Christopher Bell leads practice as rain forces cancellation of Nashville qualifying
It was a wild afternoon at Nashville Superspeedway, where intermittent rain showers eventually forced NASCAR to pull the plug on the Busch Light Pole Qualifying session. Because the skies didn't cooperate, the rule book took over, and it's Denny Hamlin from Joe Gibbs Racing who inherits the pole position for Sunday night's Cracker Barrel 400. Tyler Reddick, the championship points leader for 23XI Racing, will join him on the front row.
Before the rain truly took hold, Christopher Bell was the man to beat. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver topped the 45-minute practice session, pushing his machine to a fast lap of 160.660 mph. It is a massive weekend for Toyota, as they hunt for their first-ever Cup Series win at this 1.33-mile concrete track. Bell, for one, didn't seem too bothered by the missed opportunity to qualify: "Well, it’s good for me today, because I have a good metric, so I’m OK with that."
Behind Bell, the times were tight. 2023 Nashville winner Ross Chastain clocked in at 160.542 mph, followed by Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and Reddick. While Bell took the headline speed, Chastain showed real grit in the long-run simulations, topping the 15-, 20-, and 25-consecutive lap averages. With the grid locked in, we are left to see if this advantage in practice will actually turn into a result under the lights.
