NASCAR moves Ally 400 start time up due to potential weather at Nashville Superspeedway
With a chance of rain in and around Nashville Superspeedway, NASCAR has moved the start time of the Ally 400 up 20 minutes. In order to avoid a possible Monday race as much as possible, NASCAR has made the decision to move things up and start ahead of schedule. It isn’t a big chance, but it will allow the race to start and get 20-30 more laps in ahead of the original start time.
The Ally 400 was scheduled to start at 7:22 PM EST. However, the change will put the start at 7:05 PM EST. So, fans at home and at the track will want to adjust accordingly. It does feel like NASCAR is doing its best to try and get at least half of this race in tonight and make it official.
With the grandstands sold out for Sunday’s Cup Series race, they want fans to experience this race. No one wants to have to come back on Monday or miss out because of bad weather. Hopefully, things hold off for the Music City crowd and we see a full 400-mile race.
The Nashville and Atlanta races this summer have been pushed to nighttime in order to help fans at the track enjoy the race a bit more. Those races have been very hot in the past and NASCAR is trying this night race experiment to combat that.
However, bad weather in the south can pop up at any moment. This is a volatile time for weather in this region. Here in the Bluegrass, we are getting rain and hot days off and on. There really isn’t a good answer to it.
Ross Chastain claims pole position for Ally 400
When the race does get started at an earlier time, Ross Chastain will be the pole sitter. Chastain was the only car that had the mix of speed and grip needed to go sub-30 seconds in the final qualifying round. His own teammate Daniel Suárez and then Bubba Wallace both spun out trying to outpace him.
This is the first career pole for Chastain and isn’t something the takes lightly. Trackhouse Racing has also never had a pole award prior to this weekend. So, things might be turning around for the Melon Man. Chastain seems to be in a slump ever since Rick Hendrick gave him a talking-to after Darlington.
The Ally 400 is a fun race. This concrete oval at Nashville Superspeedway makes for interesting racing. The heat from the day will make it hot and slick and should test these drivers.
If the Cup Series race is anything like the Xfinity Series, expect chaos. That race got wild from the start and didn’t let up throughout the 250 miles. Could we be in for another chaotic and messy race?