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NASCAR went Nashville this past with all three national series headed to Music City U.S.A. to compete. In the end, Layne Riggs, Justin Allgaier, and Denny Hamlin all won their respective races. (Hey, all three races were won by series regulars. NICE!) While the bulk of the racing may not have always produced the most exciting on-track action, the finishes to both the Craftsman Truck Series race and the Cup Series race were almost identical, with a lot of close racing. In both cases, with about two laps to go, I was sure that the leaders would wreck and the eventual winner would not be the drivers on-screen.
Instead of devoting an entire Track Talk entry to just one element of the Nashville race weekend, I decided to submit to you, my reader, several shorter pieces to enjoy, contemplate, argue with, or vehemently disagree with, depending on one’s opinion of my opinion.
DID DENNY WORK THE SMARTS AT NASHVILLE?
Conspiracy theories aren’t limited to whether your favoured politician won or lost an election. As Denny Hamlin led the field to green on Sunday night, NASCAR ON PRIME commentator (and Hall of Famer) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. asked Hamlin what it would take to start shotgun on the field. Hamlin laughed and opined that double the purse might do it.
Moments later, Hamlin jumped the start and was penalized. A pass through penalty had him in the exact situation that Dale Jr. had referenced: starting shotgun on the field.
I’m sure it’s just a wild coincidence. The fact that Hamlin made his way back to the front and eventually won the race was just that: a wild coincidence and anyone doubting that is certainly a conspiracy theorist.
But what if?
What if Denny, as he came through the final pace lap, decided he had Joe Gibbs Racing equipment and his own ability to come from dead last to the front and grab the win? For all the discussion by NASCAR pundits wanting to “tell stories,” was this Denny’s way of producing one of the bigger stories of 2026?
Think about it. If Hamlin, rather than his 23XI driver Tyler Reddick, wins the 2026 Cup championship, every story about Hamlin’s drive to the elusive title will include a reference to “Remember that time that he had to go to the back at Nashville and still managed to get the win? That’s when everyone started to realize that maybe this was Hamlin’s year.”
But I’m sure it was just a coincidence.
HOW THE TRUCK RACE WENT FROM BORING TO PROBLEMATIC TO A THRILLING FINISH
Layne Riggs led every lap in the first two stages of the Camping World Truck Series…and I was like “What the heck?” Don’t get me wrong, I like Layne Riggs. To me, he is to the Truck Series over the last couple of years what Kaulig Racing was to the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series a few years prior. He just came out of nowhere and started making statements every week, whether he wins or not. He is my pick to win the 2026 Craftsman Truck Series championship. (Hey, I also picked Carson Hocevar to get his first Cup win and Sheldon Creed to get his first win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series this year!!! Whoohoo! Yay, me!)
Still…for Riggs to have led EVERY lap would have been boring. I know, there are so-called NASCAR experts out there who claim to have watched exciting races at their local dirt track with only one driver on the lead lap. I don’t buy it. I’m guessing the driver in question was probably the guy remembering it as an exciting race. Give me battles for the lead among multiple drivers if you expect me to be excited.
The third stage saw a shakeup at the front of the field, with Rajah Caruth emerging as the leader for most of that final stage. Normally, I wouldn’t be concerned but Caruth drives the #7 truck for Spire Motorsports, the truck that Kyle Busch was slated to drive before his untimely passing.
Last week in the Coca Cola 600, it was an emotional win as Daniel Suarez drove the #7 Cup car for Spire. It was well-documented that this was the same car number and same team as Kyle’s last NASCAR win, a week prior at Dover.
“Wait a second,” I thought. “What’s it going to look like if the #7 Spire entry wins two straight NASCAR wins after Kyle’s passing?”
Don’t get me wrong. I was touched by the tributes to Kyle Busch last weekend at Charlotte and, much like the case of Dale Earnhardt, Sr.’s passing in 2001, I don’t think we can expect it to be a one-and-done when it comes to pay tribute to Kyle. In fact, suffice to say that the remainder of the 2026 season will see a lot of tributes. However, there’s a difference between a sticker on the A-frame of the cars and having every race win feature a tie to Kyle Busch. I don’t really believe that NASCAR would fix the races just to pay tribute to a fallen driver, but two in a row might have gotten a lot of people talking.
