No. 15 Feeds car in time trials.
The advice Blewett gave Soper allowed him to qualify fifth, which gave Soper all the track position he needed to run at his own pace.
“I was texting Jimmy Blewett [on Friday] night about a qualifying setup,” Soper said. “He got us close and we got up to the front. Usually I start in the back, and that means I have to burn my tires up coming to the front. Luckily we started closer up, and I was able to save my tires.”
Soper applied a relentless amount of pressure to polesitter Timmy Solomito during the first half of the Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 before finally pulling in front with 86 laps remaining.
Once he got the lead, Soper then had to contend with three-time Tour champion Justin Bonsignore, who has put together an impressive resume at Riverhead himself that includes eight series victories.
Bonsignore managed to overtake Soper on the final restart of the night but struggled to pull away as the race neared the checkered flag. A daring crossover maneuver by Soper with 10 laps remaining allowed him to re-take the lead, forcing Bonsignore to settle for second.
While Bonsignore was disappointed to finish second, he was happy to see a Riverhead regular finally visit Victory Lane again after over two decades.
“It’s been a long time since Ed Brunnhoelzl won that race [at Riverhead] in the ’90s, so it was cool to see [Soper win],” Bonsignore said. “It sucks that he beat us to do it, but our car was really good through the middle section of the race and we got to second. I thought I was in good shape when I got the lead, but I started to free up with about 30 to go, and [Soper’s] car was way too good at that point.”
Bonsignore’s second-place finish proved to be another positive step toward getting back into championship contention.
Two poor finishes at Riverhead and Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway to open the 2022 season placed Bonsignore deep in the Whelen Modified Tour points, but he is confident that a fourth championship is still feasible following a more efficient showing at the end of June.
“All in all, this was a good run,” Bonsignore said. “We got the win [at Monadnock Speedway] last week and now a second [on Saturday], so I can’t thank this whole team enough. It was a hot one, but now it’s on to Wall Stadium in a couple of weeks.”
For Soper, fending off someone as talented as Bonsignore made Saturday’s victory all the more special.
Soper grew up idolizing the local heroes who helped build up Riverhead’s proud reputation, and he wanted nothing more than to honor those legends by representing them in Victory Lane during a Whelen Modified Tour-sanctioned race at the track.
With another Whelen Modified Tour race at Riverhead coming up in September, Soper plans to celebrate Saturday’s triumph for as long as he can with his father Tom and car owner Wayne Anderson before the series regulars invade the track once again.
“[Wayne] is probably stroking out right now because he’s so excited,” Soper said. “My dad worked so hard on this car. We were actually going to take the new car, but luckily we didn’t. There’s so many people that come to help us out and make this dream work.”
Whelen Modified Tour points leader Ron Silk ended up third, while Jon McKennedy and Dylan Slepian were the other top-five finishers. Completing the top 10 were Kyle Bonsignore, John Beatty Jr., Solomito, Austin Beers and Doug Coby.
A replay of Saturday’s Buzz Chew Chevrolet Cadillac 200 can be seen on the USA Network on July 3 starting at 1 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will return to action on July 9, when the series heads to Wall Township in New Jersey for their first race at Wall Stadium since 2019. That race will be shown live on FloRacing.
LEBANON, Tenn. — With just under 40 laps to go in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway, apparent contact between the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet of Sam Mayer and No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Ty Gibbs sent the latter sideways.
Gibbs was able to — impressively — save his machine without spinning out completely, but there’s history here.
The pair of uber-talented teenagers driving for competing organizations with uber-famous team owners came to blows on pit road not even three months ago at Martinsville Speedway, resulting in some scrapes on Mayer’s face and a stern talking-to in the NASCAR hauler not long after.
With ambient temps hovering around 100 degrees at the Tennessee track, perhaps it was too hot to heat things up any further. There were no such fireworks between Gibbs and Mayer on Saturday, despite the fourth- and fifth-place finishers, respectively, parking their cars together on pit road following the race.
In fact, there was a bit of agreement.
“That last run was pretty painful. Obviously, contact with the 54, complete accident, I will say,” Mayer said. “It was just a matter of aerodynamics and packing the air under his spoiler, getting him loose and then unfortunately getting into him in his left front. Not intentional. I feel bad because I did ruin a better run for him. I ruined a better run for myself, too.”
“I’m hoping (he sees it that way as well). He’s gained a lot of knowledge over the last year and a half of running Xfinity just like I did. Racing the 54, obviously, our history. I hate that we call it our history because I really just want to drive race cars no matter who’s out there. I did that move literally all day and never once packed air that hard. So it really was a complete accident.”
