Ally 400 Race Preview and Pick
NASCAR Cup Series: Ally 400
Sunday, June 26, 2022 at 5 p.m. ET (NBC) at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee
The Last Race
NASCAR's last Cup Series race was the Toyota / Save Mart 350 on June 12 at Sonoma Raceway.
At this event, Daniel Suarez won a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time in his career.
This was an unusual race not only because Suarez won, but because the entire top four finishers were drivers who were looking for their first win of the season.
Like in so many other races this season, it was a terrible time to bet on the favorite to win outright.
Suarez's victory over the more favored drivers and everyone else was convincing.
He had the lead for each of the final 26 laps, and he won by a margin of about four seconds.
Because his victories are so rare and because it is very hard to win NASCAR Cup Series races back-to-back, I will exclude Suarez from consideration of the drivers likeliest to win this upcoming race.
Race Info
This week, the Ally 400 takes place at the Nashville Superspeedway, which is not actually in Nashville but in Lebanon, which is about 30 miles removed from the big city.
For this race, drivers must complete a total of 300 laps.
As has almost always been the case this season, there will be three stages for this race.
Stage 1 requires drivers to complete 90 laps.
Stage 2 ends upon completion of the 185th lap.
The final Stage consists in the final 115 laps.
Entry List and Starting Lineup
As is usually the case, the entry list for the upcoming race has been posted by this point of the week.
There are 36 teams/drivers listed out of a possible 40 spots.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we already know which drivers will participate in this event.
All of the usual suspects will be there.
As for the starting lineup, that gets determined via qualifying.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday, the day before the race, from 12:30 p.m. ET to 1:50 p.m. ET.
It will be two groups, single-vehicle, one lap, and two rounds.
Practice will, of course, precede qualifying.
The former event will take place on Friday from 5:30-6:20 p.m. ET.
Track Info
In earlier times, the Nashville Speedway witnessed wild events and chaos because particularly its outer lanes did not possess sufficient traction.
This missing traction made passing easier to pass.
In recent races at this track, however, resin was applied so that drivers' tires could do a better job of gripping the track so that traction is improved.
Also, the track should do a better job of enduring tire wear.
As a result, passing will be easier here, which means that starting position isn't quite so important and should not be taken so strongly into bettors' consideration.
Track Measurements
Each lap at this concrete tri-oval is 1.333 miles.
So, in completing 300 laps, drivers will have accumulated 399 miles.
This track is known as NASCAR's longest concrete oval.
Banking at this track isn't much. Turns are banked at 14 degrees.
Betting Approach
With NASCAR having returned to Nashville only last year, we can't rely too much on driver history here since there is only one race to consider.
But there are tracks that resemble the Nashville Superspeedway.
For my betting analysis, I emphasize Charlotte and Darlington because they are known for yielding moderate to strong tire wear and are similar in length to Nashville.
I emphasize intermediate tracks in general, and Dover because its surface is concrete and its length is similar to Nashville's.
My Guy
I love Kevin Harvick because, in the past three years, he ranks first in average finishing position in intermediate tracks, first in the category in Darlington, first in Charlotte, and second in Dover.
Expect Harvick to win because this is just the track for him to thrive at.
Best Bet: Harvick Outright (Odds TBA)
NASCAR Cup Series: Ally 400
Sunday, June 26, 2022 at 5 p.m. ET (NBC) at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee
The Last Race
NASCAR's last Cup Series race was the Toyota / Save Mart 350 on June 12 at Sonoma Raceway.
At this event, Daniel Suarez won a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time in his career.
This was an unusual race not only because Suarez won, but because the entire top four finishers were drivers who were looking for their first win of the season.
Like in so many other races this season, it was a terrible time to bet on the favorite to win outright.
Suarez's victory over the more favored drivers and everyone else was convincing.
He had the lead for each of the final 26 laps, and he won by a margin of about four seconds.
Because his victories are so rare and because it is very hard to win NASCAR Cup Series races back-to-back, I will exclude Suarez from consideration of the drivers likeliest to win this upcoming race.
Race Info
This week, the Ally 400 takes place at the Nashville Superspeedway, which is not actually in Nashville but in Lebanon, which is about 30 miles removed from the big city.
For this race, drivers must complete a total of 300 laps.
As has almost always been the case this season, there will be three stages for this race.
Stage 1 requires drivers to complete 90 laps.
Stage 2 ends upon completion of the 185th lap.
The final Stage consists in the final 115 laps.
Entry List and Starting Lineup
As is usually the case, the entry list for the upcoming race has been posted by this point of the week.
There are 36 teams/drivers listed out of a possible 40 spots.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we already know which drivers will participate in this event.
All of the usual suspects will be there.
As for the starting lineup, that gets determined via qualifying.
Qualifying will take place on Saturday, the day before the race, from 12:30 p.m. ET to 1:50 p.m. ET.
It will be two groups, single-vehicle, one lap, and two rounds.
Practice will, of course, precede qualifying.
The former event will take place on Friday from 5:30-6:20 p.m. ET.
Track Info
In earlier times, the Nashville Speedway witnessed wild events and chaos because particularly its outer lanes did not possess sufficient traction.
This missing traction made passing easier to pass.
In recent races at this track, however, resin was applied so that drivers' tires could do a better job of gripping the track so that traction is improved.
Also, the track should do a better job of enduring tire wear.
As a result, passing will be easier here, which means that starting position isn't quite so important and should not be taken so strongly into bettors' consideration.
Track Measurements
Each lap at this concrete tri-oval is 1.333 miles.
So, in completing 300 laps, drivers will have accumulated 399 miles.
This track is known as NASCAR's longest concrete oval.
Banking at this track isn't much. Turns are banked at 14 degrees.
Betting Approach
With NASCAR having returned to Nashville only last year, we can't rely too much on driver history here since there is only one race to consider.
But there are tracks that resemble the Nashville Superspeedway.
For my betting analysis, I emphasize Charlotte and Darlington because they are known for yielding moderate to strong tire wear and are similar in length to Nashville.
I emphasize intermediate tracks in general, and Dover because its surface is concrete and its length is similar to Nashville's.
My Guy
I love Kevin Harvick because, in the past three years, he ranks first in average finishing position in intermediate tracks, first in the category in Darlington, first in Charlotte, and second in Dover.
Expect Harvick to win because this is just the track for him to thrive at.
Best Bet: Harvick Outright (Odds TBA)
