Though expectations for last week were low heading into New Hampshire, NASCAR managed to deliver some excitement once again. Mother nature helped out with a bit of rain and we witnessed some wild five-wide action at the Magic Mile – something that I never thought I’d see. Ultimately, Christopher Bell had the dominant car of the day and powered to victory. He hopes to carry that momentum on to Nashville Superspeedway for the 2024 Ally 400.
The push for the NASCAR playoffs is beginning to truly heat up as we get into the depths of summer. Will a new winner emerge from the pack or can one of the teams already locked in start truly building momentum towards the postseason?
2024 Ally 400 Entry List
The entry list for Nashville Superspeedway includes a couple of fresh names for Sunday’s race. AJ Allmendinger gets behind the wheel of the #16 for Kaulig Racing once again after Ty Dillon piloted the car last week. Chad Finchum makes his first start in the Cup Series this season as he’ll drive the #66 Power Source machine.
Of the changes on the entry list for this week, the most intriguing to me is exciting prospect Corey Heim manning the #50 car in a third entry for 23XI Racing. Heim previously subbed for the injured Erik Jones and I’m excited to see what he can do in better equipment. I think the young driver out of Georgia possesses an incredibly bright future in the sport.
WE. GOT. NEXT.
— Nashville Superspeedway (@NashvilleSuperS) June 24, 2024
Lock in your tickets TODAY as NASCAR takes on Music City once again for the #Ally400! 🎸
🎟️: https://t.co/0ydivTMrRn pic.twitter.com/xXWxmbd7IW
Nashville Superspeedway represents another unique circuit for this NASCAR schedule. The 1.330-mile tri-oval is another concrete surface like Dover but the tracks are quite different. Instead of the high-banked corners of Dover, Nashville’s turns possess only a modest 14-degree banking. However, like Dover, you’d expect tire wear to be more of a factor given the abrasive surface. I’m a bit hesitant to talk about tire wear given it hasn’t been as much of an obstacle for the NextGen cars outside of Bristol earlier this year but one thing that will likely make a difference is the heat of Sunday’s race at Nashville. Sunday’s forecast for the area has air temperatures at 90+ and we have seen overheating cause tire failure more than wear – something to keep an eye on Sunday.
2024 Ally 400 Race Odds and Predictions
Since the NASCAR Cup Series made its debut at Nashville Superspeedway back in 2021, no driver has repeated as winner at the concrete tri-oval. However, Chevrolet has won each of the three races with Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain all making trips to Victory Lane. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that Kyle Larson comes in as the favorite at +400. Chastain (+750) and Elliott (+800) come in as the next two favorites among the Chevy camp.
Chase Elliott at Nashville Superspeedway 2022.🎸#NASCAR @NashvilleSuperS pic.twitter.com/gcwRKMfVE1
— NASCAR Pics That Goes Hard (@HardNASCARPics) June 27, 2024
The Gibbs Toyotas also occupy some of the best odds to win the race on Sunday with Denny Hamlin coming in at +550 and Martin Truex Jr. and Christopher Bell both coming in at +750. MTJ and Hamlin both finished in the top three last year behind Chastain.
Though Chevy has dominated Nashville to this point, it feels like Toyota is due for a race win at Nashville. I think Denny Hamlin will get it done here this year and claim victory in the 2024 Ally 400. Elsewhere in the field, in spite of his horrendous recent run in the #8 car, I’m expecting Kyle Busch to run a bit better this Sunday in Tennessee. You can get Busch at +220 to finish in the top ten – a decent value pick all things considered. That team desperately needs a good run to turn things around and after internal changes at Richard Childress Racing, we might see a bit of a performance bump this weekend.
Check the schedule below to make sure you don’t miss any on-track action!
Friday 06/28
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying – 4:00 p.m. CT on FS2
Rackley Roofing 200 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) – 7:00 p.m. CT on FS2
Saturday 06/29
NASCAR Xfinity Series Qualifying – 11:30 a.m. CT on USA
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 1:50 p.m. CT on USA
Tennessee Lottery 250 (NASCAR Xfinity Series) – 4:00 p.m. CT on USA
Sunday 06/30
Ally 400 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 2:30 p.m. CT on USA
Stay locked into Apollo for more NASCAR and F1 Coverage throughout the racing season! Follow @CoachJayArnold and @ApolloHOU on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest and check out our newly minted Instagram – Apollo NASCAR!
As a bit of a postscript – I also wanted to remind you to check out both Xfinity and Truck Series action this weekend. The Xfinity Series features some of the best racing anywhere in the motorsports world and retired driver and current FOX NASCAR commentator Clint Bowyer will hop behind the steering wheel of a truck this weekend.
