Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Nashville Superspeedway was anything but smooth and straightforward, with Mother Nature returning to the 1.33-mile facility to wreak havoc on the Ally 400.
There was an extensive period of time in which it looked like completing the full distance wouldn’t be possible, but thanks to a great deal of patience from the sanctioning body and fans, the race was completed.
In the end, it was Chase Elliott – NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver — and his Hendrick Motorsports team that were able to play the strategy correctly, notching his second victory of the NASCAR Cup Series season, both of which have come on concrete tracks.
Elliott only led 42 of the race’s 300 laps but didn’t show any significant speed until the track underwent a major transition, following a lengthy rain delay with just over 10 laps until the halfway point of the event.
In fact, it was Joe Gibbs Racing that showed the field their strength in Sunday’s event, leading an incredible 250 of 300 laps between drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.
However, things didn’t work out very week for the Joe Gibbs Racing trio, after all three elected to pit under the race’s final caution flag, taking on tires for a short run to the end of the event. Both Truex and Busch would finish outside the top-20.
It was fellow Toyota teammate, Kurt Busch, who came home in second place after a long-winded event from Nashville Superspeedway, with Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain rounding out the top five.
Denny Hamlin would recover to sixth place, while Austin Cindric, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick all earned top-10 results.
After the 17th event of the NASCAR Cup Series season, Chase Elliott continues to lead the regular-season point standings by 30 points over Ross Chastain in second place. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.