Gibbs wasn’t thrilled with the contact, but appeared to completely understand the circumstances and echoed Mayer’s take on what happened almost to a T. It probably also didn’t hurt that he wound up finishing a spot ahead of his counterpart, and neither of them likely had anything for eventual race winner Justin Allgaier, who dominated the afternoon. Later on in the run, Mayer allowed Gibbs to pass him with plenty of space, which did not go unnoticed.
“Got hit there and got taken out, but that’s part of it,” Gibbs said. ” … I did the same thing to the 39 (of Ryan Sieg) and I apologized to him, so it’s just part of it. It’s just racing in general. Just packed air and got me too loose. He was faster at that moment. I feel like we were better than him on the long run, even with the left front damage. We were gonna get back around him probably, but that’s just part of it. It’s just racing. I made my mistakes, just gotta learn from it.
“I feel like it shows something (when he let me by), but again, it’s just part of it. The one thing I’ve learned this year is I’ve gotta mature quickly. We’re both similar ages and just gonna have to learn from it, especially in front of millions of people, it’s hard, but it’s the career we chose.”
As with any incident on the track, this one will be added to both of their memory banks even if it winds up being a minor blip in the potential decades of racing against each other the two prospects have ahead. Retaliation is unlikely for this one, but certainly not off the table.
Apologies go a long way.
“I’m hoping he can move on,” Mayer said. “I will apologize, but unfortunately it’s just one of those deals. I don’t know (if he’ll retaliate). We’ve already gotten yelled at so I don’t think so, but he might and he’ll call it an accident. And it could be. I don’t know. Just unfortunately, racing’s one of those weird things in that sense. Everyone’s gotta bite the bullet one way or another. Obviously, I don’t want to and I want to race clean. I never want to be known as the dirty, aggressive driver, but I just made a mistake. It wasn’t even really a mistake, I just overestimated the move and how it worked.”
The Xfinity Series races next Saturday at Road America with the Henry 180 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
LEBANON, Tenn. – On a blindingly hot day at Nashville Superspeedway, Justin Allgaier fulfilled a dream in one of the best race cars he’s ever had.
Leading five times for 134 laps and sweeping the first two stages of Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250, Allgaier breezed to his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at the 1.33-mile concrete track, his second of the season and the 18th of his career.
Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet crossed the finish line 4.513 seconds ahead of runner-up Trevor Bayne, who overcame an interference penalty on pit road, assessed when two of the tires from his No. 18 Toyota rolled behind the gas man in pole winner Riley Herbst’s neighboring pit stall.
“This guitar has been on my bucket list for a long, long time,” Allgaier said, who won in his eighth start at Nashville, dating to 2009. After a 10-year pause in racing at the track, Allgaier finished second last year.
Asked whether he had ever driven a better race car, Allgaier was quick to answer.
“I don’t think ever,” he said. “What a heck of a race, man. We’ve been coming here for a long time, and I love this race track. Been trying to get a win so bad and hadn’t been able to do it.
“Today was like a dirt race. It was slick, it was hot, we were sliding around… I’ve got a guitar to take home, and we’re going to enjoy it, for sure.”
Chevrolet drivers have won the last seven Xfinity Series races, with JR Motorsports drivers winning five of those. Allgaier’s two stage wins were the 11th and 12th-straight on oval tracks for JRM.
Herbst finished third, followed by Ty Gibbs and Sam Mayer, both of whom were involved in a late-race incident that turned Gibbs No. 54 Toyota sideways — setting up a masterful save.
Ryan Preece, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Austin Hill, Ryan Sieg and Brett Moffitt completed the top 10.
Sixteenth-place finisher AJ Allmendinger retained the series lead by 25 points over Gibbs in second place and 32 over Allgaier in third.
Mistakes cost Bayne a chance to race for the win.
“We drove to second twice, from the back,” he said. “The second stage, we came in with Riley (Herbst) and hit a pit crew member, not intentionally, but it can happen. Then fell back to 15th and drove back to second.”
“Then we had a loose wheel and had to go to the very back and drove back and was catching Allgaier. He’s my buddy, Gator, congrats to him. Happy for him, but, man, I wanted to win that guitar and win here at Nashville.”
“I feel like we did everything right on the car and feel like I did everything right behind the wheel. We have to clean up the mistakes and we’re going to win because it takes every piece of this deal.”
Herbst conceded that he wasn’t able to challenge Allgaier’s dominance.
