NASHVILLE – All eyes were on Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Thursday night (June 27) as Josh Berry and Ross Chastain joined the Pro Late Model regulars in the Battle of Broadway 150.
The event was sanctioned by the JEGS CRA All-Stars Series, a special non-points event for the Pro Late Model series.
Both drivers have deep ties with the Music City, Berry being a native to the area and Chastain driving for Trackhouse Racing, a team with a big presence in the Nashville area.
While both drivers scored top fives, it was Trey Craig who scored the $10,000 payday and the Nashville guitar at night’s end, winning the event.
“Really, the guitar means more to me than the $10,000,” Craig told Frontstretch post-race. “I’ve been trying to come to this track for the past 10 years, been searching for a guitar and finally got one. It means a whole lot more than that $10,000 does.”
Craig took the lead from Chase Johnson on lap 61 and never looked back, pacing the field for the remainder of the night relatively unchallenged. He lost the lead on a late restart, but a caution negated the change in position.
“On that first restart, I knew the No. 55 didn’t take tires like we just did,” Craig said. “He was in front, I knew that he had kind of been running a little bit back. In my mind, that first restart I was like this should be kind of an easy pass, an easy overtake.”
“Went off into the corner, got shoved up into the third groove and it was a handful. I was like, man, this is over now. When they called it back I was like, OK, we’ve got a shot. I had to make up for it and make sure I came out of turn 2 with the lead.”
While Craig was saved by the called off restart, it was Chastain and Berry who for a moment looked to be running first and second exiting turn 4.
For Berry, it was a sort of homecoming, even if he had never actually turned a lap at the Fairgrounds. A fifth at nights end was all he could manage in the Dylan Fetcho Racing No. 4.
“It was really fun,” Berry said. “Just a fun week all together. Obviously I wanted to be a little bit better than fifth. But first time here, first working with these guys, it was a lot of fun. They did a great job, the car was really solid the whole time.
“Really I just needed to get a race under my belt, kind of figure out what I needed. Overall, it was a good day, top five and didn’t tear nothing up. Maybe we can come back and do it again.”
Meanwhile, Chastain crossed under the checkered flag one spot better than Berry in fourth. Running at the Fairgrounds checked an item off of his bucket list and he said enjoyed the entire experience of getting back outside the NASCAR bubble.
“Right now I feel so much gratitude,” Chastain said. “I got to run for one of the best teams in the country, I had my merch trailer out there selling merch with my brands on it, with the Tootsie’s T-shirt. … Seeing the fans turn out, seeing little kids come up … those little memories and those interactions with people is so cool.
“The fact that I’m getting to do it across the country for fun is just incredible. … It’s good for all of us to get away from the big track, get over here and do it the old school way, and really cool to then have a fast car at the end of the night.”
Having drivers like Chastain and Berry at a track like Nashville Fairgrounds is a win for everybody, from the track to the drivers to the sport itself. Big-name stars bring much needed notoriety to grassroots racing during a time when it is needed more than ever.
To have that happen at such a historic track like the Fairgrounds, whose long-term future remains unknown, only adds positive pieces to the story. Whether or not the Battle of Broadway returns for NASCAR weekend in 2025 remains unknown, but fans should be optimistic about the possibility.
Should it return, look for Chastain and Berry to return alongside, and maybe even bring a few more NASCAR Cup Series stars along for the ride.
Battle of Broadway 150 Results
- Trey Craig
- Brett Robinson
- Corey Deuser
- Ross Chastain
- Josh Berry
- Cole Williams
- Dawson Sutton
- Bennie Hamlett
- Austin Wilson
- George Phillips
- Jim Wall
- Chase Johnson
- Tommy Joe Martins
- Hunter Wright
- Mark Day
- Stacey Crain
- Adam Elliott
- Quinn Davis
- Peyton Hamlett
About the author
Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com's CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase's other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.
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