LEBANON, Tenn. — For the fourth time, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Music City for a visit to Nashville Superspeedway.
Bell’s Five-Week Heater
Christopher Bell continued an incredible stretch on Sunday with a dominant victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway — his third of the season.
Dating back to Kansas Speedway in May, Bell’s finished in the top 10 in six of the last seven races, also including his victory in the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600. His worst finish in the last five races is ninth at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
Bell’s only finish worse than 10th during that stretch came at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and since then, the 29-year-old has climbed from 15th to sixth in driver’s points.
Historically, Nashville bodes well for the nine-time Cup Series winner. He’s never finished worse than ninth in three starts at the 1.33-mile concrete oval.
With eight races remaining in the regular season, Bell sits 65 points out of the points lead.
Hendrick Sets The Pace
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott moved into a tie for the points lead after New Hampshire.
Elliott led by eight heading to “The Magic Mile,” but got hit by Joey Logano on a restart early in Stage Three after he locked his wheels up entering turn one. Elliott went for a lazy spin but his car received minor damage, ultimately finishing 18th to continue his incredible season-long stretch of finishes inside the top 20.
The Dawsonville, Ga., native started on the pole after qualifying was canceled and led 41 laps.
Meanwhile, Larson ended up with a fourth-place finish, recording his eighth top-five of the campaign. He earned just four stage points, but continued to improve through the field and held his ground as teams switched to wet-weather tires after a rain delay.
HMS drivers have led points after 12 races this season, with Larson pacing the way on 10 of those occasions.
Busch’s Month Of Horror
It’s been a month to forget for Kyle Busch.
The two-time Cup Series champion has finished 35th in three of the last four races with a plethora of issues. He crashed early at World Wide Technology (Ill.) Raceway after contact with Kyle Larson and finished 12th a week later at Sonoma. But, that finish could’ve been much higher as he got spun by Ross Chastain on the final lap, killing a potential top-five finish.
Iowa Speedway resulted in an exit after 272 of 350 laps due to a mechanical failure, and multiple incidents along with a lack of pace led to another DNF at New Hampshire.
Busch is 17th in driver’s points and 19th on the playoff grid, trailing Joey Logano for the final spot. He’s at risk of missing the postseason for the first time in the playoff era, and his 19-year streak of at least one win is in jeopardy.
Can Chastain Repeat?
A year removed from his last Cup Series victory, Chastain will shoot for two in a row at Nashville this weekend as he looks to secure aplayoff spot.
So far, Chastain’s seemingly flown under the radar this season, scoring seven top 10s through 18 races and sitting ninth in driver’s points. His only two top fives this year came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March and at Sonoma.
But at the same time, he isn’t running badly, either.
Chastain’s average finish is 12.3, second to only Elliott. He’s only finished outside the top 20 twice and has completed all but four laps this season.
In Trackhouse Racing’s backyard, can Chastain lock himself into the postseason for the third year in a row?
Race Information
Sunday’s Ally 400 is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Temperatures are expected in the 90s with the heat index into the 100s.
Stage breaks are after laps 90 and 185, with the total distance set at 300 laps (399 miles). The purse is $8,915,372.