Cracker Barrel 400
Nashville Superspeedway — May 31, 2026
Denny Hamlin
Winner
300
Laps
31
Lead Changes
15
Leaders
Denny Hamlin won the 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2026, leading 57 of 300 laps. Christopher Bell finished second; Chase Briscoe rounded out the podium. The race had 31 lead changes among 15 different leaders.
Race Details
Date
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Track
Season
2026
Winner
Lead Changes
31
Leaders
15 drivers
| Pos | Start | +/- | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | — | Denny Hamlin |
| 2 | 4 | +2 | Christopher Bell |
| 3 | 31 | +28 | Chase Briscoe |
| 4 | 15 | +11 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 5 | 10 | +5 | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 6 | 2 | -4 | Tyler Reddick |
| 7 | 29 | +22 | Chase Elliott |
| 8 | 7 | -1 | Ryan Blaney |
| 9 | 11 | +2 | Zane Smith |
| 10 | 17 | +7 | Carson Hocevar |
| 11 | 13 | +2 | Erik Jones |
| 12 | 30 | +18 | Ty Dillon |
| 13 | 6 | -7 | Ty Gibbs |
| 14 | 9 | -5 | Joey Logano |
| 15 | 14 | -1 | Michael McDowell |
| 16 | 26 | +10 | Noah Gragson |
| 17 | 23 | +6 | Riley Herbst |
| 18 | 32 | +14 | Austin Dillon |
| 19 | 3 | -16 | Daniel Suarez |
| 20 | 21 | +1 | Todd Gilliland |
| 21 | 20 | -1 | Cole Custer |
| 22 | 34 | +12 | Cody Ware |
| 23 | 5 | -18 | Kyle Larson |
| 24 | 27 | +3 | John Hunter Nemechek |
| 25 | 24 | -1 | Corey Heim |
| 26 | 36 | +10 | Austin Cindric |
| 27 | 25 | -2 | Austin Hill |
| 28 | 37 | +9 | Chad Finchum |
| 29 | 22 | -7 | Chris Buescher |
| 30 | 8 | -22 | William Byron |
| 31 | 33 | +2 | Josh Berry |
| 32 | 18 | -14 | Bubba Wallace |
| 33 | 19 | -14 | Alex Bowman |
| 34 | 12 | -22 | Brad Keselowski |
| 35 | 16 | -19 | A.J. Allmendinger |
| 36 | 28 | -8 | Ryan Preece |
| 37 | 35 | -2 | Ross Chastain |
| 38 | 38 | — | Connor Zilisch |
Stage Results
| Driver | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 | Stage Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Suarez | — | 1 | — | 10 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 1 | — | — | 10 |
| Kyle Larson | 2 | — | — | 9 |
| Alex Bowman | — | 2 | — | 9 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | — | 3 | — | 8 |
| Ryan Blaney | 3 | — | — | 8 |
| William Byron | 7 | 7 | — | 8 |
| Chase Elliott | 4 | — | — | 7 |
| Austin Cindric | — | 4 | — | 7 |
| Denny Hamlin | — | 5 | — | 6 |
| Tyler Reddick | 5 | — | — | 6 |
| Chase Briscoe | 8 | 9 | — | 5 |
| Michael McDowell | — | 6 | — | 5 |
| Bubba Wallace | 6 | — | — | 5 |
| Christopher Bell | — | 8 | — | 3 |
| Riley Herbst | 9 | — | — | 2 |
| Brad Keselowski | — | 10 | — | 1 |
| Shane van Gisbergen | — | — | — | — |
| Zane Smith | — | — | — | — |
| Carson Hocevar | — | — | — | — |
| Erik Jones | — | — | — | — |
| Ty Dillon | — | — | — | — |
| Ty Gibbs | — | — | — | — |
| Joey Logano | — | — | — | — |
| Noah Gragson | — | — | — | — |
| Austin Dillon | — | — | — | — |
| Todd Gilliland | — | — | — | — |
| Cole Custer | — | — | — | — |
| Cody Ware | — | — | — | — |
| John Hunter Nemechek | — | — | — | — |
| Corey Heim | 10 | — | — | — |
| Austin Hill | — | — | — | — |
| Chad Finchum | — | — | — | — |
| Chris Buescher | — | — | — | — |
| Josh Berry | — | — | — | — |
| Ryan Preece | — | — | — | — |
| Ross Chastain | — | — | — | — |
| Connor Zilisch | — | — | — | — |
Model Performance
How well did the NR-Rating model predict this race? Across 38 matched drivers, the model averaged 9.8 positions off — worse than the season average of 8.5. Below Average
| Pos | Driver | Predicted | Actual | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 8.2 | 1 | +7.2 |
| 2 | Christopher Bell | 10.7 | 2 | +8.7 |
| 3 | Chase Briscoe | 11.9 | 3 | +8.9 |
| 4 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 19.9 | 4 | +15.9 |
| 5 | Shane van Gisbergen | 18.3 | 5 | +13.3 |
| 6 | Tyler Reddick | 6.2 | 6 | +0.2 |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | 7.8 | 7 | +0.8 |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney | 9.2 | 8 | +1.2 |
| 9 | Zane Smith | 19.1 | 9 | +10.1 |
| 10 | Carson Hocevar | 13.1 | 10 | +3.1 |
| 11 | Erik Jones | 16.7 | 11 | +5.7 |
| 12 | Ty Dillon | 23.4 | 12 | +11.4 |
| 13 | Ty Gibbs | 14.5 | 13 | +1.5 |
| 14 | Joey Logano | 14.7 | 14 | +0.7 |
| 15 | Michael McDowell | 17.0 | 15 | +2.0 |
| 16 | Noah Gragson | 21.4 | 16 | +5.4 |
| 17 | Riley Herbst | 21.4 | 17 | +4.4 |
| 18 | Austin Dillon | 17.1 | 18 | -0.9 |
| 19 | Daniel Suarez | 14.0 | 19 | -5.0 |
| 20 | Todd Gilliland | 19.1 | 20 | -0.9 |
(showing top 20 finishers)
Predicted finish from NR-Rating model. Delta = predicted − actual (positive = driver beat prediction). Confidence: High Confidence = low variance (stdDev ≤ 9), Moderate = medium variance, Coinflip = high variance.
Historical Context
- Denny Hamlin: has 10 career starts at Nashville Superspeedway with a 5.5 avg finish (1 win) — the model may have underweighted this track history.
- Tyler Reddick: was the model’s top pick based on 9 career starts at Nashville Superspeedway with a 14.9 avg finish, finishing P6 on the day.
- Cody Ware: was the biggest surprise, finishing P22 vs predicted P56. Track history: 3 starts, 29.7 avg finish.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the 2026 Cracker Barrel 400?
Denny Hamlin won the 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Where was the 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 held?
The 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 was held at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2026.