Race report

Ryan Blaney wins NASCAR Cup race at Nashville for Team Penske

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion is finally locked into the playoffs after tonight’s result

Ryan Blaney was dominant throughout the night at Nashville, leading 139 of 300 laps on his to collecting the checkered flag in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford.

"I never gave up hope, that's for sure," said Blaney. "We've had great speed all year, 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."

Blaney praised crew chief Jonathan Hassler as he reflected further on his race, saying, "We drove up to seventh there in the first stage, and I thought two tires were great. I thought my car was really good, and that really set us up for the rest of the race, so great job by him, as always, all the 12 boys, appreciate what they do pit crew was great."

Carson Hocevar matched his career-best finish, placing second, with Stage 1 winner Denny Hamlin taking third. Joey Logano, who won at Nashville last year, finished fourth while William Byron finished fifth.

Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Ross Chastain, who won last week's Coke 600, fell out of the top ten in the closing laps and placed 11th.

Difficult to pass

Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: James Gilbert / Getty Images

The race saw Joe Gibbs Racing firmly in control early, with polesitter Chase Briscoe and later Hamlin in an incident-free opening stage. Blaney was able to gain a lot of track position after running long in the first run of the race, opting to take just two tires in the stage break.

Stage 2 was a very different story as the aggression picked up. Drivers realized how difficult it was to pass and were desperately trying to make up ground on the restarts. Ricky Stenhouse recorded his first DNF of the year after contact from Carson Hocevar sent him into the wall. He expressed his frustration after, and hinted at possible payback in the future.

Alex Bowman was the next driver to go around, slamming the wall and taking Noah Gragson with him. Christopher Bell also went for a spin, and the rash of yellows ended with Truck Series Corey Heim crashing out of the race after trying to clear up in front of Brad Keselowski.

The final stage was much cleaner with a single-car spin by Ryan Preece being the only spin. After that, Blaney went unchallenged as the field approached green-flag pit stops.

Jones began the cycle with just over 65 laps to go, with Blaney following a few laps later. Hamlin waited a bit longer, making his final pit stop with 44 laps to go. But it was Hocevar who jumped from sixth to second, undercutting several cars after he chose to pit early.

Hocevar cut into Blaney's lead as he struggled in lapped traffic, but Hocevar stalled out after catching the same group of cars.

For Blaney, this is his 14th career win as he becomes the ninth different winner of the 2025 season.