Cup Series Preview Sunday, May 31, 2026

Cracker Barrel 400

Nashville Superspeedway

Laps 300 Distance 399 mi Type intermediate Coverage Prime Video · 7:00 PM ET Stages 90 / 185 / 300

1.33

concrete

Surface

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Nashville Superspeedway returned to the Cup schedule in 2021 after a 10-year absence, and the 1.333-mile concrete oval in Lebanon, Tennessee has quickly become one of the more distinctive tracks on the tour. The progressive-banking design — 14 degrees in the turns, 9 degrees on the frontstretch — combined with the concrete racing surface creates a unique setup challenge: concrete grips differently from asphalt, tire wear patterns are harder to predict, and the abrasive surface chews through rubber across long runs. Kyle Busch's inaugural 2021 Nashville win set the tone, and Chase Elliott's 2022 victory demonstrated that road course specialists can translate their feel to this uncommon surface. The 300-lap Cracker Barrel 400 splits into three stages, and the Sunday night air often carries a cooler temperature than the afternoon practices, changing grip levels dramatically over the course of the race. With the Coca-Cola 600 running the weekend before, teams arrive in Nashville sleep-deprived and scrambling to adjust from Charlotte's asphalt to Nashville's concrete. The combination of concrete wear, progressive banking, and the June heat makes Nashville one of the most physically demanding mid-season stops on the 2026 schedule.

Pre-Race Race Day Post-Race

Band A · The Hook

Your watchlist, historical context, and race-week curiosities.

Your Drivers' Outlook

Historical Context

Tyler Reddick has 8 starts at Nashville Superspeedway with a 16.0 average finish.
Chase Elliott has 5 starts at Nashville Superspeedway with 1 win and a 15.4 average finish.
Denny Hamlin has 9 starts at Nashville Superspeedway with a 6.0 average finish.

Based on Cup Series results at Nashville Superspeedway from 1949-2026.

DID YOU KNOW?

Carl Edwards finishes in the top 10 at Nashville Superspeedway 82% of the time across 11 starts.

Carl Edwards's track record

LAST TIME HERE

The last Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway was the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400 (chaos score: 74.3).

Track history

Band B · The Story

The narrative arc, drivers to watch, and race-weekend color.

Band C · The Data

Schedule, predictions, entry list, track history, fantasy, and betting angles.

TV & Start Time

What channel is the Cracker Barrel 400 on?

The Cracker Barrel 400 airs on Prime Video on Sunday, May 31, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET, broadcast from Nashville Superspeedway. The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule splits between FOX, FS1, TNT, NBC, USA, and Amazon Prime Video.

What time does the NASCAR Cup race start today?

The Cracker Barrel 400 green flag is set for 7:00 PM ET on Sunday, May 31, 2026, airing on Prime Video. All NASCAR start times are listed in Eastern Time.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

#	Driver	Badge	Elo Rating	Starts	Wins	Last Finish
1	Denny Hamlin		1624	4	0	P3(2025)
2	Chase Elliott	Prev Winner	1617	5	1	P15(2025)
3	Tyler Reddick		1597	5	0	P9(2025)
4	Chris Buescher		1591	3	0	P14(2025)
5	Chase Briscoe		1579	4	0	P17(2025)
6	Brad Keselowski		1570	2	0	P23(2025)
7	William Byron		1561	5	0	P5(2025)
8	Ryan Preece		1544	3	0	P28(2025)
9	Bubba Wallace		1543	6	0	P6(2025)
10	Christopher Bell		1539	5	0	P10(2025)

NR-Rating: Elo-based rating from the NR-Rating prediction model. Higher = stronger at this track type. = Previous winner at this track

