The NASCAR Cup Series heads to “Music City” for the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night. As always, we’re interviewing our motorsports experts, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, about some of the biggest controversies after Memorial Day weekend’s events, and what to expect from this week’s race.

Take it away, guys!

How to watch the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville

• Track: Nashville Superspeedway — Lebanon, Tenn.
• Time: Sunday, June 1, 7 p.m. ET
• Watch: Prime Video

NASCAR Cup Series at Nashville Q&A, predictions

You wrote about NASCAR’s “Double” problem: Because of a rule tweak that means a driver can’t miss the start of a race without forfeiting playoff points (unless for injury), completing both the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 is too logistically complicated. It reminds me of horse racing’s Triple Crown problem, that the Preakness is too soon after the Kentucky Derby for some horses to run both, and yet officials don’t seem willing to budge on the calendar. Is there an argument here, like with the Triple Crown, that it should be this difficult? That that’s the whole point?

Jeff: NASCAR doesn’t want to take a backseat to any other event or racing series, which is why this is happening. Officials feel full-time NASCAR drivers should prioritize their events, even if it’s the Indy 500. I personally believe that is short-sighted and missing the big picture. IndyCar is zero threat to NASCAR right now (even the Truck Series beats some IndyCar races in viewership), and the Indy 500 is a singular, standalone event that doesn’t even run head-to-head with a NASCAR race. Why not capitalize on the large audience of casual Indy 500 viewers (more than 7 million people tuned in) and get a free advertisement for your NASCAR race later that night? If the driver doing the Double is late, that’s their fault because they miss the chance of getting playoff points or a win. But to strip all of their playoff points for the entire season essentially makes it so that no contending NASCAR driver will even try the Double anytime soon, so it’s a self-defeating decision that actually makes the 600 less relevant than if it were connected to a lead-in from Indy.

Jordan: While Jeff’s argument makes sense to a point, how much fanfare NASCAR can gain from running the Double is unquantified. The reality is that the uptick is likely not significant enough for the league to be OK with a superstar driver missing one of its races, especially a crown jewel. Allowing a driver to skip a NASCAR race to compete elsewhere is a slippery slope that potentially creates a bigger issue down the road, and it is also a disservice to your loyal fan base, who paid good money to watch the driver compete at the NASCAR event that week. You open the door to allow drivers to miss a race(s), and you’re not too far away from being professional golf or tennis, where the star players only turn out a handful of times each year, not every week.

Last week, Ross Chastain’s win marked the first of the season for a car not affiliated with the “Big Three” (Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske). How many more wins like that do you think we’ll see? What drivers outside of the Big Three have the best shot at the playoffs?

Jeff: I can talk myself into believing there could be all sorts of different organizations in victory lane. We’re certainly due a win from Tyler Reddick at some point, so there’s one from 23XI Racing. It feels like Spire Motorsports is getting closer to breaking through soon, too. And that’s not to mention the possibility of RFK Racing or Richard Childress Racing putting a great day together. Oh, and don’t forget that Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse) or AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig) could win on a road course (with several approaching soon). In about six weeks from now, we’ll have a much better sense of who can make the playoffs based on points and who needs a win, but it’s still too soon to tell.

Jordan: There are a good number of teams beyond the “Big Three” that could win any given week. This is especially true as NASCAR heads into a seven-race stretch that includes an assortment of wild-card tracks with three races on road courses and a drafting oval. And then there is 23XI Racing, where both Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace have been very good at times, but are still not yet to the level you expect out of 23XI, and each feels like they’re due to break out.

We’re about halfway through the regular season (crazy!?). Who is trending up and who is trending down?

Jeff: Chastain has certainly been impressive, moving from 14th to eighth in points (and winning the 600) during the last seven races — a period in which he has not finished outside the top 20. It also seems like Chase Briscoe is trending in the right direction with three top-fives in the last five races. As for the downward trend, Bubba Wallace has now crashed out of three straight races and has only one top-15 finish in the last six races. Wallace has tumbled from seventh in points to 12th during that time.

