It is time to go racing in the Music City at Nashville Superspeedway for the Cracker Barrel 400. The 14th race for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, let’s get you ready for Sunday night’s race.

NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway Preview

The NASCAR Cup Series is racing at the Nashville Superspeedway this Sunday night, the Cracker Barrel 400. Last time we were in Nashville, a simple race turned into complete chaos. Austin Cindric spun on the back stretch, triggering five overtime restarts before the race would finish under the checkered flag. Will we see a clean race? Or will the chaos return?

Race Preview:

The Cracker Barrel 400 is a 400-mile, 300-lap race around the 1.333-mile Nashville Superspeedway. Stage cautions will be on laps 90 and 185, with the checkered flag flying on lap 300. There is a prize purse of  11,055,250 dollars available for this race. Goodyear is bringing the same right-side tires that were run at the race in 2024, but a new left side that will wear more. Teams will have 10 sets of tires for qualifying and the race.

The Track: Nashville Superspeedway

Nashville Superspeedway, located in Lebanon, Tennessee, opened in 2001 as a 1.33-mile concrete oval track. Initially hosting races for the  NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series, it became notable for its concrete surface. After closing in 2011 due to declining attendance, the track reopened in 2021 under Speedway Motorsports ownership, hosting its first NASCAR Cup Series race. Since 2021, it has hosted all three major NASCAR Series.

There have been four Cup Series races at Nashville since 2021. Kyle Larson won the first race, and there have been four different winners: Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, and Joey Logano. Kevin Harvick set the track record in 2022, with a 26.856-second lap.

Cup Series Point Standings:

These are the current point standings following the Coca-Cola 600:

1. William Byron: 499
2. Kyle Larson: 470
3. Christopher Bell: 425
4. Chase Elliott: 415
5. Tyler Reddick: 392
6. Denny Hamlin: 390
7. Ryan Blaney: 363
8. Ross Chastain: 350
9. Joey Logano: 338
10. Alex Bowman: 333

READ MORE: Ross Chastain Captures Glory with Coke 600 Victory

Drivers To Watch:

Three drivers will be joining the field for the Cracker Barrel 400. JJ Yeley will drive the #44 for NY Racing. Chad Finchum will drive the #66 for Garage 66/MBM Motorsports. Lastly, Corey Heim will make another start for 23XI Racing in the #67 Camry.

READ MORE: Corey Heim Becomes 23XI Racing’s First Development Driver

Chevrolet has the most wins at Nashville, with three of the four, and two in the Next Gen era. Kyle Larson has the best average finish with a 4.5 average. Surely Larson wants to put his disaster of an Indy 500/Coke 600 behind him, and the best way to do that is to win. But I think he will have competition from last week’s winner.

Ross Chastain has had good runs at Nashville in the past. A win in 2023 and fifth in 2022, ignoring his DNF in 2024. He has the momentum from that big win last week. I think Chastain can be a contender again in 2025.

Denny Hamlin is due for a win at this track. He was battling with Ross Chastain last year when the shenanigans started. He has an average finish of seventh at this track, and I think he is quite fuming from his lack of fuel at Charlotte last week. Look for Hamlin to lead the Toyotas

While a Ford won last year’s race, Logano was not the fastest car by far. RFK Racing by the numbers has the best finishes among its drivers. Brad Keselowski finished well last week, has run well on 1.5-mile tracks, I think he could be a contender for the Fords this week. I also look at Ryan Blaney, who has a top-five and top-ten here in the three Next Gen races. Look for the #6 and #12 Mustangs on Sunday night.

How To Watch The Cup Series at Nashville Superspeedway:

Here is the weekend schedule for the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway:

Saturday, May 31st:

• Practice:
• Qualifying: 
  • 5:10 PM Eastern
  • Coverage continues on Prime

Sunday, June 1st:

Last Word on Motorsports will have all the action from Nashville Superspeedway’s NASCAR Weekend

Main Photo: Sean Gardner, Getty Images

Recording Date: 6/30/2024

This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.

