Denny Hamlin, a three-time winner this season, is on the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Ally 400 Cup Series race at Nashville.
Hamlin earned his 42nd career pole by lapping the track in 29.859 seconds (160.354 mph) in his No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE. His No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will take the pole for the second time at Nashville.
Josh Berry will start second. Under a new grid format, the pole winner takes the pole position and the remaining drivers are split into the first five rows by speed and qualifying group, so Stewart-Haas Racing’s Berry (who was third-fastest) will start his No. 4 Ford on the outside of the front row on Sunday.
Christopher Bell won last week’s KeynoteUSA 301 in New Hampshire and will start third in Nashville. “It’s nice to come to Nashville with three top-10 finishes, but it’s been a place where I haven’t felt very comfortable,” Bell said. −Media at field level
Pit strategy already plays a role in Ally 400
The first round of pit stops came a little earlier than expected on lap 38.
Kyle Busch overshot his pit stall and had to back off a bit before his team could change tires. Currently it is one lap less.
However, not all the cars that were on the lead lap decided to pit immediately. Ty Gibbs and Tyler Reddick stayed out and led a couple of laps on their stock tires.
On lap 45, Michael McDowell drove his No. 34 Ford into the lead when Reddick pitted.
Now, 65 laps into the first 90-lap stage, 24 cars are on the lead lap.
Bell passes Hamlin and takes the lead
Denny Hamlin led the first 17 laps at Nashville Superspeedway before encountering lapped traffic and teammate Christopher Bell was able to pass the polesitter and take the lead.
Justin Haley struggled to fight off Hamlin as the leader closed in behind him. As Hamlin checked, Bell, who won last week’s KeynoteUSA 301 at New Hampshire, sped past both cars.
Hamlin remains in second place with Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson a couple of seconds behind.
Green flag drops in Nashville
NASCAR racing may not be as familiar a combination with Nashville as country music is, but the crowd at Nashville Superspeedway was clearly excited when Hardy, a five-time ACM Award winner and two-time CMA Award winner, gave the Order drivers to start their engines.
Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin drove his Toyota to the front of the field to lead the first of 300 laps around the 1.333-mile oval.
What time does the NASCAR Cup Series race start in Nashville?
The Ally 400 begins at 3:30 pm ET (2:30 pm local) at Nashville Superspeedway in Nashville, Tennessee.
How to watch NASCAR today
KeynoteUSA is airing the Ally 400.
Will there be a live broadcast of the NASCAR Cup Series race in Nashville?
The Ally 400 can be watched live on the KeynoteUSASports website and the KeynoteUSA Sports app. The race is also available to watch on Fubo.
Weather forecast for the NASCAR Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway
Extremely hot and sticky conditions are expected for Sunday’s Ally 400 race at Nashville Superspeedway.
AccuWeather’s forecast calls for a mostly cloudy and humid afternoon with a couple of showers and possibly a thunderstorm. The high temperature will be in the mid-90s with humidity at 67%, making the wind chill a 99-degree temperature. The chance of rain is 65%.
How many laps does the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville last?
The Ally 400 consists of 300 laps around a 1,333-mile oval for a total of 399.9 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage): Stage 1: 90 laps; Stage 2: 95 laps; Stage 3: 115 laps.
Who won the most recent NASCAR Cup Series race in Nashville?
Ross Chastain started from the pole and led 99 of the 300 laps, including the final 34, before edging Martin Truex Jr. by 0.789 seconds on June 25, 2023. It was the first of two 2023 wins for Chastain, who seeks its first victory this season.
Recent NASCAR Cup Winners in Nashville
- 2023: Ross Chastain
- 2022: Chase Elliott
- 2021: Kyle Larson
What is the lineup for the Ally 400 in Nashville?
(Car number in parentheses)
Denny Hamlin hopes to stop skid in Nashville
On the pole, Denny Hamlin hopes that strong starting position translates into a strong finishing position. The winner of three races this season has finished 24th or worse in the past three races and is ready to get back on track before the summer break in competition in three weeks. Hamlin has a pair of top-10 finishes in three-race Nashville Superspeedway history, including his best showing of third last year.
Hamlin’s No. 11 JGR Toyota turned a fast lap of 160.354 mph (29.859 seconds) around the 1.33-mile oval – just .095 seconds faster than Christopher Bell – to claim his second pole position at Nashville in the four races the track has hosted.
“I felt really good all day,” said Hamlin, 43, “it seems like we’ve definitely fixed some of the things that we weren’t very good at last year. I definitely feel really good and we’ll work on it overnight to get it a little bit better and I feel pretty confident that we’ll be in contention tomorrow.” — Field Level Media
Kyle Busch hopes to ‘stop the bleeding’ in Ally 400
After being asked on Saturday what needs to happen to regain his lofty status, Kyle Busch said: “Fast cars cure everything. Being able to have confidence and go out and race hard and fast and put myself in positions to win, that’s not enough. We will certainly make a lot of progress and make everyone happy.
Busch’s frustrations continued last week in New Hampshire. He struggled for most of KeynoteUSA 301’s first half en route to falling two laps down.
While attempting to back toward the front, Busch spun in Turn 1 and slid into the wall. Later in the race, Busch piled up with several drivers in Turn 2, spun, and crashed into the inside retaining wall. …
“The last three weeks haven’t helped at all, it’s been a big setback,” Busch said. “We just have to stop the bleeding. I think I’ve been saying that for the last six months and it hasn’t stopped. And the last week it’s been gushing pretty hard.” —Mike Organ, The Tennessean
Chase Elliott looks for more races in Nashville
LEBANON – Chase Elliott might be NASCAR’s biggest proponent of moving a Cup race to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
But on Saturday, the day before this year’s Ally Cup 400 race, he said Nashville Superspeedway surprised him. It’s been more competitive in recent years than he had imagined.
“The racing has been better here in this car than the last one, no doubt,” Elliott said. “I still think we should be at the Fairgrounds. If we had to have two dates in one city, I think this would be it. We could have one here and one (at the Fairgrounds). That would be totally fine.”
“There have been good races at this track in the last three trips.” —Tom Kreager, The Tennessean
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