INDYCAR

Dennis Hauger is eyeing his third pole in five INDY NXT by Firestone starts this season after leading the pre-qualifying practice Saturday morning for the Detroit Grand Prix.

Series points leader Hauger picked up the pace after leading the opening practice Friday, improving to a best lap of 1 minute, 5.8808 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group fielded by Andretti Global. Hauger led Friday at 1:06.8158.

SEE: Practice Results

Hauger, from Norway, won the pole for the first two races of the season in the INDYCAR development series, in early March on the streets of St. Petersburg and in early May at Barber Motorsports Park.

Up next is qualifying at 11:30 a.m. ET today (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The 45-lap race starts at 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

The top three drivers on Friday’s practice time sheets stayed in those positions during the 45-minute session under overcast skies and air temperatures in the low 50s Saturday.

2024 series Rookie of the Year Caio Collet stayed second Saturday, also improving to 1:06.0388 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports machine. Max Taylor, 17, remained in third with his best lap of 1:06.3061 in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car.

Lochie Hughes, 15 points behind fellow rookie teammate Hauger in second in the standings, was fourth at 1:06.3755 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car of Andretti Global. Veteran Salvador de Alba rounded out the top five at 1:06.6154 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine as Andretti Global seized three of the top five spots in the practice order.

There were two incidents with contact that unfurled red flags and another potentially costly crash as the checkered flag flew.

Tommy Smith nosed into the concrete barrier in the No. 16 HMD Motorsports car after rear contact from the No. 40 Abel/Vinatieri/Miller Motorsports car of Jack William Miller three minutes into the session. Smith’s car suffered minor nose damage, and Miller was held for 10 minutes in the pits as a penalty for avoidable contact.

Jordan Missig spun in an unsighted section of the track 40 minutes into the session in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car, triggering the second red flag.

Just one short straightaway from the checkered flag to end the session, Ricardo Escotto hit the barrier hard in the No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot car fielded by Andretti-Cape Motorsport, inflicting heavy damage to the right front. The crew has only about two hours, 30 minutes to repair the car before qualifying.

Escotto was sixth quickest overall in the session before the crash.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ annual trip to Nashville Superspeedway is earlier this year than it has been in years past, with the Cracker Barrel 400 scheduled to take place this Sunday afternoon to kick off the month of June.

There are 39 cars on the entry list for this 300-lap race around the four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.146-kilometer) Lebanon, Tennessee oval, which has been on the schedule since 2021.

Last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 saw a full entry list of 40 cars at Charlotte Motor Speedway, making the crown jewel event the first race with a full field since the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway back in February.

But it’s not as simple as one car simply being dropped from one week to the next. In total, five changes have been made to the Cup Series driver lineup since the Coca-Cola 600.

5 driver lineup changes made at Nashville

Two cars that ran at Charlotte, the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota and the No. 87 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, will not run at Nashville. Jimmie Johnson drove the No. 84 Toyota at Charlotte while Connor Zilisch drove the No. 87 Chevrolet.

Two other cars that ran at Charlotte are set to have new drivers at Nashville. Both are non-chartered (open) cars, as the 36 chartered entries are all set to be driven by their usual drivers.

After Derek Kraus made his first start of the year behind the wheel of the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet at Charlotte, J.J. Yeley is set to get back behind the wheel at Nashville.

Additionally, Chad Finchum is set to get back behind the wheel of the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford at Nashville after Josh Bilicki drove it at Charlotte.

The only other change is the addition of the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota, which is set to be driven by development driver Corey Heim after Heim made his season debut at Kansas Speedway earlier this month and actually scored the team’s best finish.

Dennis Hauger is eyeing his third pole in five INDY NXT by Firestone starts this season after leading the pre-qualifying practice Saturday morning for the Detroit Grand Prix.

Series points leader Hauger picked up the pace after leading the opening practice Friday, improving to a best lap of 1 minute, 5.8808 seconds in the No. 28 Rental Group fielded by Andretti Global. Hauger led Friday at 1:06.8158.

SEE: Practice Results

Hauger, from Norway, won the pole for the first two races of the season in the INDYCAR development series, in early March on the streets of St. Petersburg and in early May at Barber Motorsports Park.

Up next is qualifying at 11:30 a.m. ET today (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). The 45-lap race starts at 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday (FS1, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

The top three drivers on Friday’s practice time sheets stayed in those positions during the 45-minute session under overcast skies and air temperatures in the low 50s Saturday.

