The NASCAR Cup Series makes its debut at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday.
The new stop on the circuit provides a different type of challenge for the drivers than other tracks because few racers have a history there. The 1.333-mile track has not hosted a NASCAR-sanctioned event since an Xfinity Series race in 2011.
Kyle Larson is the overwhelming favorite to take first place for the Ally 400. The No. 5 car driver is on a remarkable hot streak, and he typically thrives at tracks of this length.
Larson and the other competitors in the field have to wait until Sunday to set the starting grid. Qualifying is set to take place at 11:05 a.m. ET.
Ally 400 Information
Date: Sunday, June 20
Start Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live Stream: NBCSports.com and NBC Sports app
Odds
Kyle Larson: +275 (bet $100 to win $275)
Martin Truex Jr.: +650
Chase Elliott: +700
Denny Hamlin: +850
Kyle Busch: +900
William Byron: +1200
Brad Keselowski: +1200
Kevin Harvick: +1300
Joey Logano: +1300
Alex Bowman: +1400
Ryan Blaney: +1600
Preview
There is no stopping Larson at the moment.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver added the NASCAR All-Star Race to his rapidly expanding trophy case last weekend and is on a three-race winning streak. He also took the checkered flag first at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Toyota Save Mart 350 on the Sonoma road course.
Larson's first victory of the season came in early March at Las Vegas, which has a similar-length track to Nashville.
The 28-year-old is known as an ace on 1.5-mile tracks, and he has become the driver to beat for the Cup Series championship. Larson is 47 points behind leader Denny Hamlin the standings entering Nashville, but he has an advantage over Hamlin with three victories to none.
Even though Hamlin is without a victory in 2021, he is in a good position to qualifying for the postseason.
There have been 11 race winners on the Cup Series circuit this season, which leaves five open playoff spots. Every first-place finisher qualifies for the 16-car postseason as long as more than 16 drivers do not win one competition.
With the second half of the season getting underway at Nashville, the playoff focus will become more intense. Hamlin and Kevin Harvick appear to be locks for the field of 16 based off points, but they would feel more secure with a victory.
Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher headline the collection of drivers who need victories to get into the postseason. Those three are 12th, 13th and 14th in the points standings, respectively, but if a few more new race winners emerge, their spots could come under threat.
Dillon produced a pair of top-10 finishes at Nashville when the Xfinity Series last visited in 2011. That history, however short, at the track could help Dillon get into a high position on the track Sunday and contend for a victory.
Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are the active Cup Series drivers with Xfinity Series wins at Nashville. Although it's been 10 years since any of them raced at the track, that might be enough of an advantage for them to succeed Sunday.
Keselowski, Busch and Logano all have victories this season, so if any of them cross the finish line first, it would make life feel a bit safer at the back end of the points standings.
If Harvick finally breaks through, it would give him the security of a playoff spot while putting much more pressure on Dillon, Reddick, Buescher and others to come up with a win before the playoffs begins.
Statistics obtained from NASCAR.com.
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