Fantasy Update: Tears of joy for Trackhouse Racing at Nashville
The story of the weekend thus far at Nashville Superspeedway has been Trackhouse Racing. Not only did the concept of Justin Marks‘ vision begin in the city of Nashville in 2020, but Ross Chastain earned the team‘s first career pole on Saturday. He was also incredibly pleased with his race pace in practice, having the best 15- and 20-lap averages. Conversely, Daniel Suárez backed into the wall off Turn 4 in the second round of qualifying on his warmup lap.
RELATED: Listen to Chastain’s emotional interview after winning pole
Dustin Albino‘s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: Ross Chastain
Starter 2: William Byron
Starter 3: Kyle Larson
Starter 4: Martin Truex Jr.
Starter 5: Tyler Reddick
Garage pick: Bubba Wallace
NEXT IN LINE: Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch
RISING: It looks like a switch from Richard Childress Racing to 23XI Racing has paid off for Reddick when it comes to Nashville. In his first two starts at the 1.33-mile track, Reddick has a pair of 18th-place finishes. This weekend, however, he was quickest on single-lap speed and 10-lap averages. Because of that, he‘s moved from the outhouse of my lineup to in it. The No. 45 car shares the front row for the start of the race with Chastain.
In 88 Cup Series starts leading into Nashville, Justin Haley had a best qualifying effort of sixth at the Bristol Dirt Race last season. He shattered his best starting position at Nashville, as the No. 31 car will take the green flag from the third position. Haley tied Kaulig Racing‘s best qualifying effort in team history, with AJ Allmendinger (Road America) and Daniel Hemric (Talladega) both having third-place efforts. For race pace, Haley thought he had one of the best cars off the hauler in Friday‘s practice.
FALLING: With the pace Suárez showed in the first round of qualifying, it was setting up for a potential front-row sweep for Trackhouse. However, he got loose over a bump in Turn 4 coming to the green flag during the final round and backed into the wall. Thus, the No. 99 car will be starting at the rear of the field. And though 400 miles is a considerable amount of time to race through the field, it‘s hard to imagine his car will be better than it was before the crash.
The only name that fell out of my lineup from this week‘s Fastlane is Ryan Blaney. The No. 12 Ford looked mediocre in practice, setting the 25th-best single-lap speed but improved to 13th best on a 10-lap run. With the speed Blaney has displayed in recent weeks, it wouldn‘t be surprising if the Jonathan Hassler-led crew improves on the car and makes it a top-10 threat. But I‘m saving Blaney for later in the regular season.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin
The No. 11 car led a race-high 114 laps in last year‘s Nashville event and looks strong again this year. Hamlin starts eighth to Elliott‘s 14th. For sheer speed, Toyota looks to have a slight advantage over Hendrick Motorsports this weekend, and I‘m sticking to my pick from earlier this week with Hamlin.
Christopher Bell vs. Joey Logano
For one-lap speed, the No. 20 team is still looking to hit the setup this weekend. Bell was 18th in practice and qualified 22nd. Over the long haul, he improved and ranked seventh out of the 15 cars to make a 20-lap run. Logano‘s speed across the board was more consistent, and he got the most out of his car in qualifying to turn the fourth-best lap. The No. 22 team also rides a streak of consecutive top fives for the first time in 2023 entering Nashville, so momentum is on Logano‘s side.
Ryan Blaney vs. William Byron
Given Byron is still in my lineup, and Blaney has dropped out, it kind of gives my answer away. Byron had a steering issue last year at Nashville and was a non-factor in the race. The No. 24 Chevrolet has been in the mix at just about every venue this season and has shown true speed at intermediate tracks. I would think Byron outperforms Blaney on Sunday.
Ross Chastain vs. Bubba Wallace
Even though Wallace spun out coming to the checkered flag of his qualifying run, the No. 23 car is fast this weekend. The good news is he should run well. Not ideal for Wallace, though, is Chastain has been the quickest car in Nashville, whether on the short or long run. Here‘s a spoiler: Chastain is my pick to win the Ally 400.
