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Cracker Barrel 400 showcases roots, history

Cracker Barrel has roots in Middle Tennessee that will be showcased with the NASCAR Nashville race. Cracker Barrel has roots in Middle Tennessee, and it will be on full display during the NASCAR race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. NASCAR’s best drivers from all three national series will be running races at the 1.33-mile oval, highlighted […]

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Cracker Barrel has roots in Middle Tennessee that will be showcased with the NASCAR Nashville race.

Cracker Barrel has roots in Middle Tennessee, and it will be on full display during the NASCAR race weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.

NASCAR’s best drivers from all three national series will be running races at the 1.33-mile oval, highlighted by the Cracker Barrel 400 at 6 p.m. CT on June 1.

Cracker Barrel got its start in Middle Tennessee, actually in the same town that will be hosting NASCAR racing.

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Cracker Barrel first opened on Sept. 19, 1969 in Lebanon, Tennessee, as found on the store’s history page.

Dan W. Evins opened the first “Old Country Store” and made everything from scratch, including the famous corn bread.

In just eight years, Evins saw the success of Cracker Barrel and worked with investors, mostly local friends and other associates, and expanded with 13 stores from Kentucky to Georgia in 1977.

A big step in the company’s growth was becoming publicly traded, which helped the company blossom through the 1980s and 1990s, finally reaching a $1 billion in market value in 1992.

According to the store’s website, there are nearly 660 locations in 44 states across the country.

Now, Cracker Barrel’s location in Lebanon, the original store from 1969, is just 17 miles from Nashville Superspeedway, approximately a 20-minute drive, and has signed a multi-year deal to be the race’s title sponsor.

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Fifty-one Cracker Barrel stores are located in Tennessee. Cracker Barrel is headquartered on a 98-acre campus in Lebanon.

“Over 55 years ago, we opened our doors in Lebanon, and this partnership with Nashville Superspeedway feels like a homecoming,” Cracker Barrel chief marketing officer Sarah Moore said in a release. “Middle Tennessee is foundational to our beginnings — country hospitality, hard work and a commitment to putting people at the heart of everything we do. The Cracker Barrel 400 lets us share that with NASCAR’s global audience while honoring the community where it all began.”

This is not Cracker Barrel’s first time to sponsor a NASCAR Cup Race. The Cracker Barrel 500 was run as the fourth Cup Series race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway from 1999-2001.

Joey Logano won last year’s race at Nashville Superspeedway.

When is 2025 NASCAR Nashville race?

The 2025 Cracker Barrel 400 is set for 6 p.m. CT on June 1 at Nashville Superspeedway.

NASCAR Nashville race streaming, Amazon Prime

The NASCAR Nashville race is streaming on Amazon Prime with Adam Alexander, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte in the broadcast booth.

If you are subscribed to Amazon Prime, you have access to Prime Video’s NASCAR broadcasts. If you are not yet subscribed to Amazon Prime Video, you can do so here with a 30-day free trial that will cover the remainder of the broadcast partner’s schedule.

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Follow sports writer Austin Chastain on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ChastainAJ or reach him via email at achastain@gannett.com.

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.



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Veteran Spotter Tab Boyd ‘Let Go’ By HYAK Motorsports

After spending the last three season as spotter for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and HYAK Motorsports (formerly JTG Daugherty Racing), Tab Boyd has been released from his post ahead of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway. Clayton Hughes, a championship-winning spotter that has previously worked with Martin Truex, Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing, […]

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June 20, 2025

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After spending the last three season as spotter for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and HYAK Motorsports (formerly JTG Daugherty Racing), Tab Boyd has been released from his post ahead of this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Pocono Raceway.

Clayton Hughes, a championship-winning spotter that has previously worked with Martin Truex, Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing, will serve as the fill-in for Boyd, and starting this weekend at Pocono, will be the eyes in the sky for the 2023 DAYTONA 500 winner.

While HYAK Motorsports has yet to release an official statement on Boyd’s dismissal from the organization – despite a request for comment earlier this week by Racing America On SI – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. confirmed the news while on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Friday.