NR-Rating Predictions

Last updated: Wed, May 13, 2026, 07:50 AM ET

#	Driver	Tier	Exp. Finish	Win %	Top 5 %	Top 10 %
1	Tyler Reddick Best in Field	Favorite	6.2	18.2%	58.6%	76.5%
2	Chase Elliott	Favorite	7.8	17.8%	58.4%	76.5%
3	Denny Hamlin	Favorite	8.2	16.3%	55.9%	74.6%
4	Chris Buescher	Favorite	9.2	15.4%	54.1%	72.9%
5	Ryan Blaney	Favorite	9.2	12.7%	49.0%	69.0%
6	Ryan Preece	Favorite	10.1	10.9%	46.4%	67.2%
7	Christopher Bell	Contender	10.7	9.6%	43.6%	65.3%
8	William Byron	Contender	10.7	8.4%	40.3%	62.2%
9	Brad Keselowski	Contender	11.2	7.6%	38.0%	60.3%
10	Chase Briscoe	Contender	11.9	6.4%	35.5%	58.5%
11	Kyle Larson	Contender	12.7	5.2%	32.4%	56.7%
12	Bubba Wallace	Contender	12.7	5.1%	30.9%	55.5%
13	Carson Hocevar	Contender	13.1	4.3%	28.1%	53.2%
14	Ross Chastain	Contender	13.3	3.8%	25.9%	50.5%
15	Alex Bowman	Mid-Pack	13.5	3.3%	24.0%	49.5%
16	Daniel Suarez	Mid-Pack	14.0	3.1%	21.8%	47.6%
17	Ty Gibbs	Mid-Pack	14.5	3.0%	20.3%	45.4%
18	Joey Logano	Mid-Pack	14.7	2.7%	18.8%	43.9%
19	Austin Cindric	Mid-Pack	15.4	2.2%	16.9%	41.0%
20	Erik Jones	Mid-Pack	16.7	1.7%	13.5%	36.0%
21	Casey Mears	Mid-Pack	16.9	1.4%	12.6%	34.6%
22	Michael McDowell	Mid-Pack	17.0	1.2%	11.6%	32.5%
23	Kyle Busch	Mid-Pack	17.0	1.1%	10.9%	31.6%
24	Austin Dillon	Mid-Pack	17.1	0.9%	10.3%	30.3%
25	Shane van Gisbergen	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.7%	8.5%	27.2%
26	A.J. Allmendinger	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.5%	7.5%	25.0%
27	Zane Smith	Dark Horse	19.1	0.5%	6.5%	22.5%
28	John Hunter Nemechek	Dark Horse	19.1	0.5%	6.7%	22.9%
29	Todd Gilliland	Dark Horse	19.1	0.4%	5.8%	21.1%
30	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Dark Horse	19.9	0.3%	4.6%	18.5%
31	Josh Berry	Dark Horse	22.9	0.2%	2.1%	10.8%
32	Connor Zilisch	Dark Horse	22.9	0.1%	2.0%	11.2%
33	Cole Custer	Dark Horse	22.9	0.1%	1.9%	11.2%
34	Katherine Legge	Dark Horse	21.4	0.1%	2.4%	13.2%
35	Noah Gragson	Dark Horse	21.4	0.1%	2.3%	12.7%
36	Riley Herbst	Dark Horse	21.4	0.1%	2.5%	13.9%
37	Ty Dillon	Dark Horse	23.4	0.1%	1.5%	8.7%
38	B.J. McLeod	Dark Horse	24.8	0.0%	0.9%	6.7%
39	Cody Ware	Dark Horse	56.1	0.0%	0.1%	1.3%

Win probabilities reflect full-field Monte Carlo simulations. A 10% pWin means roughly 1-in-10 chance of winning — higher than most bettors realize for a 36-car field where the average driver has ~2.8% odds. Top 5 and Top 10 percentages similarly reflect simulated outcomes, not historical averages. Learn how the model works.

Predictions powered by NR-Rating model (MAE: 8.5 positions)

Prediction Scorecard

Go Bowling at The Glen: Model picked Chase Elliott at P1 → Actual P24

(1/5 top-5 hits)

38% top-5 hit rate across 11 races

History at Nashville Superspeedway

Cup Series data from 1949-2026 (5 races)

Recent Results

Year	Race	Winner	Margin	Team	Laps Led
2025	Cracker Barrel 400	Ryan Blaney	—	Team Penske	139
2024	Ally 400	Joey Logano	—	Team Penske	9
2023	Ally 400	Ross Chastain	—	Trackhouse Racing	99
2022	Ally 400	Chase Elliott	—	Hendrick Motorsports	42
2021	Ally 400	Kyle Larson	—	Hendrick Motorsports	264

All Results at This Track

2025 Blaney 2024 Logano 2023 Chastain 2022 Elliott 2021 Larson

Laps Led Leaders

Driver	Total Laps Led
Denny Hamlin	344
Kyle Larson	264
Ryan Blaney	166
Ross Chastain	148
Christopher Bell	134

Track Type Tendencies

intermediate

Intermediate tracks like Nashville Superspeedway reward the complete package — car setup, pit strategy, and driver consistency all factor in. These are the races where elite teams separate themselves.

Track position and tire management are critical, especially in long green-flag runs.