NASCAR race at Nashville results: Ross Chastain wins

Will Chase Elliott replicate last year’s win at Nashville today? Will Ross Chastain get that elusive first win of 2023? Or will Martin Truex Jr. continue on his victorious war path?

Charlotte Observer NASCAR reporter Alex Zietlow will chip away at answering these questions throughout Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. See the section below for live updates. Refresh this page as needed. All times are Eastern.

Unofficial results from Nashville

Live updates: Ally 400

Stage 3

Lap 300: Ross Chastain! The 1 car finds his first win of 2023 after notching his first career Cup Series pole this weekend. He led a race-best 99 laps. Big weekend for TrackHouse Racing. Let the watermelon spiking begin!

Lap 283: Martin Truex Jr. saying he has no tires left. Ross Chastain extending his lead over the field. Denny Hamlin, in P3, is running four seconds behind that 1 car. If this stays green, the Cup Series will see its 11th winner of the season.

Lap 240: Green flag pit stops are incoming! Kevin Harvick led everyone off because of a right-front tire issue, and everyone else follows. We have 59 laps to go. If we’re green the rest of the way, this will be the last expected pit stop.

Lap 233: Ross Chastain is super quick right now. Passed Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. in the last handful of laps and is now extending his lead over the field to nearly a full second. Pit stops incoming soon. How will the rest of the field to adjust?

Lap 217: Checking in. Here’s the Top 10: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Ty Gibbs, Erik Jones. All four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers are in the Top 10 — and JGR occupies the top two slots, too.

Lap 192: Bubba Wallace had a 14-second pit stop, dropping him from P6 to P16. But outside of that, the caution pit stop results were predictable. And ... we’re back to green!

Stage 2

Lap 185: Denny Hamlin cruises to a Stage 2 win. That 11 car has been rising up the field all day after starting P8. Others earning stage points for the Stage 2 finish (in order): Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Erik Jones. (Great day shaping up for Legacy Motor Club!)

Lap 154: Allllright! We’re green again and have another insane (but clean) restart. Top 10: Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson ... and Erik Jones (?!).

Lap 149: Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch go spinning entering Turn 1 on the restart. Physical restart — just like in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. Blaney sustains major damage thanks to a head-on collision with the inside retaining wall. That’s now three cautions for 18 total laps.

Take a look at that hit here:

Lap 137: Another cycle of green-flag pit stops was occurring... when Tyler Reddick spins out! Caution. The 45 got only got one lap under his belt post-pit stop when he got loose and subsequently lost a tire. That’s our first caution-for-cause today. Reddick had led 33 laps before that incident; it’ll take some time for him to climb back into contention.

Lap 100: We got three-wide in the lead through the first few laps of Stage 2. Martin Truex Jr. ends up clearing William Byron and Ross Chastain to take his first lead of today’s race. With the sun setting and the cement cooling down, you’ll see some cars going really wide. Top 5: Truex, Byron, Chastain, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher.

Take a look at those fun first few laps of Stage 2:

Lap 92: Cars file down pit road during the stage caution, and William Byron’s 24 team proves what it has proven all year — that it’s good. Byron moves up two spots and will lead to start Stage 2. Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick right behind him. Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are each called for speeding on pit road. Stage 2 restart incoming!

Stage 1

Lap 90: Tyler Reddick takes the Stage 1 win. Others taking stage points (in order): Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and AJ Allmendinger. All Chevys (6) and Toyotas (4) in the Top 10. No Fords. The highest Ford is Chris Buescher in 11th, with Ryan Blaney (P13) and Joey Logano (P14) closely behind him.

Lap 62: We have our first new leader of the race. And that’s Tyler Reddick. The 45 car passed Ross Chastain while they both were trying to lap Noah Gragson on the front stretch. That Gragson-Chastain moment just now definitely prompts some memories of Kansas — when the two got into a fight after the race.

Lap 51: Alright, with the first wave of green-flag pit stops have cycled through, here’s a look at the Top 10 right now: Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch (thanks to unplanned early pit stop), Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher. Of note: Michael McDowell had to serve a pass-through penalty after failing to file down pit road by the “commit” line.

Lap 21: Kyle Busch filed down pit road early because he had a flat right-front tire. The team decided to take four new fresh ones. Running last, but it’s still early for the 8 car.

Lap 10: Ross Chastain and Tyler Reddick holding off the field. But wow: talk about some fun racing early. Cars trying all three grooves on Nashville’s slick concrete surface — the lower line, upper line and middle — running three- and four-wide at times. You’ll see cars getting out wide today. Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., William Byron and Justin Haley over two seconds behind the two leaders.

Green flag, 7:05 p.m.: The Ally 400 is underway!

7:04 p.m.: Engines are fired and cars are laying down some warm-up laps before the green flag waves. We’re going racing soon!

6:28 p.m.: The weather forecast in Nashville says that there’s a small chance of rain (10-20%) throughout the day, with a 40% chance starting at 10 p.m. CT — or 11 p.m. ET. The average time of this race is 3 hours and 32 minutes, per NASCAR communications, meaning that barring a super long race, we should be OK.

Here’s an insightful look at the forecast:

6:17 p.m.: Some administrative notes: The race will be broadcast on NBC for the first time this year after FOX took the first bulk of races to begin the season. That means fan favorites Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are in the booth. The green flag is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET, per NASCAR communications, with the command coming at 6:55 and the invocation/national anthem coming right before that.

6:05 p.m.: Ross Chastain notched his first pole win of his career — and delivered TrackHouse Racing its first Cup pole win — in qualifying on Saturday. The 30-year-old Floridian has had a solid season to date and is positioned to make the playoffs on points, but a win Sunday would put any of those worries to rest. Tyler Reddick will set up beside him on the front row, and Justin Haley (P3) and Joey Logano (P4) will file right behind them.

How to watch NASCAR race at Nashville

• Race: Ally 400
• Place: Nashville Superspeedway
• Date: Sunday, June 25
• Time: 7 p.m.
• Purse: $8,516,134
• TV: NBC, 7 p.m.
• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 399 miles (300 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 90), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 300)

Starting lineup at Nashville Superspedway

This story was originally published June 25, 2023 at 6:11 PM.

Alex Zietlow

The Charlotte Observer

Alex Zietlow writes about the Carolina Panthers and the ways in which sports intersect with life for The Charlotte Observer, where he has been a reporter since August 2022. Zietlow’s work has been honored by the Pro Football Writers Association, the N.C. and S.C. Press Associations, as well as the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) group. He’s earned six APSE Top 10 distinctions for his coverage on a variety of topics, from billion-dollar stadium renovations to the small moments of triumph that helped a Panthers kicker defy the steepest odds in sports. Zietlow previously wrote for The Herald in Rock Hill (S.C.) from 2019-22. Support my work with a digital subscription