“Obviously, that’s an unfortunate deal,” Stenhouse said. “The team let Tab Boyd go this week, and we got Clayton Hughes to come fill in. I’ve never worked with Clayton. Obviously, I think the concern for me is trying to get on the same page as quick as we can knowing that, like you said, the schedule coming up, going to Atlanta next week could be a very important race for our race team and trying to get us in the Playoffs and put us in the right position.”

Although HYAK Motorsports nor Stenhouse have mentioned an official reason for Boyd’s release, a line can be drawn to a disparaging post from last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico.

In said post on June 14, one day before the running of the Viva Mexico 250: “I’m ready to go home, screw this place, people can talk it up all they want… can’t even walk out the front door of the hotel without getting hustled and money snatched… in less than five minutes. Good area my ass.”

Boyd has not further commented on the incident from last Saturday, and since then has removed the post (and his account) from X. At this time, it is unknown whether this is the pinpointed reason that he has been released from the organization.

Despite his release from HYAK Motorsports, Boyd is still scheduled to be at Pocono Raceway this weekend, where he will be serving as a spotter for Ryan Ellis and DGM Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Luke Baldwin and ThorSport Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

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Pocono pivotal for playoff positioning

Pocono Raceway is not part of any of the three NASCAR national series playoffs. But the tripleheader this weekend at the 2.5-mile triangular track in Long Pond will play a pivotal role in who qualifies for the postseason. Time is dwindling for drivers to either punch their ticket to the playoffs or solidify their position. […]

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June 20, 2025

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Pocono Raceway is not part of any of the three NASCAR national series playoffs. But the tripleheader this weekend at the 2.5-mile triangular track in Long Pond will play a pivotal role in who qualifies for the postseason.

Time is dwindling for drivers to either punch their ticket to the playoffs or solidify their position.

In the Cup Series, 10 races remain — starting with Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM — before the playoffs begin Aug. 31 with the Southern 500 at Darlington. Ten of the 16 spots are filled by race winners following Shane van Gisbergen’s victory last week in Mexico City. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell each have three wins, while William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric and Josh Berry have one win apiece.

Of the drivers yet to win this season, Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick both appear to be safe to qualify. Elliott (500 points) is 146 above the cutline, while Reddick (477) is 123 above the cutline.

Bubba Wallace (411) is 57 above the cutline. Chase Briscoe (393) is 39 above and Alex Bowman (376) is 22 above. They seem good for now, but if other drivers outside the top 16 were to win — like van Gisbergen last week — their chances could be jeopardized.

Chris Buescher currently sits on the bubble in the 16th and final playoff spot with 373 points. He is 19 points ahead of RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece.

Elliott, Bowman and Buescher are all past Pocono winners, while Reddick has finishes of second, second and sixth in his last three races at Pocono.

After Preece, Michael McDowell is 43 points below the cutline and A.J. Allmendinger is 45 points back.

Then there is Kyle Busch, who is 50 points below the cutline. He does have four wins at Pocono, however. This weekend could be the perfect opportunity to snap his 73-race winless streak.

Carson Hochevar is 60 points below the cutline, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is 61 below and Erik Jones is 62 back.

Don’t discount a driver like Ty Gibbs, who is 77 points below the cutline. Pocono is where he made his first career Cup Series start in 2022 and won the pole there for last year’s race. He could be on the verge of his first career Cup victory.

Other tracks besides Pocono in the remaining 10 regular-season races include three road courses — Chicago street, Sonoma, Watkins Glen — along with Atlanta, Dover, Indianapolis, Iowa, Richmond and Daytona.

Xfinity Series

Beginning with Saturday’s Explore the Pocono Mountains 250 at Pocono, 11 races remain in the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season before the playoff opener Sept. 12 at Bristol.

Half of the 12 playoff positions are filled with race winners. Justin Allgaier and Austin Hill each have three wins. Jesse Love, Connor Zilisch, Brandon Jones and Sammy Smith have one win apiece.

Sam Mayer (488 points) is 129 above the cutline, Sheldon Creed (416) is 57 points above and Carson Kvapil (409) is 50 points above. Jeb Burton (397) is 38 points above the cutline and Harrison Burton (377) is 18 points above.

Ryan Sieg and Taylor Gray are tied for the 12th and final spot with 374 points.

