The NASCAR Cup Series rolled into Nashville Superspeedway this past weekend for the Cracker Barrel 400, a race that delivered more strategy than chaos, more grit than glamor. With 18 lead changes among 9 drivers and multiple long green flag runs, it was a relatively clean event compared to last year’s edition, which had five overtimes. This felt like a good race. Ryan Blaney ultimately emerged victorious, executing a near-flawless fuel strategy to hold off contenders like Denny Hamlin and William Byron in the closing laps. Finally, after a streak of DNFs and engine mishaps, the Penske driver punched his ticket to the playoffs. It was the call early in the race when the #12 car stayed out and pitted only for two tires, a strategy that worked out for them in the long run.
The concrete surface had a few patches of racing that had the fans on their feet. The three-way battle between Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Willian Byron in Stage 2 perhaps has to be the big highlight of the race. Three top-tier drivers representing their manufacturers, and it was as good as racing could be. Even here, Blaney had his way, as he would create a gap on his rivals and would seal the deal in the long run. If we are to exclude the yellow fever that saw Christopher Bell being wrecked out by Erik Jones and Ricky Stenhouse sent into the wall by Carson Hocevar, the race was relatively clean.
Not the barn-burner that fans have been expecting after good displays at North Wilkesboro and Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it wasn’t bad like the short-ovals. And this sentiment came to light when Jeff Gluck released the results of his weekly poll: “Was Nashville a good race?” A total of 67.2% felt it was a good race, but 32.8% of fans didn’t like the overall racing experience at the 1.3-mile concrete track.
Was Nashville a good race?
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) June 2, 2025
Ryan Blaney overcoming his setbacks to grab a win was a huge story. Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar’s continuing growth trajectory alongside Hamlin’s consistent run led to a good show. The grandstands were packed, and when the lights came on, a lot of drivers Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell, were able to salvage their race. All in all, it was a decent race, but for a set of fans, this wasn’t up to the standards. “For the people who clicked yes, could you please explain to me what it would take to click no?”
Yet, this wasn’t the popular opinion online. Given how decent races are few and far, especially with the Next Gen car, fans didn’t appreciate the negativity towards the Nashville race, and pushed back on the naysayers in the comments section.
NASCAR fans rally against the negativity that was aimed at the Nashville race
One fan summed it up perfectly, saying, “It was good racing from 2nd place back. Whoever had the lead seemed to stay there for a while. Overall good race though.” Their point? Clean air was everything. Once Ryan Blaney established his position up front, the likes of Hamlin and Hocevar couldn’t reach his back bumper. Even though both of them decided to pit after the #12 in the race. Yeah, execution did play a huge role in deciding the race winner, but it wasn’t bad or boring, like the Talladega race where drivers go half-throttle to save fuel.
Another fan brought attention to how drastically opinions varied, especially compared to their own expectations. “I am shocked at the amount of no’s. Completely, purist in me I guess,” the fan admitted. This has to do with the gripe against the stage racing and the Next Gen car. The idea of parity racing hasn’t gone down well with a lot of traditional fans. And making things worse is the reduced horsepower and dependency on the aerodynamics of the car to make any significant gains on the racetrack.
Several others pointed out how the race changed dynamically throughout the evening. While the first half may have felt flat, the shifting momentum and resulting car behavior brought a new level of excitement as the sun went down. One fan captured that shift appropriately in their comment, “First part of the race was awful, but once the sun went down, cars starting slipping around and you could actually pass. Not a great race, but not a bad one.” Hocevar wasn’t in contention to win, but with 53 laps remaining in the race, he navigated his way through the traffic and cut down the 8-second lead that Blaney had. Eventually, the difference between the two drivers was cut down to just 2.5 laps.
Perhaps the most passionate defence came from a fan who criticized the “dirty air” complainers, arguing that this phenomenon isn’t exclusive to NASCAR, but it is inherent in virtually every major motorsport series. “Most of the people commenting that voted no because of clean and dirty air don’t know jack sh– about racing, that is every form of motor sport and it was the same for Xfinity and trucks this weekend. It’s a good race,” the fan wrote. Justin Allgaier notched up the win in a similar fashion, fending off Connor Zilisch, who admitted that he couldn’t get past his teammate despite having similar setups. For context, Xfinity cars are considered better than the Cup car as they provide better opportunities for the driver chasing down the leaders.
And then, there was the simple, unapologetic joy of just being a racing fan. Not every viewer watches for leaderboard shakeups or chaotic wrecks; for some, the experience itself is the reward. “I enjoyed myself, but in my defense there will never be a bad race to me…Cold beer and fast cars driving circles!” wrote the fan, and, indeed, NASCAR is meant to be enjoyed, be it behind the fence or on the TV, the experience is the same when brought to you by Amazon Prime and FOX.
For fans like these, racing is about atmosphere, tradition, and appreciating the sport in all its forms, and from that perspective, Nashville wasn’t really a disappointing one for all.
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