The second half of the NASCAR season kicks off Friday night at Nashville Superspeedway after all three national series had last week off from competition.  This will mark the third straight year the track has hosted a tripleheader after the NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series conducted races at the facility from 2001-2011.

Harrison Burton: “I like Nashville. It’s a cool city and the fans are always excited. It’s been a fun racetrack for us with lots of lane choices. I remember Briscoe and us raced side-by-side for 30 laps in one stint last year and it was really frustrating back then, but looking back on it that’s normally the sign of a good track where you can race side-by-side and battle each other and have some fun. I feel like those kinds of races, where you can fan out, put on good shows for the Next Gen car and I expect that to be the same this coming week.”

Austin Cindric: “It’s an interesting place. It’s an intermediate that drives like a short track or a short track that drives like an intermediate. It probably depends on how your car is handling, but it’s a pretty involved racetrack with a lot of shifting and different lanes. It should be a night race again this year, so I’m looking forward to that. Obviously, I don’t think there are too many better locations for a NASCAR race to be, so I think it definitely deserves a race on the schedule. I’m looking forward to going back.”

Ryan Preece: “Nashville races similar to a short track, but it’s also a mile-and-a-half so it’s kind of got that little bit of an in-between.  I’ve only been there twice and we won those truck races both times, so it’s a place I’ve enjoyed going to.”

Chris Buescher: “Nashville is a night race, which is cool. It’s also a concrete race, which has been good to us this last little bit because Dover and Bristol were pretty strong. Nashville was a pretty decent time for us last year, so I have high hopes heading into it. I’m excited for it and love the fact that they’re doing a night race. That’s really cool.”

NASHVILLE TOP 10

This will mark the third straight year NASCAR has run a Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway and while Ford is still looking for its first victory, there have been five different drivers who have finished in the Top 10.  Kevin Harvick (5th/10th) and Joey Logano (10th/9th) have done it twice while Aric Almirola (4th in 2021), Ryan Blaney (3rd in 2022) and Austin Cindric (7th in 2022) round out the list.

BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK?

Ford will be going for its third straight win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after Cole Custer won at Portland International Raceway and Aric Almirola took the checkered flag at Sonoma Raceway.  Riley Herbst sat on the pole for this event last year and has career finishes of 10th and third while Ryan Sieg has finished 16th and ninth during that same period.  Cole Custer will be making his series debut at Nashville Superspeedway after running the past two years in the NASCAR Cup Series.

FORD WINS NASCAR DEBUT AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY

The first race held at Nashville Superspeedway for one of NASCAR’s top three touring series came on April 14, 2001 when Ford’s Greg Biffle won the Pepsi 300 in what was then known as the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series, now NASCAR XFINITY Series.  Ford dominated the race up front as Biffle, Jason Keller and Jeff Green combined to lead 200-of-225 laps.  Biffle, who was out front for a race-high 133 circuits, beat Keller to the checkered flag by just over a half-second as Ford finished first and second.

A NASHVILLE THREE-PREECE?

Nobody has enjoyed Nashville Superspeedway more the last two years than Ryan Preece, who owns back-to-back NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victories at the 1.333 mile track.  Even though he won’t be in a truck this weekend, Preece will be in the NASCAR Cup Series race as he looks to win at NSS for a third year in a row.  Preece, who won the ARCA Menards West Series race at Sonoma Raceway two weeks ago, had brake issues and finished 32nd in his only other Cup start in 2021.