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NASCAR Monday Mash-Up: Ryan Blaney makes Music City magic

JHby:Jonathan Howard•06/02/25•

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Ryan Blaney NASCAR Nashville win
Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another weekend of racing in the books at Nashville Superspeedway for all three NASCAR national touring series. The concrete track gave some drivers problems. Dirty air was a factor on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The racing was entertaining, and we had a few controversial moments to talk about. Music City has been a great place for NASCAR the last four years, and this weekend was no different. A sold-out Sunday crowd really made the atmosphere feel like a big-time sporting event for those at the track.

Let’s get into all of the action and major stories from Nashville. Then, we will start to turn our attention toward Michigan and the doubleheader weekend.

Frankie Muniz unsure of what to do after NASCAR DNF

On the first lap of the NASCAR Truck Series race, Frankie Muniz came across the start-finish line smoking. His oil line had been disconnected, and he made one big mess on the track.

Muniz has been plagued by mechanical failures and on-track incidents this season. Most were no fault of his own. He was rather dejected after another disappointing weekend at Reaume Brothers Racing.

Rajah Caruth holds off Corey Heim, Layne Riggs

In what was my personal favorite race of the week, Rajah Caruth held off Corey Heima and Layne Riggs for the win in Nashville. Using dirty air and big blocks on Heim and Riggs, Caruth fought tooth and nail for his second-career win.

Had that finish happened in a Cup car and not the Truck Series, people would have been in an uproar about dirty air and aero-blocking. Instead, we all got to enjoy a great defensive win from Caruth.

Heim still taking verbal jabs at Riggs after Nashville

Another week and another close battle with Corey Heim and Layne Riggs. By the way, Heim still does not like Riggs. He had a bit of a tongue-in-cheek comment following the finish on Friday night.

The Front Row Motorsports driver dismissed the comments and is clearly trying to move on from all of the controversy between the two. I have a feeling we will only see this continue for the rest of the season.

Justin Allgaier earns perfect points day in Xfinity Series

In the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, we didn’t have a ton of action in terms of cautions and mistakes. Just a lot of good, green flag racing. Justin Allgaier dominated, though.

Sweeping the stages and running the fastest lap, Allgaier showed Connor Zilisch a thing or two on the track, especially down the stretch. These two are so fun to watch race against each other.

Dale Jr. loves Allgaier vs. Zilisch battles

Of course, as a team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves seeing his veteran champion of the sport go up against the 18-year-old rookie. 20 years separate the two, but on the track, no one cares about age.

Earnhardt sees these two as good for one another. Allgaier needs to be pushed by the young guns. Zilisch needs to learn from a calm and cool vet like Gator. Perfect match, and the fans win no matter who gets the checkered flag.

Keelan Harvick beats his Cup Series champion father

Moving away from Nashville and going to Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, it was the Battle of the Harvicks in California. Keelan Harvick emerged victorious after a late-race wreck involving his dad and the other leaders.

To Keelan’s credit, he won the pole for the race and was going to finish in the top five before the wreck. When he was given the opportunity, the 12-year-old took control of the race in the final five laps and won the whole stinking thing, beating his dad in the process.

NASCAR horsepower increase could be a reality

There is momentum on the horsepower front for the NASCAR Cup Series. Elton Sawyer said an increase is on the table, and there have been multiple indications from the auto industry that embracing the V8 engines of the sport is good for business.

All that talk about hybrid systems and this and that – put it away for now. GM is investing $888 million to build the next-gen V8 in its consumer line of vehicles. Dodge (returning to NASCAR in 2026) is investing a ton into the Hemi and Hellcat V8.

Carson Hocevar officially on Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s bad side

To start the second stage of the Cup Series race, Carson Hocevar made another aggressive move. This time, he took Ricky Stenhouse Jr. out of the race. This could be the one that comes back to bite Hocevar.

We all know that Hocevar is a very aggressive driver. That’s part of the reason why he finished P2 last night in Nashville. Will he face blowback from Stenhouse or others in the next few weeks? Only time will tell.

Carl Edwards, Dale Jr. warn Hocevar about aggression

On the post-race show, Carl Edwards and Dale Jr. talked about how much they love watching Hocevar race. But there was a warning issued by the two Hall of Fame drivers. Hocevar has to watch it, because the consequences may soon outweigh the benefits of his style.

There is a fine line between harnessing that on-track aggression and pulling the reins back too much that you take away performance. Let Hocevar be who he is, and the rest of the field can deal with it.

Ryan Blaney uses pit strategy to win at Nashville

Jonathan Hassler is a smart crew chief. He recognizes trends and patterns earlier than most in the Cup Series. On Sunday, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric stayed out long in Stage 1. That told Hassler all he needed to know.

From there, the two-tire stop was king. Blaney used it to get track position. He ended up having the best car on the track consistently on the longer runs, and with clean air, that was only more true. A major performance and win for Blaney and his crew as they head to Michigan and, in a few weeks, Pocono. Two tracks that the 12-team feels they can win at.