2024 series Rookie of the Year Caio Collet stayed second Saturday, also improving to 1:06.0388 in the No. 76 HMD Motorsports machine. Max Taylor, 17, remained in third with his best lap of 1:06.3061 in the No. 18 HMD Motorsports car.

Lochie Hughes, 15 points behind fellow rookie teammate Hauger in second in the standings, was fourth at 1:06.3755 in the No. 26 McGinley Clinic/USF Pro Championship car of Andretti Global. Veteran Salvador de Alba rounded out the top five at 1:06.6154 in the No. 27 Grupo Indi machine as Andretti Global seized three of the top five spots in the practice order.

There were two incidents with contact that unfurled red flags and another potentially costly crash as the checkered flag flew.

Tommy Smith nosed into the concrete barrier in the No. 16 HMD Motorsports car after rear contact from the No. 40 Abel/Vinatieri/Miller Motorsports car of Jack William Miller three minutes into the session. Smith’s car suffered minor nose damage, and Miller was held for 10 minutes in the pits as a penalty for avoidable contact.

Jordan Missig spun in an unsighted section of the track 40 minutes into the session in the No. 48 Abel Motorsports car, triggering the second red flag.

Just one short straightaway from the checkered flag to end the session, Ricardo Escotto hit the barrier hard in the No. 3 Frank’s Red Hot car fielded by Andretti-Cape Motorsport, inflicting heavy damage to the right front. The crew has only about two hours, 30 minutes to repair the car before qualifying.

Escotto was sixth quickest overall in the session before the crash.

It’s race day in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with the Tennessee Lottery 250 set to take place today (Saturday, May 31, 2025) at Nashville Superspeedway.

As the name of the race suggests, Xfinity Series action will be 250 miles long this weekend, with that distance set to see the drivers complete 188 laps around the 1.3-mile oval.

Last time out at Charlotte, Cup Series star William Byron was the man to take the victory, overcoming a speeding penalty early in the race and eventually taking the lead in overtime at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It will certainly be interesting to see who comes out on top this time around, and there is once again Cup Series interest in the field, with Ross Chastain taking part fresh off the back of his Coca-Cola 600 victory, also at Charlotte.

In terms of the Xfinity Series standings, last weekend’s action did not see too much of a shakeup, with Justin Allgaier continuing to lead the way by a very healthy margin.

Heading to Nashville, the driver of the No. 7 Chevy has a 72-point advantage over Austin Hill in second, whilst his lead over Sam Mayer in third is 93 points.

With all that said, let’s get into the details you need to know ahead of today’s action, including how you can watch it unfold live!

READ MORE: NASCAR Qualifying Today: Nashville start times, schedule and how to watch live on TV

NASCAR Xfinity Series Nashville race start times

Saturday’s 188-lap NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, also known as the Tennessee Lottery 250, starts today (May 31, 2025) at 7:30 pm (ET).

You can find the race start time converted to your local city and time zone below.

READ MORE: NASCAR boss confirms veteran Cup Series star will race in 2026

How to watch NASCAR Xfinity Series on TV

In 2025, every single Xfinity Series race is set to be shown live on TV in the United States on The CW. The CW App will also stream live in-car cameras during races. As per NASCAR, streaming replays will also be available to watch on the CW app the next day.

Therefore, today’s Xfinity Series action from Nashville Superspeedway is available to watch on The CW.

Radio coverage of today’s Xfinity Series race is also set to broadcast on PRN and Sirius XM.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series team hit with DOUBLE penalty ahead of Nashville

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Now that Acura Meyer Shank Racing’s Nick Yelloly broke one long IMSA streak by taking the pole position in Detroit on Friday, he’s looking to end another on Saturday.

“Yes,” the Englishman said confidently when asked about the possibility of ending Porsche Penske Motorsport’s unbeaten run in 2025 after snapping a run of four straight poles for BMW and driver Dries Vanthoor.

Meyer Shank’s hotshoe said he was a big fan of street circuits leading into this weekend’s race around the Detroit Renaissance Center, but now the affinity is “a bit more” after getting his first career IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position.

“It’s the best place to start, definitely, on any street circuit,” Yelloly said. “Having been on pole, actually, at a few street circuits, it usually makes your life quite a bit easier. I obviously know this circuit from last year already, and we were pretty fast last year already as a combination (with BMW M Team RLL). I felt very good in the race last year, but now, back with Acura and Meyer Shank, I’m super happy to get my first pole in IMSA.”

The pole run was the first for Meyer Shank Racing since the 2023 round at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, the first since the team returned from its 2024 sabbatical, and the first for the new #93 team, which is engineered by Honda Racing Corporation US.

