CONCORD, N.C. – The NASCAR Cup Series will race at Nashville Superspeedway for the Ally 400, marking the third time the event takes place at the 1.33-mile Tennessee facility. Hendrick Motorsports enters the weekend looking for a third consecutive victory at the track.
Only two drivers in Cup Series history have gone to victory lane at this track. In 2021, Kyle Larson took the checkered flag and then Chase Elliott got the win in 2022.
Nashville stands out as a unique venue to the Cup Series for a couple of factors. For starters, the track’s racing surface is concrete, making it one of three tracks (Bristol Motor Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway are the others) to utilize an entirely concrete layout. This characteristic leads to the formation of a distinctive rubber line on the racing surface over the course of the event.
A notable change for this season is the start time of 7 p.m. ET. The green flag will take to the sky approximately two hours before sunset, meaning that the track temperature will change more than normal throughout the race as it shifts from day to night. Watch for crew chiefs to adjust on their cars as the event progresses, even if they’re towards the front.
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Looking for a win to punch his ticket into the playoffs, Elliott will undoubtedly have the concrete facility circled on his calendar. In 2022’s event, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet came to life under the lights as the event ran into the evening because of a rain delay. This year’s start time for the Ally 400 should provide relatively similar track conditions to last year’s event. With 10 races left in the regular season, Elliott sits 84 markers below the cutoff line. A win would be the surest way into the playoff field.
Larson is one of two drivers in the field that earned top-five results in both events here. In 2021’s inaugural race, the driver from Elk Grove, California, paced the field for 264 out of 300 laps on his way to a dominating victory. Although he was unable to produce the same results in 2022, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com team earned a fourth-place finish. Through two races at this venue, Larson’s 361 laps inside the top-five are the most of any driver in the Cup Series.
Nashville is a big week for the No. 48 Ally Racing team. Alex Bowman holds the final provisional playoff spot by three points. This is despite missing three points-paying races with a fractured vertebra sustained in a sprint car accident. Bowman aims to bounce back from last season's disappointment when contact with another competitor prematurely ended his race. He has had success at concrete tracks in the past as he led the Hendrick Motorsports quartet to a sweep of the top four positions at Dover in 2021.
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William Byron enters this weekend sitting second in the regular season standings, with his sights set on a first career regular season championship and the accompanying bonus playoff points. The 25-year-old driver leads or shares the lead in multiple statistical categories this season, including wins (three), top-five finishes (seven), top-10s (nine), laps led (717) and stage wins (seven). Byron finished third in the track's inaugural race. Last season, early mechanical troubles knocked the No. 24 entry several laps off the pace. That said, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native consistently ran lap times comparable to the leaders once back on track.
Here’s what you need to know to catch this weekend’s action.
WHAT TIME IS PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING?
The Cup Series will see a full field practice begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, June 23 with coverage on USA Network. Group qualifying will take place the following day on Saturday, June 24 at 1:05 p.m. ET with coverage also on USA Network.
Bowman and Larson are in Group A for qualifying, while Elliott and Byron will be part of Group B.
WHAT TIME IS THE RACE?
The Ally 400 will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 25, with coverage on NBC and the NBC Sports App. Peacock will have a post-race show following the Cup Series race.
CAN I LISTEN ON THE RADIO?
The Cup Series race will be broadcast on PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
CAN I STREAM ONLINE?
Yes. Download the NBC Sports App or Peacock for online coverage. Fans can also keep up with the action on Twitter by following @TeamHendrick.
FIVE FAST FACTS HEADING INTO NASHVILLE
Data provided by Racing Insights
4: Number of top-five finishes that Bowman has on concrete tracks in his last eight starts on that track type.
5: Last year’s Nashville victory started a streak of five-consecutive top-two finishes for Elliott. That stretch included three wins (Nashville, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway).
6: Hendrick Motorsports has had at least one driver finish in the top-five in the last six races. That steak is the longest by any team since spring 2022 (a nine-race streak by Hendrick Motorsports).
8.6: Average running position for Byron this season. The driver of the No. 24 entry sits atop the board in this category for Cup Series drivers.
264: Laps led by Larson at Nashville. The mark is more than double that of any driver in the Cup Series.