Tennessee Lottery 250

Location: Lebanon, Tenn.
Course: Nashville Superspeedway
Format: 1.33-mile D-shaped oval
Laps: 188

NASCAR Xfinity Series Tennessee Lottery 250 Race Preview

We’re coming off of a compelling weekend of racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with a three-way battle for first place between Justin Allgaier, William Byron and Connor Zilisch. Despite taking a speeding penalty at the start of Stage 3, Byron managed to make a great comeback to take the lead and win in overtime.  We’ll now head to Nashville for what should be another great race with last weekend’s Cup winner Ross Chastain as well as Aric Almirola in the field.

Key Stats at Nashville Superspeedway

• Number of races: 25
• Winners from pole: 3
• Winners from top-five starters: 13
• Winners from top-10 starters: 19
• Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2

Recent Nashville Winners

2024 – John Hunter Nemechek
2023- AJ Allmendinger 
2022- Justin Allgaier 
2021 -Kyle Busch 

Nashville Superspeedway is an intermediate, D-shaped tri-oval track. Though there’s a decent history of both the Trucks and Xfinity Series in Nashville, there was a long hiatus between 2011 and 2021 with no NASCAR affiliated races. Track position appeared to be king, but we’ve seen winners come from 11th and 15th place in the last two years. We should be careful about takeaways about manufacturer in such a small sample, but we’ve seen wins from a pair of Toyotas and Chevrolets.

RotoWire NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Tools

NASCAR Lineup Optimizer

NASCAR Projections

DraftKings Value Picks for the Tennessee Lottery 250

Based on a Standard $50K Salary Cap

DraftKings Tier 1 Values

Ross Chastain – $12,000
Justin Allgaier- $11,700
Aric Almirola- $11,500

DraftKings Tier 2 Values

Jesse Love- $10,500
Sam Mayer – $10,000
Austin Hill – $9,500
Brandon Jones – $9,000

DraftKings Tier 3 Values

Sammy Smith – $8,300
Ryan Sieg – $8,100
Harrison Burton – $7,500

DraftKings Tier 4 Values

Dean Thompson- $6,700
Jeffrey Earnhardt – $6,300

NASCAR Xfinity DFS Picks for the Tennessee Lottery 250

Ross Chastain – $12,000
Brandon Jones- $9,000
Ryan Sieg – $8,100
Harrison Burton- $7,500
Dean Thompson – $6,700
Jeffrey Earnhardt – $6,300

Chastain is the headline guest for this weekend’s race, and he has an excellent history at Nashville. In four Cup Series races, he’s finished first, second and fifth. He comes at a premium price, but it isn’t prohibitive. For those who want an alternative to Chastain, I’d be willing to drop down to Mayer as a top driver to build through. His recent form has been up and down, but he is another driver who has an excellent history at Nashville (10th, fifth and third).

Tier 2 is otherwise jammed full of potential value. Jones is worth highlighting of the group, as he’s qualified no worse than 15th.  His results haven’t been there, but he has speed at the track and has also topped 40 DK points in three of his last six races.

Tier 3 offers some roster glue in the middle of the price range. Sieg pops as the top value option on our optimizer. He’s had solid showings on the track but has been a true star for DFS purposes. Among full-time drivers in the Xfinity Series, Sieg ranks fourth with 35.5 DK points per race. He is sixth when taking into account Almirola and Chastain. He appears in Tier 3, but should be locked into lineups without much question.

The story is similar for Harrison Burton. He’s finished inside the top 10 in three of his last five races yet hasn’t seen a rise in price.

From there, it’s time to fill in with value. Thompson is a pretty easy choice based on the form he has shown throughout the season (30 DK points per race)and is another curious case of stagnant pricing.

