Nashville 101: Trends to watch, tire info, interactive ways to follow race
The on-track action gets back underway after a week off as NASCAR shifts over to the “Music City” for a weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.
Intensity is going to pick up as the summer heat kicks in, and the push to the playoffs gets underway with 10 races to go. Before cars hit the track around the 1.33-mile Tennessee oval, take a look at trends to watch ahead of Sunday’s Ally 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Goodyear tire info and interactive ways to follow all the action.
RELATED: See paint schemes for Nashville | Betting favorites for Sunday’s Cup race
☀️ SUMMER STRETCH BEGINS 😎
With summer officially in full swing, the push to the playoffs creeps into view with 10 races to go in the regular season. Currently, 10 drivers are provisionally locked into the playoffs after winning earlier in the year, but a handful of big names, including Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick and Ross Chastain, remain winless heading into a key part of the season.
Over the last few years, no one has been better in the summer than Elliott, where seven of his 18 career Cup wins have come between races 16-26 on the NASCAR calendar. In 2022, Elliott owned a five-race stretch of top-two finishes that began with a victory at Nashville.
A trio of road courses and a pair of superspeedways left before the playoffs could allow for some surprise entrants into this year’s playoffs, especially after the showings of Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell at Sonoma, where they both finished inside the top 10.
MORE: Who’s next to score first 2023 win?
📉 TRENDS TO WATCH 📈
— Hendrick Motorsports has won both Cup Series Nashville races.
— The top seven in regular season standings are separated by 32 points, the closest ever after 16 races.
— The driver who led the most laps won seven times in 2023, including the last three races.
(Via Racing Insights)
NOTABLE MOMENTS 🎥
2021: Kyle Larson wins inaugural Cup race at Nashville | WATCH
2022: Chase Elliott hangs on late to score Nashville win | WATCH
ON-TRACK SCHEDULE 🗓️
Friday, June 23
— 6:30 p.m. ET: Practice (USA, NBC Sports App)
Saturday, June 24
— 1:05 p.m. ET: Qualifying (USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, June 25
— 7 p.m. ET: Ally 400 (NBC, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
MORE: Full weekend schedule at Nashville
RULE CHANGES/GOODYEAR TIRE NOTES 🛞
The GEICO Restart Zone returned to its 2022 dimensions after being extended for this season’s first five races.
Cup teams will run the tire setup at Nashville that has been used at Fontana, Las Vegas and Kansas this season. Each team will be allotted three sets of Goodyear tires for practice, one set for qualifying and an additional nine sets for Sunday’s race.
In the event of a lost wheel that is contained to pit road, the offending team will be subject to a pass-through penalty under green-flag conditions. If the infraction occurs during a caution period, the offending team will restart at the tail end of the field.
If the wheel breaks free outside of pit road, the new rules guidelines mandate a two-lap penalty plus a two-race suspension for two crew members. Each penalty is series-specific: Violations in one series will not impact those crew members‘ eligibility to participate in other series.
RELATED: See rules changes for 2023
FAN REWARDS 🫵
Fans can get in on the action all season long with NASCAR Fan Rewards, a free program that rewards fans for participating in the action when they watch races and play NASCAR Fantasy.
There‘s no cost to join. Fans must be 18 years or older to participate in the program.
Earn points by checking into a race from home or at the track, setting your Fantasy Live lineup, making purchases on the NASCAR.com shop and more. Points can be redeemed for race tickets, merchandise and VIP experiences at the track, including pace car rides and waving the green flag at qualifying.
FOLLOW THE RACE 📲
NASCAR Mobile has now added support for fans to “Follow the Race” and access live leaderboard and race information from Live Activities in the current app release (v13.2.0), available now. Android users, we didn‘t forget you — the same functionality has been custom-built for Android devices, as well.
How to access Live Activities on iPhones:
Make sure your iOS device has been updated to 16.1 or higher.
Available on the leaderboard of all NASCAR Series races.
Click on the three-dot menu near the top right of screen.
Select “Follow the Race.”
Swipe up to access the home screen and you will see the Live Activities at the top.
Lock the device and you will see Live Activities on the Lock Screen.
To turn off, simply visit the leaderboard, click the three-dot menu and “Unfollow the Race.”
FANTASY LIVE 🏆
Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live, which is open now. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts by garaging a driver by the end of Stage 2, and there is a $25,000 prize for the winner.
How to play: Fantasy Live | Set up a team today!
ALSO ON NASCAR.COM 💻
Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week, in-car cameras will be available.
NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement to the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.
