By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney won the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday night. Blaney won at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Blaney drove the Menards/Cardell Cabinetry entry to Victory Lane for the first time in 2025. He led 139 of the 300 laps.
With the win, Blaney is locked into the playoffs. This is Blaney’s 14th win of his career in 356 Cup Series races over 12 seasons. He has been a full-time regular since the 2016 season.
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“I never gave up hope, that’s for sure,” he said. “We’ve had great speed all year, (it) just hasn’t been the best year for us as far as good fortune. The 12 boys are awesome; they stick with it no matter how it goes, and it was great to finish one out tonight.”
Since 2021, when Nashville returned to the circuit, the race has had a new winner each race. Kyle Larson won in 2021, then Chase Elliott won in 2022. Ross Chastain won in 2023.
Joey Logano won in 2024 before Blaney won on Sunday.
Zeigler Auto Group-sponsored driver Carson Hocevar finished second. This is the second time that Hocevar finished second and the third Top 5 finish in his career.
He also finished second at the Ambetter Health 400 when he was sponsored by Delaware Life.
“It just proves how strong this group is to go from the disappointment last week to having a really bad qualify draw, qualifying really bad and sticking through it and having a shot,” Hocevar said. “A shot, like a straightaway.
“But just proud of this group, Ziegler Auto Group, everybody that puts into this race car. They deserve good finishes. I think our average with this car is like 38th. So it’s a big upgrade. Jeff Dickerson, Spire, Luke, Jeff, Tyler, everybody, I was probably being a lot more vocal on the radio than I needed to be, but you’re just trying so hard and trying to find something that is just not there. One spot short again, which is — at least hopefully this is a step in the right direction.”
Progressive-sponsored driver Denny Hamlin finished third. Hamlin has finished in the Top 5 for the 240th time after Sunday’s race.
He secured his sixth Top 5 finish of the season. However, it was his first Top 5 finish since Bristol when he finished second.
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“It was hot,” Hamlin said. “I don’t run a cool shirt or anything like that, so that’s three elements that the other drivers had that I didn’t have. So yeah, I got hot. Carson Hocevar, the helmet visor up there, to try to get a little air in. But just couldn’t run with the 12 there in the super long run. After 40 laps, I could maintain with him, but after that, he just pulled away and would stretch it on us.
“Our best strategy at that point was to go long, and you either catch a caution or another caution comes. We all were going to stay out so the lap times don’t fall off, and then we got fresher tires. We got jumped by the 77, and then the track just went through a really weird phase there, the last 30 laps where everyone had to pin to the bottom. I think there was not enough cars running in the middle, and it threw dust up in that middle and top lane, so it was not an option. It was like ice up there. That definitely hurt the passing.”
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