Cup Teams Take It To Nashville Superspeedway              

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

The Cup teams take it to Nashville Superspeedway, and once again, the weather just wasn’t cooperating for them at all. So, once again, NASCAR had to make a decision: they eliminated qualifying and gave the teams practice time instead. So, instead of qualifying for the final lineup, they went to the usual plan for no qualifying and set the field according to the metric.

With qualifying canceled, according to the NASCAR rulebook, the field is set by the metric. To this fan, the metric appears to give an advantage to those who finished well in the previous race. In other words, it doesn’t give the starting lineup according to the fastest cars for the weekend, as qualifying would. This puts Denny Hamlin on the pole for the Cracker Barrel 400, with Tyler Reddick starting beside him on the front row. Although the metric is fair, it does give a false impression of the fastest cars at the start of the race. It is possible the lineup could have been completely different had the qualifying taken place.

Since this race marks the beginning of the second half of the 2026 season, there is a lot on the line, as many teams need a turnaround after a rough start to their season. They would like nothing better than to perform well here at Nashville and boost their standings on the way to trying to qualify for the Chase. Some need a complete turnaround, and others just need to have a good finish to pad their points.

That’s why I even mention the fact that the metric is an advantage for some and a disadvantage for others. Those who may have had a bad race last weekend have a harder path ahead of them this weekend, especially if they have been struggling in the first half of the season anyway. Points are key this season compared to last season, and there is no ‘win and you’re in.’ A win this season gives a bonus in points, but no guarantee of making the Chase if the rest of your season falls apart after a win.

Although it may sound like I’m complaining about the use of the metric for establishing the lineup for a race, I’m really not. From my view, it just makes it that much more difficult for a team that’s struggling to move ahead, especially if they have a fast car but a lousy starting spot because of having to start way back in the field, along with a terrible choice for a pit stall. That’s a double whammy from this fan’s view. This is especially difficult when they have more than one race weekend, where qualifying is canceled and the struggling team, or teams, finish is bad through no fault of their own.

Oh well, I guess that’s enough talk about how the lineup is taking place and mention that the canceled qualifying isn’t the only challenge the teams will face this weekend.

We all know the Toyotas have been showing up with good speed and appear to have somewhat of an advantage over the Chevys and Fords. Although it does appear that way, there is less drag and more horsepower package for this Nashville race. There have already been some possible tire problems that some teams experienced during the practice session. Mostly, it appeared to be the right fronts showing cording, which could be a sign of a needed change in strategy or setup to overcome potential problems.

Nashville is a tough, concrete track that is already challenging for the drivers. There are plenty of places they can experience setbacks, and one of those is the entry to pit road. It just isn’t one of the easiest to get into without spinning or speeding. It has a tough transition from the track to pit road, and it could be a game-changer at some point in the competition. During the practice session, several missed their entry and had to go around for another try. Some would have been penalized for running over the box, and others could have spun if it had been during the race. Of course, that transition would more likely pose a problem during green-flag pit stops.

From this fan’s view, I have to ask the question. Will the Toyotas run this race like they did last weekend? Except for the surprise win by Daniel Suarez, the Toyotas were the ones to beat. Whether we look at Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, or Ty Gibbs, for instance, there is a chance that any of them could lead the way to the final checkered flag. All of them have been showing good speed, especially lately, and Bell did top the field in the practice session. Then again, there is the Chevy of Suarez, the Chevy of Kyle Larson and William Byron, or even SVG. They aren’t the only ones, but any of them could take the win. I can’t overlook the Fords of Ryan Blaney or Joey Logano for being up front, even though Logano has been struggling most of the season so far.