With MSR’s No. 60 ARX-06 of Tom Blomqvist and Colin Braun qualifying second, it makes for an all-Acura front row – the first time the Shank team had locked out an overall front row in IMSA since the 2008 Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Yelloly and van der Zande have been together for some time, making this pole that much sweeter. Jake Galstad/IMSA

“We’ve been working so hard to make sure we get everything right,” Yelloly says of the No. 93 squad. “Chipping away, week after week. I mean, the program is so new; we all got together in November only last year, and I think we go from strength to strength every weekend, and we’re just getting better and better. It’s a sign of things to come.

“I think it’s an amazing achievement. Obviously, [HRC has] been in motorsport beforehand, but never actually ran a car specifically that is theirs and controlled by them. We share everything across both cars, and we work together as a two-car team. I’m super happy for all the guys and girls over on the HRC side and the Meyer Shank side. They’ve been working their little tails off for a long time, with some results that really haven’t gone our way.

“Now, to give them our, let’s say, first little high point is very, very nice,” he affirmed.

To defeat his former team in qualifying, Yelloly grabbed provisional pole and continued to improve, lap after lap, all the way to the end of the 15-minute GTP qualifying session. He also had the usual close calls with the barriers that comes with the territory of street circuits, and was disrupted slightly by Aston Martin’s Roman de Angelis going off an escape road and reversing back onto the course.

“I knew I’d done a relatively good lap already,” Yelloly recalled, “I can’t remember if it was the Aston or a BMW that went long in turn one. We did a cool-down lap and I knew I had two laps to go at the end. … I put it all on the line and rubbed the wall a few times, but it was just enough to get that pole. it’s great to have the one-two. Tom’s a great driver, and when we qualify, we’re usually very close. This time, it was my time, but I’m glad to be sharing the front row with him.”

Meyer Shank Racing’s pole at the course formerly known as Mosport two years ago was also the last time in GTP that the pole-winning car went on to win the race. Even last year, Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque started fourth on their way to a win.

At Detroit, a course where on-track overtaking is expected to come at a premium unless drivers are ready to take big risks, pit strategy could be as one-dimensional as it was in the series’ last street race in Long Beach.

“I would say it depends on where you are after the time where you can fuel,” Yelloly pondered. “If there’s a yellow at the wrong time and you want to put on some tires and maybe rush through, there is a possibility to do so, but I think it’s going to be quite important to try and get a bit of a gap, whether that’s with the traffic or just on pace, and make sure you nail the driver change and then see from there.

“The people starting further back will maybe roll the dice more than the people at the front, with track position at such a premium.”

Depending on what risks Porsche is willing to take from the third row of the grid, they can’t be counted out, but at the moment, Acura Meyer Shank Racing is best-positioned to put a new manufacturer in the win column before Le Mans.

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series hits Nashville Superspeedway today (Saturday, May 31) for qualifying ahead of the Cracker Barrel 400.

This weekend’s event marks just the fifth time that the Cup Series has raced at the track in Tennessee, and last year, it was Denny Hamlin who came out on top in qualifying for Joe Gibbs Racing.

That day last June, Hamlin edged the likes of Christopher Bell and Josh Berry for pole, although in the end, the race itself went on to be won by Joey Logano in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

Of course, this weekend’s race comes right after the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte last weekend, with an exciting finish on display when Ross Chastain snatched the lead from William Byron with six laps to go on Sunday night and never looked back.

Despite losing out on last weekend’s win, his dominance at the track and the fact that he swept all three stages in the race mean Byron tops the Cup Series standings heading into the weekend.

Kyle Larson sits second, meanwhile, with Bell, Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick rounding out the current top five.

With that said, let’s get into all of the details you need to know ahead of today’s qualifying action!

READ MORE: NASCAR boss confirms veteran Cup Series star will race in 2026

NASCAR Cup Series Nashville qualifying start times

The all-important qualifying session from Nashville Superspeedway kicks off on Saturday, May 31, at 5:40 pm ET.

Here are the start times converted to your local city and time zone.

Cup Series practice from Nashville Superspeedway takes place directly before qualifying at 4:30 pm ET.

How to watch NASCAR qualifying live on TV

Qualifying action from Nashville Superspeedway today will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series is set to be broadcast across several broadcast partners in the United States: FOX, Prime Video, TNT Sports, and NBC.

Broadcast details vary depending on your location. Please check below to see how you can catch the action in your country.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series team hit with DOUBLE penalty ahead of Nashville

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