Written by Sean McKean, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Starting from pole position, Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain took victory at Nashville in dominant fashion. It is also his first win of the year, and third of his career.
Stage 1
Ross Chastain would lead the field to the green flag, and it wouldn’t take long for drama to unfold. On lap 20, RCR’s Kyle Busch would have to pit to replace a flat tyre, sending him to the back of the field early on.
The rest of the stage would go on clean, though, with Tyler Reddick taking the green and white checkered flag first, with Ross Chastain and William Byron following suit in the top three.
Stage 2
With little happening as for chaos in the second stage at first, pit cycles began as expected on lap 135. However, on lap 139, 23XI’s Tyler Reddick would have a spin at turn four, bringing out the first caution of the day. It was evident the spin was as a result of a loosely attached wheel.
The ensuing restart on lap 147 would bring out yet another yellow. Reacting to a stack-up in front of him, Penske’s Ryan Blaney slowed down but was rear-ended by Kyle Busch. Blaney would hit the concrete wall on the inside of the track, a wall he dubbed as ‘ridiculous’ for not being a SAFER barrier. Thankfully, everyone involved was okay.
The stage finished a lot more cleanly, as Denny Hamlin headed the pack to his fourth stage win of the season, with Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain following close behind.
Final Stage
As the sun began to go down, the green flag dropped on the final stage of the Ally 400. Hamlin would continue from where he left off in the prior stage, maintaining the pace up front with Truex. Eventually, Chastain reeled Hamlin in, and took the lead on lap 231.
The drama would continue to unfold, though. On lap 240, Kevin Harvick had to make an unscheduled stop to replace a flat tyre. Luckily, the 2014 champion was saved by the beginning of pit cycles.
Though Truex would put the pressure on the Trackhouse driver, Ross Chastain would ultimately prevail, winning his first race of the season. Truex had to settle for second with Hamlin in third. Chase Elliott had a decent showing in fourth, and William Byron would fly under the radar, rounding out the top five.
If you would like to catch the next bit of NASCAR action, the Cup Series resumes once again on July 2nd, on the Streets of Chicago.
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