Jordan: When looking at who is trending upwards, Chastain is the name that immediately pops up. Even though Trackhouse does not consistently have the same level of speed in its cars as the “Big Three,” Chastain is still producing impressive results. He is effectively putting that team on his shoulders and making them better. And when you look at how the schedule sets up over the next few weeks, his winning again feels like a distinct possibility. On the other end of the spectrum is Alex Bowman, whose season has been a bit of a roller coaster and as of late, the results have been hard to come by. In the past seven races, Bowman has five finishes of 27th or worse.

Who is your favorite to win at Nashville?

Jeff: I’m going to go with Chastain to stay on a roll. He finished second at Texas and then won Charlotte. Nashville, while concrete, isn’t too dissimilar to what creates speed there. Chastain already knows how to get around Nashville quite well — he finished second, fifth and first there before crashing out last year (in overtime after leading 45 laps, by the way). Also, there’s value there because Chastain only has the eighth-best odds (he’s +1200).

Jordan: William Byron is overdue in a big way to get his second win of the season. And the intermediate Nashville track is a great place for him to do just that, as this style track is the strong suit for the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. Expect Byron to again lead a lot of laps, just like last week at Charlotte, but this time he closes it out to add another win to his resume.

Who is a long shot you like?

Jeff: Sometimes weird narratives happen in NASCAR, and there could be a fittingly strange one this week. Austin Cindric is +5000 at Nashville, where his spin with two laps to go last year changed the course of an entire season. If you recall, that Cindric spin is what allowed teammate Joey Logano to survive a five-overtime race and win his way into the playoffs; without that victory, he would have missed the playoffs and not won the championship. Cindric is obviously going through a tough time after seeing his dad fired from Team Penske, so I can see all of these storylines coming together in a weird NASCAR way. (But mostly, I just think it’s absurd to have a Penske car at +5000, so that’s really why I picked him here.)

Jordan: Why not Carson Hocevar? The second-year driver has had plenty of speed this year, but various factors have prevented him from getting the corresponding finish to match that speed. Last week, an engine failure sidelined him as he was running third. If Spire Motorsports can again bring a fast car and Hocevar and the team can put together a complete race, there is no reason why Nashville couldn’t be the site of his first career win.

Race winner odds for the Cracker Barrel 400

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(Photo of Ross Chastain: Logan Riely / Getty Images)

Christian Eckes found his footing last year in the Craftsman Truck Series.

He posted a third-place finish after winning three races and earning 22 top 10 finishes, but he made a major move.

This year, the 24-year-old is in his first Xfinity Series season, and while he hasn’t found similar success, he knew it was a necessary change.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Christian Eckes holds an umbrella as it rains during qualifying for the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway.  (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

“I felt like I had gotten to a point in the Truck Series where I wasn’t content or happy with the success, but it definitely got to a point where I felt pretty comfortable about moving to the next level, and I felt like this was a great opportunity to go get in some different series with hopefully a ladder to Cup, as well,” Eckes, who now races with Kaulig Racing, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

To go along with his move to Xfinity, Eckes partnered with Celsius, the energy drink he says has given him huge boosts on race day.

“It’s been a blast so far. I’ve been able to meet a lot of cool people and obviously drink some good drinks along the way. And I’m looking forward to the future as well,” Eckes said.

“It’s helped me a lot. Some of these races are at night, or even in the morning, really. So getting that caffeine in definitely helps as well as the hydration packets. There’s a lot of things that they do that help us succeed. So yeah, definitely a big part of our race weekends.”

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Christian Eckes (16) drives during the NASCAR Xfinity race at Texas Motor Speedway.  (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)

Eckes admitted this season has not gone as he’d like. He has only six top 10 finishes this year.

“We’re still trying to find our way,” Eckes said. “We’ve had some success here and there, have had some speed, but not on a consistent basis. So, that’s kind of our No. 1 thing right now is to try to push that forward and get to where we feel like we should be, and that’s contending on a weekly basis.”

This weekend, Eckes will be racing in Nashville, where he reached the pinnacle of success. He won there last year, and Kaulig has taken the checkered flag there before.

“Nashville should be a good place for us. I won the race last year in the Truck Series, so hopefully it’s the weekend that we finally turned around,” he said. 

Eckes admitted he was not a fan of Nashville in the past, but “leading every lap last year, I like it a little better now.”

