NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Will Tennessee Two Step into Nashville Victory Lane?
NASCAR returns to Nashville Superspeedway this weekend for the second annual Ally 400. Kyle Larson was lights-out in last year’s maiden trip to the 1.33-mile concrete oval. Now though, who can win big in year two of this race? Larson is still favored coming into the Ally 400, but without his crew chief a win is a taller task ahead for the 5. Without the 5’s dominant speed shown last year, Nashville could yield a new face taking home the Gibson guitar trophy.
Kyle Larson
Despite no Cliff Daniels after the lost tire at Sonoma, Kyle Larson could still go back-to-back in Nashville. A year ago the Hendrick 5 was the class of the field by far. Larson led a whopping 264 of 300 laps. While the 5 may not have quite that performance this year, Larson has still been close to numerous wins in 2022 that have escaped his grasp. Starting off the 20-week homestretch that will close out the season, the 2021 champion wants to pick up where he left off in Music City.
“It raced really well (last year),” Larson said of Nashville. “I had only tested there before and it was always kind of just right around the bottom. Last year, I think they put some resin on the track or something and we were able to move up the track. It was pretty slick and you could move around. I hope it’s similar to that. I think it should be and probably even better. It seems like these Next Gen cars slide around even more, so it should be fun.”
Larson and the 5 team may be in the midst of a bit of championship hangover. While they only have one win so far in 2022, the 5 hasn’t been bad by any means throughout the balance of the season. In the run to a possible second-straight Championship 4 appearance, expect the 5 to have shots at a few more victories. Larson could return to his winning ways in Nashville.
Kyle Busch
A two-time Nashville winner in both Xfinity and Trucks, Kyle Busch also enters the Ally 400 as a favorite. 12 months ago Rowdy was celebrating big at Nashville, taking his 100th career Xfinity Series victory. While the 18 was 11th in the Cup race, the veteran driver still enters this year’s event as confident as ever for a win.
“I think it’s a cool racetrack and a cool venue,” Busch said. “I raced there a lot over the years in the ARCA Series, the Camping World Truck Series, as well as the Xfinity Series. I’ve had my fair share of races there and also my fair share of wins there. I was able to win the Xfinity Series race there last year, but we struggled a bit with our Cup car there. It’s a whole new ballgame with the new car there this year to see what is going to make our car fast. I think racing in Nashville fits with our sport because NASCAR and country music are kind of synonymous with each other. It’s a great opportunity to race there and we’ll do our best to get our PEDIGREE Camry to victory lane. Really proud to have PEDIGREE on board this weekend and all their work to help dogs find forever homes.”
On the heels of premiering his documentary, Kyle Busch could end up in victory lane. Driver 18 does boast a great track record at Nashville, so all of his experience could pay off big Sunday. Busch has been close to multiple wins this year on similar intermediate tracks, so he is a favorite for Nashville.
Chase Elliott
If not for a DQ last year for multiple loose lugnuts, Chase Elliott would have retained a Nashville Stage win. While the 9 did fade late, it was likely due to his tires being improperly installed. Elliott was among the frontrunners in the Ally 400, only to be relegated to a last-place result. Still in command of the regular season championship, Elliott hopes for another strong day in middle Tennessee.
“I think Nashville will be similar to the rest of the mile and mile-and-a-half tracks we go to,” Elliott said. “I don’t see it looking much different than last year. I think we have the potential to be really good there. We’ve had some pretty good speed this year, we just need to focus on putting everything together and getting more consistently strong finishes and hopefully another win or two during this stretch of races before heading into the Playoffs.”
Still in command of the regular season championship, Elliott is aiming to pad his points cushion. With a strong run or potential Nashville win, the Hendrick 9 team will be one step closer to a regular season title as the Playoffs near. Elliott won at Dover in May, so he will attempt to pull off a sister track sweep in the Ally 400.
Christopher Bell
For several weeks now, Christopher Bell and the 20 team have seemingly been knocking on victory lane’s door. Still at 10th in points, Daniel Suarez’s Sonoma win puts Bell even closer to the cut line. Now with just a 28 point cushion, Bell needs to become more of a constant presence up front if he wishes to remain a Playoff driver. At Nashville last year, Bell finished a quiet-yet-consistent ninth. The one-time Cup winner wishes for a chance at win two this weekend.
“Nashville is a super fun track and a place we had a good run at last year,” Bell said. “The Next Gen car has been really good for us on bigger tracks and I expect Nashville to be another good race track for us.”
Among winless drivers in 2022, Bell tops many lists as favorites for the next new winner. With a top-10 day at Nashville in 2021, the 20 comes back to familiar ground hoping for another strong day. Bell is still holding on to a top-10 points position, and yearns for a strong performance in Music City.
Ross Chastain
A largely forgotten breakout run from the 2021 Ally 400 was Ross Chastain as runner-up. In the lame duck Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42, Chastain put together his best result of last season at Nashville. If not for Larson’s large lead late, Chastain could have been within striking distance of a first win.
A year removed now, the Trackhouse 1 team enters Nashville eyeing the win again. Chastain has one of the most consistently-fast cars in the series. In the hometown of sponsor Tootsie’s, can Chastain smash another watermelon? The Florida driver will do whatever it takes to score a third win of 2022 on Sunday.
“We were good off of the truck,” Chastain said of Nashville last year. “We were second quick in practice, and I messed up qualifying and started mid-pack, I think. Then we marched our way up through there and ran top-10 most of the day. We were on the right side of the fuel and tire strategy to take advantage and finish second. I was able to hustle the car all weekend.”
Perhaps no track on the rest of the schedule favors Ross Chastain as much as Nashville. With Trackhouse Group’s presence in the city and the banner-day last year, the stars could align for the 1 to be position number one Sunday. A third watermelon could get mashed in 2022 this week in Nashville.
Ryan Blaney
At fourth in overall points, Ryan Blaney has to be seen as a near-weekly threat for his first win of 2022. Nashville left a lot to be desired for the Penske 12 team in 2021, as they retired early after losing brakes. At almost 100 points above the cut line, Blaney is not in jeopardy of missing the Playoffs. However, the 12 wishes to join their two teammates as winners heading into the fall.
With great speed on many track types, Blaney’s chances of a win before the postseason are high. The difference for the 12 breaking into victory lane ultimately does come down to a total team execution. Should Blaney have a mistake-free day, he could end the Ally 400 with a win.
Coverage of the second annual Ally 400 kicks off Sunday at 5:00 p.m. ET on NBC. With last year’s maiden Cup Series event from Nashville Superspeedway being such a stunner, the Next Gen car will likely deliver another great show. With no driver being quite as quick everywhere as Larson last year, we could see an upset winner on Sunday.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Logan Riely/Getty Images for NASCAR