Thankfully, a problematic conclusion that would have led to a coincidence to feed the conspiracy theorists was not to be. Riggs made his way back to the front and challenge Caruth for the lead. However, Caruth wasn’t going to surrender the lead easily, and that drew Chandler Smith into the mix. For a moment (or maybe more than just one), it looked like the leaders might take themselves out and give the win to the fourth place driver (Ross Chastain). In the end, however, everything was sorted out and Layne Riggs won in an exciting finish to what appeared to be a boring race.
COREY HEIM TO GO FULL-TIME CUP RACING IN 2027
Everyone (but yours truly – and I will explain why in a paragraph or so) thought it should have happened this year but, earlier this week, it was announced that the 2025 Craftsman Truck Series Champion Corey Heim will helm the third 23XI Racing entry in 2027.
There were a lot of people who felt that Heim, who won a record dozen (12!!!) wins in the Truck Series enroute to his championship, should have been elevated to a full-time Cup ride this year. I disagree. Yes, the kid’s got a ton of talent and garnered a lot of success in the Truck Series, but I still feel that the road to a Cup ride starts in ARCA, and travels through BOTH the Trucks and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. If you can have a couple of seasons at each stop along the way, and prove that you can drive your way to consistently solid results at each level, that will prove just how much talent you will eventually bring to a Cup ride.
There’s an old saying that the longest distance in NASCAR is that from the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (or whatever name was attached to it at the time) to the Cup Series. I get that drivers are making it to Cup rides quicker and at younger ages than the past and I get that teams want to cash in on any driver making noise in the lower series. I still think even a season in the O’Reilly Series would eventually pay off with increased success for Heim in the Cup Series.
However, I think that having a young talent like Heim, paired with Zilisch, who had similarly incredible success in the O’Reilly Series last year, shows that NASCAR has a couple of talented drivers who can be the foundation for the future of the sport.
The question remains: What does the future hold for Riley Herbst? Was blocking for Tyler Reddick during the final lap of the Daytona 500 not worth more than losing his ride at the end of the season? One might add “and having it announced in the middle of the season” but I think that allows Herbst a head start on seeing what opportunities are available for him in 2027. My prediction: He’s in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driving for a mid-pack team.
PROBLEMS FOR PENSKE
This particular segment changed a little bit in the aftermath of the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville. Coming into the race, two of the three Penske drivers (Austin Cindric and Joey Logano) were below the Chase cutline. I’m not sure how but on the “strength” of his 27th place finish, Cindric is now two points above Ryan Preece to occupy the 16th and final spot in the Chase, if the season had ended on Sunday night (or Monday morning). Preece did finish 36th in a field of 38.
Penske’s third entry, Ryan Blaney driving the #12 Ford, is currently third in the points, on the strength of his win at the Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix in March. In other words, Roger Penske would have at least one rooting interest in the Chase if things remain the way they are…but for a powerhouse team like Penske to have only two of their three drivers (and one of them to be the fair-to-middling, to use a phrase my Dad employed, driver like Austin Cindric to be one of the two) is surprising to an onlooker like me but has to be troubling to Penske executives.
Blaney being fairly high up in the Chase standings is no surprise and while Penske’s executives would be happy to see Josh Berry, driving for their satellite team, the Wood Brothers, make it in perhaps in the 15th or 16th spot, the real red alert needs to be that Joey Logano is on the outside looking in. Sure, it’s only by nine points, definitely doable with a good run, but when is that good run going to come. He’s had two Top Fives, more than Preece, Cindric, and Bubba Wallace, the three drivers ahead of him, but he’s also had more DNFs (3) than Top Fives.
To give you an idea of how Penske is not doing Penske things: coming into Nashville, Spire Motorsports had more drivers (two with Carson Hocevar and Daniel Suarez) who would make the Chase than Penske. Who would have called that coming into the seaso.
It’s fine to say that there’s still a lot of racing left to go but we’re into the latter half of the regular season. The clock’s ticking and eventually it’s going to run out of time. Penske needs to do more than hope that the drivers they have to beat (as in the case of Cindric vs. Preece) just have worse days than they do.
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