Nick Sanchez (359) is 15 points below the cutline. Daniel Dye (330) is 44 below, Dean Thompson (315) is 59 below and Christian Eckes (310) is 64 below.

Truck Series

Friday evening’s Miller Tech Battery 200 at Pocono is the first of five remaining regular-season races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series before the playoffs begin Aug. 30 at Darlington.

Six drivers are eligible based on wins. Corey Heim, last year’s race winner at Pocono, leads the way with four victories this season. Chandler Smith, a winner at Pocono in 2022, has two victories. Daniel Hemric, Tyler Ankrum, Stewart Friesen and Rajah Caruth each have one win.

That leaves four spots remaining. Grant Enfinger (441 points) is 52 above the cutline. Layne Riggs (424) is 35 above, Kaden Honeycutt (408) is 19 above and Ty Majeski (393) is on the bubble, four points ahead of Jake Garcia.

Ben Rhodes (338) is 55 points below the cutline and Giovanni Ruggiero is 56 points below.

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Spire Motorsports punishes Carson Hocevar for derogatory comments about Mexico City | Ap

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Camping sold out, limited tickets remain for Pocono NASCAR weekend – Times News Online

Published June 20. 2025 10:25AM All 3,300 camping spots have sold out for NASCAR’s upcoming tripleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway, including a fifth straight infield camping sellout. Limited grandstand tickets remain for next Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA.COM NASCAR Cup Series race. The June 22 event begins at 2 p.m. and will […]

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Published June 20. 2025 10:25AM





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RAM Announces NASCAR Cup Series Entry Timeline

Days after Stellantis’ RAM Trucks announced its 2026 NASCAR Truck Series entry at Michigan International Speedway, CEO Tim Kuniskis has now confirmed the timeline for the brand’s entry into the top-tier Cup Series. RAM’s entry into NASCAR makes it the first OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in the sport since Toyota introduced its Tundra in 2004. […]

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Days after Stellantis’ RAM Trucks announced its 2026 NASCAR Truck Series entry at Michigan International Speedway, CEO Tim Kuniskis has now confirmed the timeline for the brand’s entry into the top-tier Cup Series.

RAM’s entry into NASCAR makes it the first OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in the sport since Toyota introduced its Tundra in 2004. While RAM hasn’t formed a team yet, Kuniskis confidently shared during the announcement that the brand would be ready to race at Daytona next year. He also hinted that the ultimate goal is to race in the Cup Series and that the Truck Series serves as a step to enter the sport. He said:

“There will be more details on our NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series program later this year. We are undoubtedly having fun with this project, and I truly look forward to sharing information on our team and how getting back on track relates to the future of Ram performance.”

Michigan International Speedway
(L-R) Tim Kuniskis, CEO Ram Brand – Stellantis, NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell and John Probst, SVP of Innovation and Racing Development pose at the Ram display on the midway for the announcement that…


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He added:

“We’ll be on track in Daytona in eight months, and the way we’re going to do it is unlike anyone else.

“We’re looking for a date to the prom right now. So how am I going to get to Cup? That’s going to depend on how I get to Truck. So however we get to Truck is going to obviously weigh heavily on ‘do I have a path to Cup?’ Our intention is not to do a one-hit wonder and go to Truck and not to Cup. That’s not our plan.”

Now, Kuniskis has revealed further details on the RAM Trucks’ plans to enter the Cup Series in 2027, a year after the brand’s Truck Series entry. Speaking with Kevin Harvick on NASCAR on FOX, he said:

“Coming into Truck [Series] is a lot easier than coming into Cup [Series], and that’s why we were really confident with all the work that we’ve done on the Truck to say we’ll be in Daytona.

“Now, TBD who the team’s gonna be but we have every confidence that we’re going to be in Daytona.”

He added:

“It’s gonna take a little bit longer to get to Cup. Our goal is to get the Cup a year after that [2027].

“Now, everybody’s told me we’re crazy. ‘There’s no way you’re gonna get there.’ But we think there’s a couple of things from our legacy that might speed that development time up. And maybe we could be in Daytona this [coming] year with Truck, and then the following year, Daytona in Cup.

