In a dramatic turn at Nashville Superspeedway, Chase Briscoe claimed the pole for the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400, denying Denny Hamlin the top starting spot after a qualifying session marked by a flurry of broken records. The contest, which electrified the crowd ahead of Sunday’s race, saw the focus keyword—Denny Hamlin loses Nashville pole to Chase Briscoe—become a headline reality as Hamlin’s impressive speed was finally eclipsed by Briscoe’s career-defining lap.
The qualifying session unfolded on Nashville’s unique 1.33-mile concrete oval, a surface that kept drivers battling for grip throughout. Next-Gen cars showed their prowess as they shattered the track record not once, but four times. With increasingly faster laps, anticipation mounted until the final chapter: Briscoe, piloting Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 Toyota, dethroned his teammate Hamlin to earn pole position and potentially set himself up for his first victory of the season.
Intense Qualifying Sees Nashville Records Fall Repeatedly
The competition for pole was charged with intensity at Nashville Superspeedway, as the qualifying session evolved into a showcase of speed and resilience among NASCAR’s top drivers, including Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher. Both experienced fleeting moments of glory before being surpassed, highlighting the razor-thin margins that defined the event.
Bubba Wallace, driving the No. 23 DoorDash Toyota for 23XI Racing, kicked off the record-breaker spree. He laid down a lap at 29.526 seconds with a peak speed of 162.162 mph—a mark that temporarily put him on the provisional pole, with the promise of breaking his opening-race drought. Yet Wallace’s lead was short-lived as Chris Buescher of RFK Racing quickly followed, pushing the limit with a 29.443-second lap of his own, raising the bar further on what appeared to be a wild day for qualifying stats.
Believing he had secured the front spot, Buescher’s moment of triumph was challenged when Denny Hamlin, seasoned Joe Gibbs Racing ace, rose to the occasion. Hamlin delivered a powerful statement by breaking the 164 mph threshold for the first time during Nashville’s qualifying, capturing provisional pole and raising the tempo in the Toyota camp as the day neared its crescendo.
But it was Chase Briscoe, hailing from Indiana, who emerged as the story of the day. In arguably the most electrifying lap of the session, Briscoe clocked an astonishing 29.125 seconds at an average speed of 164.395 mph. With this feat, he snapped the previous record and relegated Hamlin to the outside of the front row. The frenzy was summed up in a quote:
“Chase Briscoe knocks Denny Hamlin from the provisional pole with a 29.125 second/164.395 mph lap.2. Hamlin, 3. Reddick, 4. Keselowski, 5. Bell, 6. McDowell, 7. Logano, 8. Buescher, 9. Wallace, 10. Stenhouse#NASCAR”
—Toby Christie, NASCAR journalist
The shakeup left the qualifying order filled with high-profile names and underscored the hyper-competitive edge that defined the event. Notably, Tyler Reddick and William Byron secured top starting spots after showing strong form in recent races, while Ross Chastain, fresh off a win, grabbed a top-five qualifying position, suggesting the ascendancy in the pecking order continued from Charlotte.
Formidable Competition Shapes the Starting Grid
The rest of the grid reads like a roll call of recent NASCAR Cup Series contenders. William Byron, who suffered heartbreak in the Coca-Cola 600 after leading much of the race, posted a 29.307-second lap—good for third on the grid. His momentum, despite last week’s near miss, seems to carry into Nashville. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick, who showed speed at Charlotte but was undone by a pit road mistake and late-race incident, will start fourth, reflecting a return to form for the 23XI driver.
Following closely are veterans like Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, along with Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace, who all asserted themselves during qualifying. Michael McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top ten, indicating the race could see a host of familiar frontrunners battling for supremacy at the ‘Music City’ track.
Chase Briscoe, fresh off recent poles at major venues, stands poised at the front. The Indiana native, racing out of the Joe Gibbs Racing stable, now looks to transform this qualifying success into a long-awaited victory, as many eyes will be on his ability to end a persistent winless streak.
Chase Briscoe’s Breakout Run and the Fine Margins of Success
Having also secured pole at the Coca-Cola 600 earlier in the season, Briscoe is rapidly establishing himself as a qualifying force in the series. His recent turnaround marks a significant shift in his trajectory, especially as he seeks to end a 23-race drought without a win—something that has weighed on both the driver and his fanbase.
The margin between Briscoe and Hamlin was razor-thin—just five-hundredths of a second separating the top two. Reflecting on the pivotal lap, Briscoe gave insight into what made the difference:
“I got to just push my head further forward harder coming in line. Honestly, I thought I ran a decent lap. I felt I gave a little bit up. I thought there was definitely a little more there. But it was just a smooth, clean lap; sometimes that’s what it takes. Obviously, a good Saturday for Bass Pro Shops Toyota, that’s two weeks now we’ve been able to do that now, which is nice.”
—Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
The pressure to combine single-lap speed with race-long consistency is immense, especially on Nashville’s challenging concrete. Briscoe, however, maintains his focus on maximizing the all-important track position, aware that leading at the start is only the first battle won in a 300-lap contest. He shared his outlook on what to expect:
“Track position is going to be really, really big here tomorrow so that’s the name of the game. We’ll see where we go. Hopefully we can maintain our track position and see keep it up all day long.”
—Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing
The razor-thin differences and constant record-breaking runs underscored the competitiveness among drivers, with Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Bubba Wallace among those pushing the limits throughout a session that proved how tiny the margins are at the top level of Cup racing.
The Stakes for Sunday: Briscoe’s Quest and Toyota Supremacy
With his latest pole, Briscoe and the Joe Gibbs Racing organization arrive at the Cracker Barrel 400 with the clear momentum. Despite the shadow of a winless streak, Briscoe’s recent performances suggest a shift that could see him finally leave Victory Lane with a trophy. The ability to match qualifying form with performance in traffic, pit stops, and late-race moves will be put to the test.
Toyota teams, led by Joe Gibbs Racing and strong efforts from veterans like Denny Hamlin and 23XI driver Bubba Wallace, have shown dominance at Nashville so far. However, competition from Chevrolet and Ford remains strong, with William Byron and Brad Keselowski reminding fans that anything can happen once the green flag drops.
As the grid prepares for Sunday’s showdown, a question lingers: can Chase Briscoe turn back-to-back poles into a long-awaited victory, or will the prevailing unpredictability of NASCAR Cup Series racing send another contender to the winner’s circle?
With the starting order set and every lap likely to be fiercely contested, fans and insiders alike are watching to see if Briscoe’s record lap will translate into a visit to Victory Lane, or if Denny Hamlin and the rest of the field will find a way to rebound and seize the spotlight once more.
