The Music City will resound with the sound of thundering engines when the Cup Series comes to Nashville Superspeedway for the Ally 400 to cap off a triple header weekend.
But first on a hot Saturday afternoon the 38 drivers will take to the track for a practice session and qualifying.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for practice and qualifying. The top five drivers from each group will move on to a second round of qualifying to set the pole.
After qualifying to sit on the pole in the Xfinity Series race, Ty Gibbs is running practice laps faster by two tenths than anyone else in Group A.
Ty Gibbs sat at the top of the board with the fastest lap, but it was Ryan Blaney who had the fastest multiple lap times.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr is on baby watch and the crew has a substitute driver on hand if needed.
Brad Keselowski topped the board in Group B.
The top 10 drivers on speed all came from Group A.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run from Group A is Xfinity Series regular Chad Finchum who posted a time of 32.706 seconds.
Ty Gibbs, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry, Tyler Reddick, and Kyle Larson will be moving on to round two from Group A.
The first driver out on the track form Group B is Corey Heim who posted a time of 30.
After the inspection process, NASCAR determined that the crew had made some unapproved adjustments to Justin Haley’s number 51 car. As a result, his car chief has been ejected from the track for the weekend, will have to start the race from the back of the field, and will have to serve a pass through penalty once the race begins.
Debby Hamlin, William Byron, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, and Christopher Bell will move on to round two of qualifying from Group B.
Austin Cindric is the first of the top 10 drivers on the track and posts a time of 30.134.
Josh Berry is the first driver to break the 30 second mark with a time of 29.972 seconds.
With a tine of 29.859 seconds, Denny Hamlin earns his second pole of the season.
The starting lineup for the Ally 400:
Denny Hamlin
Josh Berry
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Tyler Reddick
William Byron
Ty Gibbs
Chris Buescher
Austin Cindric
Austin Dillon
Alex Bowman
Chase Elliott
Michael McDowell
Carson Hocevar
Noah Gragson
Martin Truex Jr
Ryan Blaney
Chase Briscoe
Ross Chastain
Corey LaJoie
Ryan Preece
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Bubba Wallace
Harrison Burton
Joey Logano
Kyle Busch
AJ Allmendinger
Corey Heim
Riley Herbst
Daniel Suarez
Todd Gilliland
Justin Haley
Erik Jones
John Hunter Nemechek
Zane Smith
Daniel Hemric
Chad Finchum
Country music star Luke Combs is the honorary pace car driver for today’s race. Combs is on the hood of Bubba Wallace’s car this week. Wallace gave Combs a fire suit.
On a hot Sunday afternoon, cool suit is the word of the day for the drivers. On Saturday during the Xfinity Series race a few of the drivers had issues with their cool suits.
Country star Hardy gave a very rousing command to start the engines.
Stage one is 90 laps, stage two is 95 laps, and stage three is 115 laps for a total of 300 laps around the 1.33 mile concrete track.
Drivers can run 75 to 80 laps on a single load of fuel and will have to make a pit stop in each of the stages.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Josh Berry alongside. Hamlin blocks Berry to get out in front with Christopher Bell coming up to take second.
Lap two, Denny Hamlin leads the race with Christopher Bell in second; Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Josh Berry round out the top five.
After serving his pass through penalty, Justin Haley is already nearly a lap down.
Lap five, Josh Berry has dropped to eighth place since starting on the front row.
Lap seven, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a half second lead on Christopher Bell; Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap eleven, Tyler Reddick said that he smelled smoke and rubber.
Lap 12, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Christopher Bell; Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 17, in an effort to stay on the lead lap, Justin Haley blocked Denny Hamlin allowing Christopher Bell to pass on the outside to take the lead.
Christopher Bell is beginning to lap slower cars.
Lap 18, Christopher Bell has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Lap 24, Christopher Bell holds a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Ryan Blaney is reporting some possible brake issues.
Lap 28, Christopher Bell has a near one second lead on Denny Hamlin; Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five with 36 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 36 drivers are beginning to make some early pit stops. Kyle Busch overshot his pit stall and had to back up to get in his pit stall.
Lap 40, leader Christopher Bell makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Ty Gibbs.
Lap 42, Ty Gibbs gives up the lead to make his pit stop; reporting a very tight condition in his car. Tyler Reddick is the new leader.
There are only 15 cars on the lead lap with the first dozen cars yet to make a pit stop.
Lap 45, leader Tyler Reddick makes his pit stop; Michael McDowell is the leader.
Michael McDowell and Joey Logano’s crews report that they will be making a full fuel run before making a pit stop.
