It’s been a full decade since NASCAR last competed at Nashville Superspeedway. Carl Edwards claimed a victory in the Xfinity Series race on July 23rd, 2011, but the NASCAR Cup Series has never competed on the 1.333-mile oval. Many drivers have tested there, back when Tuesday and Wednesday tests between races were a common thing, before heading to the next race on Thursday. Of the Stewart-Haas drivers, Harvick and Almirola have logged many laps at Nashville Superspeedway, between testing and Xfinity races, while Custer and Briscoe have both only had a chance to run some test laps.
The Details
● Event: Inaugural Ally 400 (Round 17 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 20
● Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway
● Layout: 1.333-mile, concrete oval
● Laps/Miles: 300 laps/399.9 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stages 1: 90 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 115 laps
● TV/Radio: NBCSN / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
What Our Drivers are Saying:
Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Monster Jam/Grave Digger Ford Mustang
You last competed at Nashville in 2010 during a NASCAR Xfinity Series race. What are your expectations when you roll back in there in 2021?
“I didn’t ever go to Nashville without the expectation of winning. It was one of our best racetracks throughout the years and we’ve always had good success there and always enjoyed the racetrack itself. I’m looking forward to Cup finally going there. I know that facility was built to entertain having a Cup date and I can’t believe it’s taken this long because Nashville is such a great area for us as a sport. I’m excited to be there because we have just a ton of fans. Obviously, it’s the home of Hunt Brothers Pizza, as well. So there’s just a lot of good things that are happening when we go back to Nashville.”
Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang
You have some solid finishes at Nashville in the Xfinity and Truck series. Are you looking forward to getting back there after a solid finish at Texas last weekend?
“I’m certainly looking forward to it coming off one of our best days this year. We tried something new and had a fast car good enough to let us race for a million bucks and we didn’t make any mistakes as a race team. It was the kind of day we needed heading to a new race that can get us back on track after the year we have had. We really needed that as a race team. Everyone is headed to Nashville with a clean slate and that gives me a lot of hope for a solid weekend.”
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Tony’s Tea Ford Mustang
What’s on your mind as the Cup Series heads to Nashville for the first time?
“I’m looking forward to it. I think the biggest thing is just going back to a town that really fits our roots, going to a country (music) town. I think it should be a great race. And being able to go back to that town and helping revitalize the racing atmosphere there, I think, is going to be awesome. I’ve never spent time in Nashville before, so I’m looking forward to actually seeing the city and going back there.”
Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com/Thorlabs Ford Mustang
What does it mean to be going to a place like Nashville that hasn’t hosted a Cup Series race in 37 years?
“It’s special. For me, in my rookie season, every track I go to in the Cup Series is special, but to be a part of the first one is going to be cool. There’s only a first race at a racetrack one time – and then the second time, not that it’s not special, but it’s not as special as the first time – so to be able to experience that as a rookie is going to be super cool. There’s a lot of great racing history and heritage in the Nashville area. I remember running ARCA in Nashville at the fairgrounds and just how many people come out and how special it is to get a run in that area, so I’m excited. It’s one of the relatively closer racetracks to my hometown, so I know I’ve got a lot of people from Southern Indiana driving down to watch this race, and it’s just going to be special to be a part of it, and to have a sold-out crowd. That’s something that on the Cup side a lot of the guys are used to, but a sold-out crowd is something I’ve never gotten to experience because of COVID and everything else, so I’m excited to experience that this weekend, for sure.”
SHR Stats
After a 10 year hiatus of any NASCAR competition at NSS, the drivers are ready to get on the concrete this weekend.
Harvick, now in his 21st year of Cup Series competition, has logged many laps in a Cup car at Nashville Superspeedway despite the track never hosting a Cup race until this Sunday’s inaugural Ally 400. In four career Xfinity Series starts at the track, Harvick has two wins – April 15, 2006 and April 3, 2010. He finished third on June 10, 2006 and recorded his worst finish, seventh, in his first Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on April 14, 2001. It all gave Harvick an average finish of third. He also had a lap completion rate of 100 percent, running all 900 laps available to him, and he led 123 of those laps. Harvick also made one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Nashville Superspeedway. It was on April 2, 2010 when he finished second to Kyle Busch.
Aric Almirola is one of the few drivers in this weekend’s Cup Series inaugural Ally 400 field who has raced at Nashville Superspeedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series. In four Xfinity Series starts at the track, Almirola has three top-10 finishes and one top-five with a best finish of fifth. In four Truck Series starts, Almirola has earned two top-10s and a top-five with a best finish of third.
While Cole Custer nor Chase Briscoe have actually raced at Nashville, Briscoe has already visited there twice this year as the designated Ford participant in Goodyear tire tests, and Custer has also tested at the track.
Of Special Interest
Sunday June 20th is Father’s Day. What better way to celebrate dads than with NASCAR racing? If you’re going to be in Nashville, check out the merch hauler on-site in the Fan Zone between Gates 3 and 4. If you can’t make it to the racetrack, from now until June 25th, spend $55 in our online store and you’ll receive an exclusive multi-functional SHR tool pen – just for dad!