NASCAR Truck Series driver Christian Eckes celebrates winning the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tenn., June 28, 2024. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean/USA Today Network)

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“I’ve done it in a truck before, so hopefully I can repeat that success. It’s gonna take a lot. The Xfinity Series is challenging to win. You gotta be perfect in every aspect or as close to perfect as you can be. It’s gonna take a lot, but I feel confident in our team to do it.”

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LEBANON, Tenn. — Rajah Caruth held off Corey Heim in the final laps to win Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.

Heim finished second in the 150-lap race. Layne Riggs placed third. Daniel Hemric finished fourth. Corey Day completed the top five.

“Those guys were breathing down my neck the whole run,” Caruth told FS1 of Heim and Riggs. ” … We’ve been off this year but good to get it done tonight.”

Friday’s victory is the second career Truck win for Caruth, whose path into racing came via iRacing.

“It’s a big deal … to not be a one-win wonder, honestly,” said Caruth, who led a race-high 61 laps. “A lot of guys win one race and that’s it. … Now we’ve got two and we’re in the playoffs.”

Caruth is the fifth driver to earn a playoff spot via a win, joining Heim (four wins), Chandler Smith (two), Hemric (one) and Tyler Ankrum (one).

Caruth scored his first career Truck win in March 2024 at Las Vegas. That win made him the third Black driver in NASCAR history to win a national NASCAR Series race, joining Hall of Famer Wendell Scott and Bubba Wallace.

Riggs won the first stage Friday night. Heim won the second stage. Heim led 58 laps, becoming the first driver in series history to lead 800 laps in the first 12 races of a season.

“I feel like just clean air was the main thing tonight,” Heim said. “With the third stage tonight being pretty straight forward, with a lack of strategy and all green, it was tough to come back for the lead, but I slid through my box there on the last stop and didn’t do my guys any favors. Just something to reflect on my end, but huge congrats to Rajah (Caruth).

“He did an awesome job managing from the lead. I was really free behind him, and he made pretty much the right move every time where I was going to go.”

Nashville isn’t just another intermediate. It’s a concrete beast. High tire wear, low speeds, and a surface that demands rhythm and patience. This place rewards drivers who know how to conserve their stuff and build speed as the run goes on. Think Darlington. Think Homestead. If your setup’s not right by Stage 2, you’re cooked.

This week, we’re backing drivers with feel, form, and the grit to survive long green-flag runs. And there’s value up and down the board.

The Favorites

Kyle Larson (+550 FanDuel Sportsbook)

Four Nashville starts. Four top-10s. One win. Best average finish in the field (4.5). He hasn’t led a lap here since 2021, but don’t overthink it. Larson’s been nails on worn-out intermediates all year and…

Former Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg has backed Lewis Hamilton’s claims that the Ferrari SF25 is “not driveable.” 

The seven-time champion had a frustrating first day of practice ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, confirmed through his radio messages to his race engineer, Riccardo Adami.

Rosberg was trackside at the time as part of the Sky Sports F1 broadcast. The 2016 champion, who was in position to observe the cars’ behaviours up close on track, shared ahead of the third practice session on Saturday:

“I was out there trackside watching Lewis and Charles, and I can confirm that the Ferrari is not driveable. It had more understeer than the others, and more snap oversteer. There was a bit more of everything going on.

“But they’re still in the hunt because, apparently, even with the balance problems the car is still relatively fast, especially on the long runs.”

Ferrari team chief Fred Vasseur acknowledged the British driver’s frustration while speaking to Sky Sports F1 following Friday’s sessions. He explained:

“I think we had a very good pace this morning, we struggled a bit more in the afternoon. We had a decent lap with Charles before the mistake at Turn Seven, it was an advance on P1. But the target is to put a lap together, not to do some good corners.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

“Then we struggled a bit more at the beginning of each of the long stints. I think it was true for us but true for a couple of other cars. The track was very dirty with a lot of marbles. Overall, it was a long day and we collected also good information. It was the first time we were running the new front wing, and we’ll have a lot of work tonight.”

He added: 

“The comments [from Hamilton] were a bit extreme on the radio today but he did also a strong last stint with the soft [tyre], in the lap time of the first two. It means that perhaps the car was not as horrible as he said on the radio. But again, for me, the comments that they are making in the car are not a drama, as long as they are back and we have a constructive debriefing.”