Lap 55, Michael McDowell leads the race with Joey Logano in second; Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Daniel Hemric, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Christopher Bell has passed Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Daniel Hemric for third; but he is nearly eight seconds behind the leader.
Lap 56, there are 24 cars on the lead lap.
The top five are Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Daniel Hemric.
Lap 64, Joey Logano gives up second place to make his pit stop.
Lap 65, Michael McDowell has a lead of nearly six seconds on Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, Daniel Hemric, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Denny Hamlin’s crew has told him to turn off his cool suit with voltage issues.
Lap 72, Michael McDowell continues to lead the race but is now only two and a half seconds in front of Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr finally makes his pit stop.
Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland, and Justin Haley have yet to make a pit stop.
Lap 74, Michael McDowell makes his pit stop and gives the lead back to Christopher Bell.
The top five are Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Brad Keselowski
Lap 75, Christopher Bell has the lead with Denny Hamlin right behind. Bell battle with Ryan Preece trying to stay on the lead lap.
There are 24 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 84, Christopher Bell finally gets around Ryan Preece.
Lap 86, Justin Haley gets out in front of leader Christopher Bell to get one of his two laps back.
Lap 89, Denny Hamlin battles with Ryan Preece to get behind leader Christopher Bell.
Christopher Bell wins stage one for his eighth stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Christopher Bell
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Ty Gibbs
William Byron
Chris Buescher
Martin Truex Jr
Bubba Wallace
Drivers come down pit road for service with Denny Hamlin edging out Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson for the lead. Several drivers take the wave around to get back on the lead lap.
Denny Hamlin bring the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 96. Hamlin gets out in front for the lead with Christopher Bell in second; Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Martin Truex Jr round out the top five.
There are 31 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 102, Denny Hamlin has a near half second lead on Christopher Bell; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Summertime means pop up rain showers; there are reports of possible showers in the area.
Lap 108, Denny Hamlin is the leader but his gap on Christopher is less half a second; Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Martin Truex Jr is a bit frustrated because he is having trouble managing both ends of the track.
After taking only two tires during the stage break, Joey Logano has lost several spots on the track.
Lap 116, John Hunter Nemechek spins out to bring out the first caution flag for an on track incident.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road. Several of the drivers took only two tires.
There are no wet weather tires for this track.
Ross Chastain was charged with an equipment interference penalty. One of his tires rolled into the pit box in front of him.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 124. Bell takes the lead with Brad Keselowski in second; Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddic, and Noa h Gragson round out the top five.
Ty Gibbs brings out the caution flag when he spins out and makes a run through the grass on lap 126. Alex Bowman was against the wall when Ty Gibbs moves up and made contact with Bowman before spinning out.
Lap 130, Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart with Brad Keselowski alongside. Bell holds on to the lead with Tyler Reddick taking second; Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
Chase Elliott passes Chris Buescher for fifth.
The skies are getting very dark overhead!
Lap 135, the caution flag comes out for lightening in the area. Elevated camera operators have secured their cameras and come down to safety.
The cameras show rain drops as the rain begins.
Kyle Busch was one lap down in 36th and is the “lucky dog” to get back on the lead lap.
NASCAR has brought the cars down pit road and is having them stop in their pit stalls. The red flag has been displayed.
There are lights at Nashville Superspeedway, so once the weather clears and the track is dried, the race can continue.
Approximately 40 minutes after NASCAR displayed the red flag, the track drying equipment is on the track and working to dry the track in preparation for getting the race restarted.
In 20 minutes time, the sun is out and the track is nearly dry.
At 6:24pm EDT, NASCAR has called the drivers to their cars.
The full house of fans cheer as the drivers get back in their cars and fire them back up.
Austin Cindric’s crew “did not follow the rules” and will have to restart the race from the back of the field as the drivers are moving once again. NASCAR felt a fan in the pit box was aimed a little too much toward the car to cool it off.
A little under an hour and a half after the red flag was displayed, NASCAR pulls the red flag and displays the yellow flag on lap 137.
Chad Finchum has taken his car to the garage and is out of the race.
Pit road is open and some of the drivers come down for service.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 141 with Tyler Reddick alongside. Bell gets out in front for htel ead with Tyler Reddick in second; Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.
Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher battle for fifth.
William Byron gets loose and saves the car to keep it off the wall.
Lap 146, Christopher Bell has a lead of just under half a second on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 149, Christopher Bell has a half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
Lap 150, halfway, after restarting the race in 36th, Kyle Busch has moved up to 30th place.
Lap 153, Christopher Bell has a half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott round out the top five.
After the rain and track drying, the drivers are running speeds equal to qualifying on Saturday.