NASCAR Xfinity Best Bets for the Tennessee Lottery 250

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 11:30 AM ET Saturday

Race Winner- Sam Mayer (+1200)

Head-to-Head Matchup: Brandon Jones (-115) vs. Sheldon Creed

Head-to-Head Matchup: Sam Mayer (-115) vs. Connor Zilisch

Head-to-Head Matchup: Austin Hill (+100) vs. Jesse Love

DraftKings Sportsbook is offering something new for the Xfinity Series this weekend with head-to-head matchups. This is a great avenue to make some higher-probability wagers than a race winner or top-three selection.

Creed has been very quiet in his first season with the Haas Factory Team and has a poor history at Nashville. In three races in the Xfinity Series, he has never qualified better than 14th and never finished better than 17th. As was noted, Jones’ results have been mediocre, but his qualifying form has been strong.

We’ve already covered our reasons for being on Mayer this weekend, and a safer way to bet on his form at Nashville is his head-to-head matchup against Zilisch. Setting aside track history, Mayer’s average finish this season is 10.85, while Zilisch’s sits at 15.58.

A final matchup to consider is the RCR teammates. Both should be in for good weekends, but Hill has gotten better results across the board as measured by wins and top-five finishes, particularly.

Mapping out your wagers for the Xfinity Series race? Check out the latest Sportsbook Promo Codes to get special offers and make the most of your bets.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it’s possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Dan Marcus plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: marcusd91
DraftKings: dmarcus87.

The INDY NXT by Firestone duel between Andretti Global teammates Dennis Hauger and Lochie Hughes continued to heat up Saturday as Hauger edged fellow series rookie Hughes for the pole at the Detroit Grand Prix.

Hauger earned his third pole in five races this season – Hughes grabbed the other two – with a series-record lap of 1 minute, 4.9896 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group car. That broke the series track record of 1:05.1079 set last June by eventual series champion Louis Foster, also of Andretti Global.

SEE: Qualifying Results

“It was so messy, but I pushed to the limit and got the pole,” Hauger said. “That was intense.”

Hughes was second at 1:05.0516 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship machine, also under Foster’s track record.

There was a gap of nearly one second to third on the starting grid for the 45-lap race Sunday (10:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network), as 17-year-old rookie Max Taylor qualified third at 1:05.9554 in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car in just his second start in the INDYCAR development series.

2024 Rookie of the Year Caio Collet qualified fourth at 1:05.6249 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports machine. Salvador de Alba was the third Andretti Global driver in the top five with his top lap of 1:05.9772 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi car.

Callum Hedge rounded out the first three rows by qualifying sixth at 1:06.1315 in the No. 17 Abel Motorsports car.

There was plenty of suspense throughout qualifying. The session was split into two groups of drivers, with Hughes in the first group and Hauger in the second to build the drama. Hauger leads his teammate by 15 points atop the series standings after four races, and they are the only drivers to win races this season – Hauger has three victories, Hughes one.

Hughes laid down his huge lap on his final trip around the treacherous, nine-turn, 1.645-mile street circuit in downtown Detroit, finally getting clear track on the tight, bumpy circuit for his last qualifying run.

Hauger was working up his response when James Roe suffered his second crash of the weekend with about seven minutes left in the session, with his No. 29 Topcon car receiving heavy right front damage after wall impact. Roe was unhurt.

There were only three minutes, 56 seconds left in the session when the track reopened, and Hauger and his group hustled back on the circuit to complete as many laps as possible.

Hauger dropped to 1:05.287 on his second-to-last lap, just behind Hughes, but grabbed the pole with his track-record lap on his final trip around the circuit.

IndyNXT PR

The following are Friday’s final results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Southeast Division event at South Georgia Motorsports Park:

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
David Eaton, Merritt Island, Fla., ’32 Bantam, A/AA, 6.815, 167.22  def. Santo Volpe, Palm Bay, Fla., ’32 Bantam, A/EA, 7.852, 151.65. 