Rosberg questioned Vasseur on the difficulty of the SF25. The Ferrari chief confirmed:

“It’s not a secret that we are struggling a little bit with the balance of the car. We have to improve on this, but as long as we are able to correct it and to have a good race, then fine. But it was the case the last couple of weekends.

“We have to improve on one lap, but I think it’s more tyre management and to put the tyres in the right window at the beginning of the lap, than something else. The balance is not perfect, it’s true. But it’s true for us, I also think it’s true for the others.”

Photos from Spanish GP – Practice

Rajah Caruth has earned his first victory of the 2025 season and just the second of his career, fending off both Corey Heim and Layne Riggs in the closing laps at Nashville.

Driving the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Caruth grabbed the lead on pit road at the end of the second stage. The driver made the most of what his pit crew did for him, never surrendering the race lead.

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“I didn’t expect that at all,” said Caruth. “Those guys were breathing down my neck the whole run. My pit crew won that race — Jarius, Zico, Dawson, Josh, Cody — they won that race for us. Thanks to them, thanks to everyone at HendrickCars.com, the men and women at Spire Motorsports. We’ve been off this year but good to get a dub tonight, man. I’m out of breath.”

Heim is the winningest driver of the 2025 season with four wins in the first 11 races, including last weekend’s event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Speaking on the runner-up finish at Nashville, he said, “I feel like clean air was the thing (we needed) tonight. With the third stage being so straightforward, and the lack of strategy going green there, it was tough to come back from not having the lead. I slid through my box in the last stop and didn’t do my guys any favors. Just something to reflect on — on my part.

“But big congrats to Rajah. He did an awesome job managing from the lead and I was really free behind him and he made pretty much the right choice every time as for where I was gonna go. It’s nice racing against people that aren’t going to wreck you, racing for the race lead.”

Layne Riggs finished a close third with Daniel Hemric fourth and Corey Day fifth. Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Ty Majeski, Bayley Currey, and Grant Enfinger filled out the remainder of the top ten.

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Kyle Busch, who had to fight back from a penalty for a restart violation, finished 15th.

A straightforward race

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

The race itself got off to a slow start after Frankie Muniz’s #33 truck dumped oil all over the track, with Muniz forced to pull out of the race without completing a single lap under speed. The only on-track accident occurred on Lap 55 when Jack Wood and Akinori Ogata spun.

Riggs went on to win the opening stage while Heim claimed the Stage 2 win, adding another playoff point to his impressive total.

While Caruth never lost the lead in the final 47-lap run, Heim certainly came close as he got to the outside of him with just six laps to go. Caruth ran him high and Heim chose to lift. From that point onward, he had his hands full with Riggs in the battle for second and never got back alongside Caruth.

Photos from Nashville – Race

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Tanner Gray, TRICON Garage Toyota

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Andres Perez de Lara, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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Corey Heim, TRICON Garage Toyota

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Toni Breidinger, TRICON Garage Toyota

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Kyle Busch, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Luke Fenhaus, ThorSport Racing Ford

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Grant Enfinger, CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet

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Grant Enfinger, CR7 Motorsports Chevrolet

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Daniel Hemric, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Corey Day, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Dawson Sutton, Rackley W.A.R. Chevrolet

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Tyler Ankrum, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Ben Rhodes, ThorSport Racing Ford

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Tanner Gray, TRICON Garage Toyota

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Kyle Busch, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Brexton Busch

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Frankie Muniz, Reaume Brothers Racing Fordkaden

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Tyler Ankrum, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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Akinori Ogata, Toyota

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Giovanni Ruggiero, TRICON Garage Toyota

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Corey Heim, TRICON Garage Toyota

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Daniel Hemric, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing

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Bayley Currey, Niece Motorsports Chevrolet

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General view

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Corey Heim, TRICON Garage Toyota, Kaden Honeycut, 45 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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Corey Heim, TRICON Garage Toyota

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Corey Heim, TRICON Garage Toyota

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Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Corey Heim, TRICON Garage Toyota

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Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

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Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

Rajah Caruth, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

James Gilbert / Getty Images

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