3 takeaways from NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400

Ross Chastain won the latest NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25, his first victory of the season and first since last year's spring Talladega race.

Chastain started from the pole and led the majority of Stage 1. He fell off during Stage 2, but his car got stronger as the night went on before he held off Martin Truex Jr. for the victory.

Here are three takeaways from the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 25.

#3 The old Ross Chastain back?

A return to form

After a conversation with the team (Trackhouse Racing) owner Justin Marks after the Darlington race, Ross Chastain had been struggling and seemingly stopped doing what made him so fast earlier in the season. Tonight, Chastain returned to form.

The 30-year-old led Stage 1 for the most part before losing a hard-fought battle to Tyler Reddick. He fell back during Stage 2 but had the fastest car during the final portion of the race on his way to the win.

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If Chastain can get back to his old ways but is more selective while being aggressive, he can be a threat to others week in and week out once again.

#2 SAFER barriers need to be everywhere

A rough night for Ryan Blaney

One of the biggest moments of the night came on a restart during Stage 2. Brad Keselowski missed a shift and bobbled the field up. Ryan Blaney went spinning through the infield and hit the inside wall hard. He hit an area of the wall where there was no SAFER barrier.

With how far NASCAR has come in regards to safety and it being 2023, there is no excuse for every track to not have SAFER barriers everywhere. If the track can not do that, NASCAR shouldn't be able to hold a race.

While NASCAR has come a long way with safety, this Next Gen has left a lot to be desired, with multiple drivers getting concussions in the past year. Blaney even said that it was the hardest hit he had ever taken.

#1 Nashville is a sleeper of a track

Is Nashville a hidden gem?

When Nashville Superspeedway was announced to be on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, it was met with excitement because it was a new track being added. There was also skepticism because it didn't seem to mesh with the Gen 6 car.

That skepticism was validated in year one when Kyle Larson flat-out dominated the race. Last year, however, with the Next Gen car and a rain delay pushing the race into the nighttime, an interesting race with comers and goers unfolded.

This year was much the same because while guys like Truex and Chastain had the best cars, they didn't blow away the field and fans witnessed great action all night long.

With improved racing and Nashville being a great fan environment, the Superspeedway is finding its place as a lock in future NASCAR schedules. Fans may even see the return of the Nashville Fairgrounds in the upcoming years, which would be an even bigger boost.