“I don’t think the whole field had anything for the 7,” Herbst said. “I think he was on cruise control all day. I messed up on pit road a few times, myself and the team, so we’ve got to clean up a little stuff there, but all in all, it was a good day. We got a pole and good points. This is what we need to keep doing—just knock on the door, and eventually it will open.”
NOTE: There were no issues in post-race inspection, confirming Allgaier as the winner. The Nos. 6, 10, 31 and 44 cars each had one lug nut loose.
Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway
(⏰ 5 p.m. ET | 📺 NBC | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM, TSN)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, the 17th regular-season event of the 2022 campaign. NOTE: This race kicks off the NBC portion of broadcast coverage, lasting through the championship race in Phoenix.
Race-day info 📝
Where: Lebanon, Tennessee Approximate start time: 5 p.m. ET | Full weekend schedule TV/Radio: NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, TSN; coverage continues on USA Network at 10 p.m. ET | Full TV schedule Forecast: A 50% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. ET. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97 degrees, according to NOAA.gov | Weather tracker Race distance: 300 laps | 399 miles Stages: 90 | 185 | 300 Pit-road speed: 45 mph Caution car speed: 55 mph Nashville 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: Where drivers will start
Pit stalls:Where drivers will pit
Key things to watch 🔑
Big story line
Can Trackhouse Racing, specifically previous race winner Daniel Suárez, continue momentum heading into the rugged summer stretch? After showing speed early in the season, Suárez broke through at Sonoma Raceway and made NASCAR history as the first Mexican-born driver to win at the sport’s top level. The historic achievement also came on the brink of the Cup Series’ off weekend, allowing the 30-year-old driver to travel back to Mexico and soak in the victory with family and friends. For Suárez, the win was something he could feel coming for a long time, and he expects to build on it this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway — not just be a one-and-done.
“If I had to write it down, how I wanted to win and how I wanted things to happen, I feel like it was gonna be just like that,” Suárez told NASCAR.com. “I felt very fortunate to have had an opportunity to celebrate, not just with my team and with the people who helped me to get to that point, but also with my friends and family in Mexico. There is a difference between knowing you’re a winner, knowing you can win and actually being a winner. Right now, I feel like the entire team has a huge boost of confidence.”
Last season’s seventh-place run was the second-best finish of the entire season for Suárez and the No. 99 team. With a playoff berth secured, for now, expect the team to push even harder through the final 10 races to improve its standing, beginning Sunday.
Who’s hot? Who’s not?
Still in search of his first win of 2022, Ryan Blaney has picked up the pace in recent weeks, reeling off back-to-back finishes inside the top six. Based on raw speed, the No. 12 Team Penske Ford has been among the best this season, leading the fourth-most laps at 385 and earning a series-high three Busch Light Pole Awards. But can Blaney put it all together and extend his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to six? With the way the series is trending, his playoff chances might depend on it. Look for the No. 12 to keep the positive momentum rolling in Tennessee.
Across the aisle, Harrison Burton and Team Penske-affiliate Wood Brothers Racing have had a rocky start to the season. Burton has yet to finish inside the top 10 this season, including three DNFs, and is struggling to tame the tide in his rookie season. His three laps led in the Daytona 500 are one of the few highlights this year. However, his best finish of the season came at the last mile-plus oval in Charlotte Motor Speedway. This could bode well for Nashville. Plus, the Rookie of the Year battle is far from over — and in regards to playoff hopes, a win could change everything.
