2023 Ally 400 Preview
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After an off weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action tonight at Nashville Superspeedway. This race also marks the return to NBC as they will pick up the coverage for the rest of the season. After last year's race was delayed by rain, NASCAR made this race a night race and here are some drivers and storylines to watch for this year's running of the Ally 400.
Martin Truex Jr is the hottest driver in the series right now as he comes into the race as the points leader and last race's winner back at Sonoma. This #19 team led by Truex and crew chief James Small has shown way more speed at all types of tracks this season compared to last season when they missed the playoffs entirely. Truex will start sixth and is looking to continue his hot streak and he is looking to redeem himself after a disappointing finish at Nashville in last year's race.
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The winner of last year's race at Nashville is the next driver I want to bring up as Chase Elliott is still searching for that one win he needs to make the playoffs. Elliott is 84 points behind the playoff cutoff line and with only 10 races left before the playoffs, he will most likely have to win to get in. Elliott led 42 laps last year in his victory so they will look to repeat and find the magic that the #9 team has been missing so far this season.
Ross Chastain is another driver to watch at Nashville after he won the pole on Saturday afternoon during qualifying. Chastain was the points leader at one point earlier in the season but has gone a little quiet in the past couple of races. Although Chastain made the Championship 4 last season and has been consistent for the most part this season, he still has not won a race since Talladega in the spring of 2022. Chastain has had great finishes at Nashville in the past, finishing runner up in 2021 and fifth last year so he should be running near or at the front of the field all night long.
Another driver who has had past success at Nashville is Kyle Busch but his good runs at the track took place in the lower series of NASCAR. Busch has two wins at Nashville in the Xfinity Series, including one in 2021, and two wins in the Craftsman Truck Series. Busch is tied with William Byron for the most wins so far this season with three and the #8 team won the last race on an oval track back at Gateway so I expect Busch to be another Chevy driver contending for the win.
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One team I would like to mention entirely is 23XI Racing as Tyler Reddick was fastest in practice and qualified second behind Chastain. Reddick already has a win this season back at COTA but he could use another to build a cushion in the postseason by adding five more playoff points. Bubba Wallace also made it to the final round of qualifying but he spun out during his lap, so he will start ninth. Wallace is currently 26 points above the cutoff line so a win would take the stress of a points battle for final playoff spots away for good.
A couple of other things to note, Noah Gragson will be back behind the wheel after sitting out the Sonoma race, recovering from his hard crash at Gateway. Also, Stewart-Haas Racing announced earlier this week that Josh Berry will be taking over the #4 car after this season when Kevin Harvick retires from full-time racing and moves into the broadcast booth with FOX. Berry has made eight starts this season for Hendrick Motorsports, filling in for Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman when they were injured.
With only six playoff spots on points remaining, teams and drivers might become more aggressive with their strategies and driving on the track. The third night race of the season will start at 7 pm tonight under the lights at Nashville Superspeedway and it should be a fun one.