“A lot of very smart people, smarter than me have told me you better plan on two years to get back to Cup. But TBD, I’m always pushing for the quicker timeline, so I’m hoping that it’s 2027. 2026 for Truck and 2027 for Cup.”



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Hall of Famer Mark Martin Slams NASCAR’s Commercial Era for Stripping Away Driver Personality

NASCAR icon Mark Martin has launched a blistering critique against the sport’s commercial era. The Hall of Famer claims corporate pressures have systematically erased driver personalities, creating a generation of sanitized competitors. His explosive revelation targets the invisible forces reshaping modern racers. Martin insists today’s drivers possess hidden depth that sponsorship demands actively suppress. This […]

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NASCAR icon Mark Martin has launched a blistering critique against the sport’s commercial era. The Hall of Famer claims corporate pressures have systematically erased driver personalities, creating a generation of sanitized competitors. His explosive revelation targets the invisible forces reshaping modern racers.

Martin insists today’s drivers possess hidden depth that sponsorship demands actively suppress. This corporate sanitization prevents magnetic superstars from emerging despite extraordinary on-track talent. The observation follows Sunday’s Mexico City race, where fearless driving failed to translate into fan connection.

Mark Martin Believes ‘Commerciality’ Suppressing NASCAR Drivers’ Personalities

Martin minced no words about NASCAR’s personality crisis during a revealing interview with Kenny Wallace. He contends drivers consciously suppress their authentic selves to satisfy sponsors and officials. The result is a field of racers appearing artificially bland.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s been enough super high rivalry,” Martin stated on “The Kenny Wallace Conversation.” His voice carried decades of track wisdom. “First of all, you had to water down the personalities, and that hasn’t helped.”

The 66-year-old legend sees through the polished facades. “I truly believe that the drivers today are not nearly as vanilla as they appear to be. I’ll guarantee you Jimmy Johnson was not.”

He pointed to Jimmie Johnson as prime evidence, a champion who concealed vibrant character beneath corporate polish.

“Jimmie Johnson’s one hell of a character, but he never showed that because of the commercialism of the sport. I think that has stopped these next generation as emerging as big superheroes.”

This sponsorship muzzle prevents new heroes from capturing the public imagination despite jaw-dropping skill.

Sunday’s Mexico City battle exemplified the disconnect. “I’m looking at those guys out there and they’re driving their a** off. It’s incredible,” Martin observed. “But yet so many people don’t realize that … there’s just not enough superheroes.” Raw talent isn’t translating into stardom.

Read More: Michael Waltrip Backs ‘Unapologetic’ Denny Hamlin Amid NASCAR’s Personality Debate

Kenny Wallace and Martin Discuss Team Culture Enforcing Driver Conformity in NASCAR

The conformity pressure starts at the team level, according to insiders. Podcast host Wallace singled out Hendrick Motorsports’ leadership for enforcing robotic professionalism. He claimed four-time champion Jeff Gordon actively discourages driver individuality.

“Jeff Gordon wants his drivers vanilla, and that’s what I want everybody to know. Jeff wants robotic, corporate drivers,” Wallace bluntly stated during their conversation. “He doesn’t want anybody bucking the system.” The comment sparked knowing agreement from Martin.

Martin’s own Hendrick experience offered a stark contrast. When he joined the powerhouse team in 2009, owner Rick Hendrick demanded zero persona adjustments. “There was zero pressure on me to be anything different than who I was,” Martin emphasized.

But rookies faced different rules. “Jimmie came in. He was a rookie. He would want to conform,” Martin explained. New drivers often mask true personalities, believing it’s required for success.

This self-censorship creates NASCAR’s core dilemma. Talent isn’t lacking — only the unfiltered personas that made legends like Dale Earnhardt cultural icons. The commercial era’s invisible rules trade authenticity for sponsor approval.

Martin sees dangerous consequences. Without magnetic personalities, even spectacular racing like Mexico City’s fails to captivate beyond core fans. The solution? Unleash the real characters beneath the firesuits. The Hall of Famer’s challenge echoes beyond the interview.

Can NASCAR balance commercial realities with the raw personalities that built its legacy? Sunday’s grandstands will reveal the answer.





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