Driving under the radar
Have the wins come yet? No. But has the speed and performance improved? Yes. This comes as a shining light for Kevin Harvick fans as the veteran is beginning to round into more consistent form. Harvick has five top 10s in the last seven races and was contending for the win at Sonoma Raceway — a strong track for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver in recent history. Though the team has had its struggles, and heavily voiced concerns (to put it kindly), the team is trending upward somewhat consistently for the first time in a while. Look for the revamped No. 4 crew to buckle down and make a bold statement sooner rather than later. | Here is why Harvick will be the next winless driver in 2022 to reach Victory Lane
Practice and qualifying
Friday brought a 50-minute practice session to snap out of off-week mode, and Toyota came to play. Bubba Wallace was fastest in the session at 161.708 mph followed by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch. In fact, all six Toyotas posted practice laps inside the top 11 on the leaderboard. Ford struggled Friday though with Ryan Blaney posting the manufacturer’s only lap inside the top 15 on speed. Denny Hamlin carried Toyota’s momentum into qualifying Saturday afternoon and stormed to the pole at 160.413 mph, earning the top spot after rain washed out the second round of qualifying. Ford rebounded with Joey Logano posting the second-best qualifying lap ahead of the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. Daniel Suárez, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. roll off from the top 10. | Starting lineup, qualifying results | Practice recap
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Race-day staples ✅
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Paint Scheme Preview: Rockin’ schemes for Nashville | Pick a favorite
• Staff predictions: Assessing the outlook for the rest of the regular season and Championship 4 | Read more
• Power Rankings: Who’s the current No. 1? | Latest Cup Series driver rankings
• Fantasy Fastlane: Home-field advantage for Trackhouse Racing at Nashville? | Top plays, sleepers
• NASCAR betting: Odds, favorites for Sunday’s race | BetMGM betting odds
• Backseat Drivers: Will Martin Truex Jr. retire after the 2022 season? | Watch the debate
Catch the pack 💨
Read up on the top headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
• Remembering Bruton Smith: Hall of Famer, visionary dies at 95 | Read more | Watch tribute
• Contract news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. agrees to contract extension with JTG Daugherty Racing | Read more
• Crew shakeup: Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 team makes roster changes | More details
• Analysis: Alex Bowman’s career summer stretch at Hendrick Motorsports | Read more
• Award nominee: Bubba Wallace nominated for Sportsman of the Year | More details
• NBC Sports: Network announces commentary team for 2022 slate of races | Full list
• Suspension: Kevin Meendering stepping in for Cliff Daniels during time out | Read more
• Logano: Team Penske wheelman chasing regular-season title amidst roller-coaster campaign | Read more • eNASCAR: Ray Alfalla cruises to win at virtual Nashville Superspeedway | Full recap
• Dale Jr. design: Earnhardt lends a hand in setting up Bowman’s scheme for Nashville | See it here
• Partnership extension: Hendrick Motorsports, Valvoline reach agreement through 2027 | More details
• Seven-Time: Jimmie Johnson eyes potential involvement with Garage 56 entry at Le Mans | Read more • Playoff picture: Getting a look at how the Round of 16 is shaping up | Read more
• Future of practice: Steve O’Donnell chimes in on current state, future outlook of session | Listen in
• Off-week superlatives: Awards for 2022 standouts so far | See them here
• NASCAR films: Emmy-Award winning short film ‘Beyond the Wheel’ returns to FOX Sports | Learn more
• Reality show: Austin, Whitney Dillon set to star in new show | More details
Get in on the action 💰
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• Backseat Bets: Teammate head-to-heads for Nashville | See experts’ picks
• BetMGM: Will Kyle Larson repeat his dominance in Nashville? | Read more
• More fantasy: Is Erik Jones a solid Hail Mary pick? | Experts debate
• The Action Network: Identifying underdogs with betting upside at Nashville | Full analysis
• Featured Matchup: How to bet the Daniel Suárez vs. Ross Chastain matchup| Learn more
• Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2022 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
• Going all the way: 2022 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
Music City memories 🎸
Before the NASCAR Cup Series returns to race at Nashville, look back at some track history and previous winners.
• Winner, winner: Active Cup Series drivers with wins at Nashville Superspeedway | See the list
• History lesson: Take a look at NASCAR’s history in Nashville | Learn more
• Last year: Kyle Larson pours it on, wins first Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway | Race recap
• Race Rewind: Kyle Larson dominates the 2021 Ally 400 | Watch the highlights
Fast facts ⏩
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• At 1.33 miles, Nashville is the longest concrete oval on the NASCAR schedule. • Sunday’s race will be only the second Cup Series event held at Nashville Superspeedway.
• The race winner took the lead within the final 10 laps in 12 of 16 races in 2022.
• After winning at Kansas Speedway, Kurt Busch is the only driver to win Stage 2 and win the race this season.
Say what? 🎙
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
• “Nashville is a great market for our sport. The support last year was unbelievable when you think about the fans in the stands and how packed the infield was. They did an incredible job updating the facility from not having a race for 10 years to being just an all-around great weekend for the sport.” — Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and co-owner of 23XI Racing
• “I had a lot of fun at Nashville last year. I think we were fastest in practice. We had a tech issue, so we didn’t get to qualify, but I finished second in the (Trucks) race. It seemed like we were pretty fast last year right off the bat, so I’m excited for it. I think the resin on the race track made it really fun. Watching stuff in the past it seemed like it was really on the bottom, just one lane, so I think NASCAR did a really good job with the race track. Honestly, I’m super excited to go back.” — Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
• “We believe that we can win more races. We believe that the way we’ve been racing lately, the speed is there to be able to contend for more races. (Nashville) is gonna be fun. I think the Next Gen car is going to race very well here.” — Daniel Suárez, driver of the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
