NASHVILLE, TN. – Ross Chastain capped off a “perfect” race weekend, hitting all the right notes in Music City to earn the winner’s guitar trophy in Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway — his first NASCAR Cup Series race victory of the season, a day after claiming his first career pole position.
His margin over second-place Martin Truex Jr. was .789 of a second.
There were four caution periods for a total of 24 laps. Twenty-one of the 36 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Truex remains the championship leader after Nashville with an 18-point advantage over second-place William Byron.
Stage 1 Winner: Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
SHR Race Finish:
- Ryan Preece (Started 25th, Finished 16th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
- Kevin Harvick (Started 17th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 299 of 300 laps)
- Aric Almirola (Started 21st, Finished 25th / Running, completed 299 of 300 laps)
- Chase Briscoe (Started 18th, Finished 31st / Running, completed 298 of 300 laps)
SHR Points:
- Kevin Harvick (6th with 515 points, 61 out of first)
- Ryan Preece (24th with 290 points, 286 out of first)
- Aric Almirola (27th with 272 points, 304 out of first)
- Chase Briscoe (31st with 189 points, 387 out of first)
This was Preece’s fifth straight finish of 17th or better.
“Today was tough for our team, but that was a great rally at the end,” said Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 Morton Buildings Ford Mustang. “I battled a loose racecar all day long and then I lacked forward drive. Our car really came to life at the end of the race, and the last two adjustments my guys made were spot on. We salvaged a really decent finish for the day we could’ve had, so I’m happy about that. We’ll keep building on it and head to Chicago where who knows what will happen.”
Harvick finished ninth in Stage 2 to earn two bonus points.
While running fourth with 61 laps to go, Harvick suffered a flat tire and was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop.
“Tonight was, for sure, a struggle and not at all what we expect as a team,” said Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang. “It takes longer than one race for things to improve. It’s no surprise we have a lot of work to do, but I’m confident in every guy on the 14 team and I know we’re going to get it figured out.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the inaugural Grant Park 220 on Sunday, July 2 on the streets of downtown Chicago. The race begins at 5:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
