LEBANON – It’s race day at Nashville Superspeedway for the third annual NASCAR Cup Series’ Ally 400. This will be the Nashville Night Race – the first scheduled Cup race under the lights at the superspeedway.
Russ Chastain, driving for Trackhouse Racing in Nashville, became the pole position of his career in the Cup. He is joined on the front row by Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing.
Kevin Harvick, who will retire after this year, is on the second row in fourth.
Carson Hosivar won the Craftsman Truck Series race weekend on Friday and AJ Alminder won the Xfinity race on Saturday.
Ross Chastain won the first NASCAR Cup race of 2023
Ross Chastain drove Trackhouse Racing to victory at his home race track, holding off Martin Truex Jr. to win the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
The win is Chastain’s first in 2023 after taking two wins a year ago. Trackhouse Racing, owned by Justin Marks and Pitbull, is located in Nashville.
Chastain captured his first NASCAR Cup Series pole on Saturday for the Ally 400. He was dominant throughout the race, staying in the top five for most of the race.
Lap 185: Denny Hamlin wins stage two
Denny Hamlin won stage two of the Ally 400 on Sunday, defeating Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr.
Ross Chastain, William Byron and Christopher Bell rounded out the top five. Bell makes three Joe Gibbs Racing cars finish in the top five.
Lap 146: Ryan Blaney’s crash involves two more cars
The first caution of the race brought out the second caution. On the restart on lap 146 after a caution from Tyler Reddick. The wreck started when Brad Keselowski was unable to accelerate his No. 6 car on a restart.
Ryan Blaney hit the inside wall upside down. Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman also sustained damage to their cars.
Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin finished first and second, respectively.
Lap 138: Caution for Tyler Reddick losing a tyre
Tyler Reddick lost a right rear tire on lap 138, possibly spoiling the strong performance at the Ally 400. Reddick lost a tire as he was approaching pit road. Riddick spun just before pit road, and lost his tire on pit road.
Reddick had been racing in the top five and had led over 30 laps before the crash.
Martin Truex Jr. lead and Denny Hamlin second. Brad Keselowski resumes third and Bubba Wallace takes fourth.
Lap 101: Martin Truex Jr. takes the lead
Now Martin Truex Jr. leads the Ally 400. He took the lead around lap 101. William Byron is currently in second and joint Ross Chastain is third.
Leader William Byron exits the pits after the first stage
There’s a new race leader in the Ally 400. William Byron took the lead after stage one when he beat the field outside the pits. Ross Chastain remains second. Noah Gragson would start in the third position and Tyler Reddick would start in the fourth.
End of Stage 1: Leader Tyler Reddick after 90 laps
Tyler Reddick earned his third NASCAR Cup Series win of the 2023 season on Sunday. Riddick won the first stage of the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Riddick Polsitter passed Ross Chastain on lap 60 and led the remaining 30 laps.
Chastain was second, William Byron was third, and Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.
Kyle Busch, who had to pit on lap 16 with a tire problem, finished seventh and came back on the lead lap.
Lap 61: Tyler Reddick took the lead
Tyler Reddick takes the lead over first sitter Ross Chastain on lap 61. Reddick and Chastain have battled since then but Chastain hasn’t been able to take him.
Lap 16: Kyle Busch needs tires
Kyle Busch is the first to pit after rolling into pit road for tires on lap 16 after reporting a fault with his car.
It is now one lap down.
Ally 400 start time scroll up
NASCAR moved the start time of the Nashville Night Race to 6:05 p.m. after it was scheduled to start at 6:22 p.m.
the reason? Rain is in the forecast and NASCAR wants to at least get the race past the halfway point to make it official.
The race’s halfway mark was 300 laps at 150 laps.
what do you know:NASCAR Cup Series Nashville: Entry list, TV schedule for Sunday’s race
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