SUPER STOCK
Mike Crutchfield, Montgomery, Ala., ’08 G5, SS/DM, 9.086, 145.78  def. Michael Bryant, New Orleans, La., ’15 Camaro, SS/FA, 9.687, 138.48. 

STOCK ELIMINATOR
Terry Taylor, Lumberton, N.C., ’72 Corvette, G/SA, 11.350, 100.25  def. Jeff Longhany, Wade, N.C., ’00 Corvette, B/SA, foul. 

SUPER COMP
Chris Childress, Spartanburg, S.C., ’00 Horton, 8.862, 172.89  def. Allan Ackles, Bradenton, Fla., ’08 Mullis, 8.851, 179.68. 

SUPER GAS
Sherman Adcock, Cataula, Ga., ’19 Corvette, 9.843, 169.06  def. David Griffith, Winter Garden, Fla., ’67 Camaro, foul. 

SUPER STREET
Kevin MacNicol, North Port, Fla., ’69 Firebird, 10.873, 132.97  def. Jacob Rutledge, Powder Springs, Ga., ’79 Capri, 10.868, 130.38. 

TOP SPORTSMAN
Bruce Thaxton, Butler, Ga., ’03 Mustang, 7.480, 181.20  def. Jackie Robison, Greer, S.C., ’66 Nova, 6.732, 200.44. 

TOP DRAGSTER
Kelsea Hinkle, Danville, Ky., ’11 Miller, 6.967, 184.67  def. George Ebel, Naples, Fla., ’19 Dragster, 7.228, 182.77. 

The following are Friday’s final qualifying results from the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, Southeast Division event at South Georgia Motorsports Park:

COMPETITION ELIMINATOR
1) Wes Leopold, Bethel Park, Pa., ’05 Stratus, A/SMA, 7.884 seconds, -0.586 (under index)
2) Steve Johnson, Spartanburg, S.C., ’85 Camaro, F/SM, 8.755, -0.545
3) Santo Volpe, Palm Bay, Fla., ’32 Bantam, A/EA, 7.349, -0.521
4) Monty Bogan, Boiling Springs, S.C., ’07 G5, E/SMA, 8.499, -0.471
5) Joel Warren, Clinton, N.C., ’08 G5, H/AA, 8.749, -0.451
6) Jared Kimbrough, Pace, Fla., ’09 Prostart, C/ED, 7.500, -0.410
7) John Frech, Cortland, Ohio, ’88 RED, F/D, 9.239, 0.679
8) David Eaton, Merritt Island, Fla., ’32 Bantam, A/AA, 11.815, 4.665

SUPER STOCK
1) John Fogle, Norway, S.C., ’05 Cavalier, GT/HA, 9.569 seconds, -0.931 (under index)
2) Jeff Adkinson, Damascus, Ga., ’13 Copo Camaro, FSS/F, 9.338, -0.862
3) Don Barber, Hohenwald, Tenn., ’96 Avenger, FGT/E, 9.171, -0.829
4) Stephen Johnson, Gadsden, Ala., ’67 Fairlane, SS/D, 9.383, -0.817
5) Marion Stephenson, Williamsport, Ind., ’06 Cobalt, GT/GA, 9.584, -0.816
6) Dennis Steward, Port Orange, Fla., ’90 Daytona, GT/KA, 10.101, -0.799
7) Richard Bierie, Acworth, Ga., ’22 Copo, FSS/B, 8.408, -0.792
8) Victor Cagnazzi, Mooresville, N.C., ’18 Copo, FSS/F, 9.413, -0.787
9) Ronnie Dutton, Southside, Ala., ’80 Monza, GT/QA, 10.973, -0.777
10) Robert Cameron, Porter, Texas, ’96 Firebird, SS/JA, 10.225, -0.775