Lap 160, Denny Hamlin passes Chase Elliott for fifth.
Lap 162, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Brad Kesellwoski, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
After failed cool suits in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Noah Gragson and Riley Herbst are running in today’s race.
Lap 168, Denny Hamlin passes Brad Keselowski for fourth.
Lap 170, Kyle Busch is up to 26th place.
Lap 173, Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson battle for 10th.
Lap 178, Christopher Bell has a lead of over a second on Tyler Reddick; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five. John Hunter Nemechek is the only driver not on the lead lap with Chad Finchum the only driver out of the race.
After sweeping the weekend at New Hampshire last week, Christopher Bell sweeps stage one and two in Nashville this week.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Brad Keselowski
Chase Elliott
Martin Truex Jr
Ryan Blaney
Chris Buescher
Noah Gragson
Denny Hamlin is not happy with Kyle Larson and Hamlin makes a little contact at the end of stage two.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Christopher Bell edging out Denny Hamlin to win the race off of pit road. Kyle Larson had a slow stop after the jack drops too soon and had to be jacked back up; costing Larson 10 spots.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 193. Bell jumps out in front for the lead. Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick battle for second.
Michael McDowell is slowed on the track reporting that he thinks a tire is going down. Now he is reporting that the gear shift isn’t working properly…he has no fifth gear.
Lap 197, Chrisopher Bell has a lead of nearly a second on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Brad Keselowski round out the top five.
Lap 200, 100 to go, Christopher Bell has a near one second lead on Tyler Reddick; Denny Hamlin is in third over a second back with Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five.
The caution flag comes out on lap 202 after Corey LaJoie and Riley Herbst make contact, sending Herbst into the wall. Herbst drives his car to pit road.
Some of the drivers back in the field come down pit road for service but the leaders stay out on the track.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 207 with Tyler Reddick alongside. Drivers spread out three and four wide with Tyler Reddick getting out in front. Denny Hamlin tried to make it a three wide battle for the lead and made contact with Christopher Bell.
Erik Jones brings out the caution flag when he gets into the wall with a flat tire.
A few drivers come down pit road for service.
Tyler Reddick brings the field down for the green flag restart with Chrisotpher Bell on the outside on lap 214. Bell and Reddick go side by side for the lead. In a three way battle for third, Martin Truex Jr takes the spot but Denny Hamlin comes up to take the spot.
Lap 215, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell still battle side by side for the lead.
Riley Herbst is out of the race.
Lap 228, Chase Elliott brings out the eighth caution flag when he makes a run through the grass after getting loose. He keeps the car moving and gets back on the track.
With 79 laps remaining in the race, the drovers come down pit road; while a few drivers stay out on the track. Taking only two tires, Ross Chastain wins the race off of pit road.
After staying out on the track, Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 226 with AJ Allmendinger alongside. Blaney takes the lead. AJ Allmendinger and Corey LaJoie battle for second.
Drivers are three wide in a battle for position.
With 74 laps remaining in the race, Ryan Blaney has the lead with AJ Allmendinger in second; Corey LaJoie, Ross Chastain, and Joey Logano round out the top five.
Christopher Bell gets loose and spins out; hitting the wall on the driver’s side. He reported that the tow link was broken and he didn’t have any power. Bell gets his car pushed to his pit stall and is on the “crash clock”.
John Hunter Nemechek is the only driver to come down pit road for service.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with 66 laps remaining in the race. Drivers spread out three and four wide across the track. Ryan Blaney takes the lead with AJ Allmendinger in second; Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Corey LaJoie round out the top five. Wallacea nd LaJoie battle back and forth for fourth place.
With 63 laps to go, drivers are getting very aggressive on the track as they battle for position.
The top five are Ryan Blaney, AJ Allmendinger, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Joey Logano.
Sixty to go, Ross Chastain passes AJ Allmendinger for second.
Brad Keselowki brings out the 10th caution flag of the race on lap 241 when he spins out and gets into the wall after some contact with Austin Dillon.
Carson Hocevar and Harrison Burton make contact under caution sending Burton around.
Christopher Bell is out of the race after dominating the day. He led 131 laps and won both stages before wrecking.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ross Chastain alongside on lap 247. Drivers are three wide through the field with Ross Chastain getting out in front for the lead. AJ Allmendinger and Bubba Wallace battle for third.
Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin battle for position.
Fifty to go! Melon Man Ross Chastain leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; AJ Allmendinger, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
With 46 laps remaining in the race, Ross Chastain has a quarter of a second lead on Ryan Blaney; Bubba Wallace, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Kyle Bush and AJ Allmendinger battle for fourth. Busch takes fourth.
Teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs battle for position with Kyle Larson making it a three way battle.
Lap 261, Denny Hamlin battle with Kyle Busch for fourth.
Just 38 laps remaining in the race, Ross Chastain leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.
Some of the drivers are short on fuel and will not be able to make it to the end of the race.
AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs battle for sixth.
Kyle Larson passes Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger for sixth place.
Bossman Denny Hamlin passes Bubba Wallace for third.
With 32 laps to go, Ross Chastain has a near two second lead on Ryan Blaney. Blaney brings his car down pit road for fuel.
Thirty to go, Ross Chastain has a lead of over two and a half second lead on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Kyle Larson passes Bubba Wallace for third.
With 27 to go, AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher battle for ninth.
With 24 laps to go, Denny Hamlin has cut the gap on leader Ross Chastain to under two seconds. Hamlin is running the fastest laps on the track.
Kyle Larson passes Bubba Wallace for fourth.
Twenty to go, Ross Chastain’s lead on Denny Hamlin is down to under a second and a half; Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Eighteen to go, the top five are Ross Chastain, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and bubba Wallace.
Denny Hamlin is now less than one second behind Ross Chastain.
With 15 laps to go, Denny Hamlin is just a half a second behind leader Ross Chastain.
Fourteen to go and Denny Hamlin has caught leader Ross Chastain.
Ten to go! Denny Hamlin is on Ross Chastain’s bumper as they battle for the lead.
Kyle Larson passes Kyle Busch for third.
Ty Gibbs has passed Bubba Wallace for fifth.
Seven to go and the battle for the lead continues with the two side by side. Hamlin passes Chastain for the lead after Chastain go loose.
Five to go, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Ross Chastain.
Denny Hamlin has won on the last three concrete tracks.
Austin Cindric spins out to bring out the caution flag with just two laps to go!
The race goes into overtime!
Denny Hamlin’s crew chief reports that there is enough fuel for one green/white/checker finish.
Several drivers come down pit road beginning with Bubba Wallace.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the overtime shootout to the finish with Ross Chastain alongside; row two is the Kyle and Kyle show. Drivers spread out three and four wide. Ross Chastain brings out the caution flag when he spins out and gets into the wall after some contact from Kyle Larson. Kyle Busch barely missed slamming into Chastain. Ty Gibbs hits Ross Chastain stopped on the track. Austin Dillon, John Hunter Nemechek, William Byron, and Daniel Hemric got caught up in the melee.
Pit road is open but no one makes a stop.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the second overtime shootout with Kyle Larson alongside. Denny Hamlin gets out in front and pulls away but a big wreck happens back in the field involving Corey Heim, Josh Berry, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ryan Blaney, and Daniel Hemric.
Staying out on the track, Denny Hamlin will bring the field down for the third overtime shootout with Kyle Larson alongside. Hamlin gets out in front but Kyle Larson doesn’t go, out of fuel. Kyle Busch got caught up in a wreck when Larson was stopped on the track and is hit from behind. The caution flag comes out and there will be a fourth overtime start.
Pit road is open and drivers come down pit road including Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr.
Joey Logano is the new leader with Chase Briscoe alongside for a fourth overtime shootout. Drivers spread out on the restart with Chase Briscoe and Joey Logano in a battle for the lead.
The caution flag comes out again just short of the white flag when Josh Berry spins out and gets into the wall.
Corey LaJoie comes down pit road and the crew went under the hood.
In the fifth attempt at overtime, Joey Logano brings the field down with Chase Briscoe alongside. Logano gets out in front but does he have enough fuel? Drivers get three wide. Joey Logano takes the white flag with Tyler Reddick on his bumper. Joey Logano holds off Tyler Reddick to win the race for his first win this season to lock himself in the playoffs. He ran out of fuel on the burnout.
The unofficial results of the Ally 400:
Joey Logano
Zane Smith
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Preece
Chris Buescher
Ryan Blaney
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson
Daniel Hemric
Noah Gragson
AJ Allmendinger
Denny Hamlin
Justin Haley
Alex Bowman
Austin Cindric
Carson Hocevar
Todd Gilliland
Chase Elliott
William Byron
Corey LaJoie
Chase Briscoe
Daniel Suarez
Ty Gibbs
Martin Truex Jr
Brad Keselowski
Josh Berry
Kyle Busch
Harrison Burton
Corey Heim
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Dillon
Ross Chastain
Erik Jones
Michael McDowell
Christopher Bell
Riley Herbst
Chad Finchum