The boys are back from the Father’s Day break, and NBC/USA have taken up the mantle for Summer and Fall NASCAR coverage. Today, we’re in Nashville for the second ever Cup Series event there, our first oval in three calendar weeks.
Here’s what to look for:
–Denny Hamlin was quickest on Saturday, the best car in his respective group before rain cancelled Round 2. In his first attempt at Nashville, the FedEx driver delivered a paltry 21st place finish. Expect him to do much better today.
–Kyle Larson was our winner in that 2021 event, one of his numerous victories en route to his first career championship. Larson will start 3rd today, two spots better than he won from the last time he took laps around this place.
–Ross Chastain got his first career Win earlier this year (and his second), but he nearly took the checkers in this very event a year ago. He played runner-up (Tyler Reddick’s job this year) after starting 19th, but he’ll have a far better view rolling off 7th.
-Speaking of first career victories, his teammate Daniel Suarez busted open a taco pinata at Sonoma to celebrate his first visit to Victory Lane. Suarez performed admirably here last year, too, starting 22nd and bringing it home 7th. They weren’t both driving for Trackhouse then, but they drove similar races in 2021 and they’ve got to be feeling good about their chances today, too.
–Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a driver who has a pair of Cup Series Wins, and both of them were on restrictor plate tracks back in 2017. Last year, he had a pair of Top 10s, and one of those was a 6th place finish at this track. Nothing like Daytona or Talladega, there was something about Nashville in 2021 for Stenhouse. If he wants to achieve the same level of success this time around, he’s got his work cut out for him: the #47 starts 25th.
Last year we had Nashville Hot Chicken. This week?
Nashville Hot Chicken! Come on, I look forward to this stuff! We went a different route this time around and we’ll have some notes to compare to last year. We went with the “brush it on with a cool rubber paintbrush” method this time and it still tasted pretty darn good. My nose is running, Mason screamed, and Lisa was coughing before it was even done. So hot! Honestly, I didn’t think it was that hot, though my lips are still sizzlin’. Nice job, Leese!
Coverage of the race today starts on NBC at 5:00pm, green flag scheduled for 5:11pm.
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