STOCK ELIMINATOR
1) Jimmy Hidalgo, Donaldsonville, La., ’04 GTO, F/SA, 10.837 seconds, -1.013 (under index)
2) Mike McMahan, Punta Gorda, Fla., ’89 Corvette, G/SA, 10.997, -1.003
3) Marion Stephenson, Williamsport, Ind., ’15 Copo, FS/D, 9.625, -0.975
4) Kevin Loehle, Brightwaters, N.Y., ’15 Copo, FS/D, 9.635, -0.965
5) Anthony Bongiovanni, Hopatcong, N.J., ’10 CJ, FS/A, 8.757, -0.943
6) John Duzac, Covington, La., ’70 Camaro, D/S, 10.568, -0.932
7) James Schaechter, Cumming, Ga., ’65 Nova, H/S, 11.071, -0.929
8) Anthony Hughes, McDonough, Ga., ’66 Nova, K/SA, 11.769, -0.881
9) Victor Cagnazzi, Mooresville, N.C., ’23 Copo, FS/C, 9.438, -0.862
10) Jeff Strickland, Red Bay, Ala., ’23 Copo, FS/C, 9.473, -0.827

TOP SPORTSMAN
1) Douglas Crumlich, Douglasville, Ga., ’63 Corvette, 6.624 seconds, 210.41 mph
2) Jackie Robison, Greer, S.C., ’66 Nova, 6.718, 205.04
3) Bruce Duncan, Crawfordville, Fla., ’05 Colbart, 6.744, 207.69
4) Thomas Schmidt, Lakeland, Fla., ’10 GXP, 7.075, 197.68
5) John Gifford, Naples, Fla., ’10 Cobalt, 7.373, 184.83
6) Frank Altilio, Longwood, Fla., ’02 S 10, 7.455, 182.28
7) Bruce Thaxton, Butler, Ga., ’03 Mustang, 7.467, 181.59
8) Michael Scott, Lakeland, Fla., dragster, 7.469, 184.70
9) Kendall Barnes, Brunswick, Ga., ’05 Grand Am, 7.493, 183.67
10) Mark Roberts, Orange Lake, Fla., ’63 Corvette, 7.493, 179.71

TOP DRAGSTER
1) Robert May, Kinsey, Ala., ’24 Nelson Racecraft, 6.206 seconds, 224.47 mph
2) Jeff Strickland, Red Bay, Ala., ’14 American, 6.235, 222.84
3) Wayne Brooks, Monroe, Ga., ’19 Worthy, 6.290, 222.77
4) Matthew Buck, Lamtama, Fla., ’25 Miller, 6.325, 210.14
5) Casey Spradlin, Ranburne, Ala., dragster, 6.374, 222.69
6) John Platt, Cocoa, Fla., ’09 Tackash, 6.405, 209.75
7) Vance Houston, Newland, N.C., ’15 Race Tech, 6.542, 209.75
8) Steve Furr, Harrisburg, N.C., ’13 American, 6.597, 219.47
9) Darryl Childress, Spartanburg, S.C., ’25 Maddox, 6.644, 199.32
10) Tisha Wilson, Salisbury, N.C., ’25 Racetech, 6.696, 198.70

What’s Happening?

Rain showers have canceled qualifying for tonight’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway. Corey Heim will start on the provisional pole.

• The qualifying session for tonight’s race was originally scheduled for 4:10 PM EST. However, as 36 trucks showed for a 36-truck field, NASCAR opted to ditch qualifying so drivers could get in practice time.
• Without qualifying, per NASCAR rules, the field will be set by a metric valuing from 70% of the previous race finish and 30% of the owner points. Corey Heim and Kaden Honeycutt will line up on the first row, with Layne Riggs, Grant Enfinger, and Corey Day rounding out the top five.
• According to the National Weather Service, the chance of rain for the area is 17% at press time; however, this will dramatically drop to 1% by race time.
• Last year’s Craftsman Truck Series race at Nashville was won by Christian Eckes, who no longer competes in the series, meaning a repeat winner is unlikely. The green flag for tonight is scheduled for 7:00 PM EST. The race will air on TV on FS1 and the radio via the NASCAR Radio Network.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.