Who… should you be talking about after the race?
After an hour and 19-minute rain delay, the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway became a game of strategy. A caution on what teams thought was the edge of their fuel window, followed by a record five overtime restarts at the end of that window, changed the game again and again.
Denny Hamlin had the race in hand until Austin Cindric spun, triggering the first overtime. Hamlin was down to what his team thought was one overtime worth of fuel. He stretched it to three before being forced to pit after Kyle Larson ran out on the restart, forcing the caution yet again.
One by one, the cars playing the fuel game called “uncle” until Joey Logano led the field, over 100 laps already drained from a fuel cell with a window of what teams thought was 75-80 laps. Chase Briscoe challenged him with just a few less laps on his final tank. On the fifth and final overtime restart, Logano had enough left to just barely hold off a charging Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick for the win after Briscoe’s car ran dry.
The win is Logano’s first of 2024, a welcome lock into the playoffs after hovering around the bubble for the last several weeks.
And don’t forget Smith. Smith was one of a handful of drivers who stayed out when most of the field pitted for the last time under green. That cost track position at the time, but it bought Smith an insurance policy through the series of overtimes that ruined the day for the drivers who stopped earlier.
Smith was in great position on the final restart and was able to charge to second on the final lap, narrowly beating Reddick to the line. It’s Smith’s career-best Cup finish and Spire Motorsports’ best finish since Justin Haley won at Daytona International Speedway in 2019.
What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?
For the second week in a row, the race was interrupted by rain and lightning. The storm that oved through the Nashville area was small and fast-moving, and officials were able to get the track dried quickly. The track is too fast for teams to safely race with wet-weather tires, but it does have lights, and with the race shy of official at the halfway point, waiting out the rain was a certainty one way or another.
With summer temperatures rising, summer storms are bound to pop up at many locations. Is there any way for NASCAR to avoid weather delays and postponements?
Well, sort of. Rearranging the schedule in terms of where races are held in the summer heat isn’t really practical. Phoenix Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway don’t see as much rain, but the heat in high summer is prohibitive. And just about everywhere else is prone to summer storms.
One thing about summer storms, though: They tend to form later in the day.
Earlier start times could very well help races run to completion. That’s not always the case, but often, a race could have been finished before the storms rolled in had it started a couple of hours earlier. There was a reason NASCAR used to start races at 12:30 or 1:00 in the afternoon — they had a better chance of clear weather. The summer Daytona race started before noon, and for a good reason.
Television loves the later starts, when, they say, more people are at home to tune in. But if there’s nothing to tune in to because of rain, is it really working as intended?
Where… did the other key players wind up?
Pole winner Hamlin had a car more than capable of winning, especially after teammate Christopher Bell crashed out. And he was able to run down leader Ross Chastain and easily held point for multiple restarts before his fuel tank ran too dry to risk another overtime and he was forced to pit. Hamlin was able to race back to 12th when the race finally ended.
Defending race winner Chastain had good speed early, running in the top five in the first stage. But in stage two, a pit road penalty for equipment interference left Chastain with a lot of ground to make up. A two-tire pit stop on the very edge of the fuel window gave Chastain a second chance, and he took advantage, taking the lead on lap 249. Hamlin was able to run him down with 15 to go before the late-race chaos broke out. Chastain got tagged by Larson on a restart, ending his day.
Last week’s winner Bell easily had the car to beat on Sunday (June 30), leading 131 of the first 228 laps, winning stage one and stage two. But after he shuffled to midpack thanks to a pit stop under the previous caution, Bell spun on his own on lap 228. His team was unable to make repairs, and Bell headed home early, finishing 36th.
When… was the moment of truth?
Fuel mileage races are the worst. They’re boring.
Five overtimes and an extra 31 laps later, though, Nashville was, indeed, a fuel mileage race, though “boring” isn’t a word most viewers would use to describe it. Logano did indeed stretch his fuel well past what anyone thought possible, but the finish featured both second and third place within a car length of Logano, who was on his last fumes, and overtime after overtime happened as a result of hard, aggressive racing throughout the field.
The combination of overtime restarts and fuel running low kept it from being much less compelling, as it might have if Hamlin had simply cruised to the win.
Complete chaos isn’t really something anyone would want to see every week; at some point it crosses into the ridiculous, and this one certainly toed the line. But the ending was the opposite of boring.
Why… should you be paying attention this week?
NASCAR returns to the streets of Chicago this weekend after the inaugural race had mixed reviews a year ago. By all accounts, setup this year has been more efficient and less of a hassle for locals.
Last year’s event was affected by torrential rain, which limited the action somewhat. Teams were able to race with wet-weather tires, and it was newcomer Shane van Gisbergen who put on a show, passing runner-up Haley to win in his first-ever Cup start, catching the NASCAR bug in the process and moving to race full-time in the Xfinity Series this year.
Now, in the second year of a three-year deal to run Chicago’s street course, minimizing the effect of the race on the city — there was talk of terminating the deal early after last year’s race — becomes a focus. In certain cities whose street configurations would support racing, it could be a way to attract a Cup Series event without constructing a traditional racetrack. There’s a lot riding on how the weekend goes in Chicago.
How… will drivers on the playoff bubble approach the summer?
For the drivers hovering around the point cutoff for the playoffs, the summertime could be anything but sweet. Of course, a win would put worries to rest for any of them, and that’s the goal, but teams have to be careful not to lose sight of consistency. Sometimes, the mindset of needing a win creates its own problems in the form of overdriving or forced mistakes. It’s important not to create more issues.
For teams like the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace, inconsistency has been the biggest hindrance. Finding solid finishes week in and week out, avoiding trouble and maximizing strategy could well be the difference between racing for a title or not.
For teams like the No. 8 of Kyle Busch, where realistically a win is rapidly becoming the only way to make the cut, the challenge is to make that happen without changing the way they approach each weekend too much. Throwing the kitchen sink at a car without any real direction rarely improves anything.
The No. 8, in particular, looked like a win was imminent just a month ago. They looked good Sunday with some smart calls until Busch was caught in an overtime crash. That’s the type of race they need on a weekly basis, minus the crash. They have shown they can run well. Getting back to that point without panicking is the name of the game for them.
About the author
Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.
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If the example of Brian’s product had started at 1 PM it would have been over by the time it rained. The networks have themselves to blame for choosing the start times on the East Coast.
It’s interesting when media talk about Kyle Busch and this year.
Has anyone given any thought to that maybe it was Toyota’s support, money, and influence that got him over 200 wins across the 3 series. Looking at just Cup stats he has been very good but not necessarily great when not driving for Gibbs.
Just saying that maybe that Toyota badge on his race vehicles had more to do with his success than being a GOAT.
Same case can be made for Jimmie Johnson without Chad Knaus.
Jeff Gordon after 2002.
etc.
Amy, I probably won’t be paying attention next weekend. I watch the Grand Prix of Monaco every year, and even though the race is usually boring, the scenery is, well… Monaco. I haven’t given a damn about Chicago since Muddy Waters died, and I don’t really think the folks in Chicago give a rat’s ass about NASCAR, either.