“Atrocious. Absolutely terrible”: Fans deliver their verdict on Ryan Blaney’s Nashville headline win

Ryan Blaney’s victory at Nashville Superspeedway drew mixed reactions from NASCAR fans, with one labelling the race as “atrocious”. Blaney earned his 14th Cup Series win.

The Team Penske driver delivered a commanding performance to capture his first victory of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series at the Cracker Barrel 400 held at Nashville Superspeedway. He led a race-high of 139 out of the 300 laps after taking control during a lengthy 103 lap green flag run to the finish.

Ultimately, Blaney crossed the line by 2.830 seconds ahead of Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar. This victory locked all three of Team Penske drivers into the 2025 playoffs.

Veteran NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck held a poll on his X account where he asked his followers if the race at Nashville Superspeedway was good or not. He put up the question with poll options of yes and no, with 67% as of this writing voting in the affirmative. The fan reactions to the race were mixed to say the least. He tweeted:

"Was Nashville a good race?"

Jeff Gluck

@jeff_gluck

Was Nashville a good race?

To which one fan said:

"What are people watching? That race was atrocious. Absolutely terrible."

Justin Stewart

@JleeStewart_88

What are people watching? That race was atrocious. Absolutely terrible.

Another fan said the following after Ryan Blaney's win:

"For the people who clicked yes could you please explain to me what it would take to click no?"

Robert Wiñgard

@Wingard83

For the people who clicked yes could you please explain to me what it would take to click no?

A fan called it an "Ok" race and gave his reasons for it in the replies to the original tweet.

"There should be an Ok option or average, this race was fine but I wouldn’t say it’s good but wouldn’t say it was bad either," the user tweeted.

"First part of the race was awful, but once the sun went down, cars starting slipping around and you could actually pass. Not a great race, but not a bad one," one fan said.

"Race was decent, some cool battles for the lead but this car still needs major improvements and I’ll keep saying it until we get real change, no reason the leader should be stuck behind a 28th place car," one penned.

The race featured several notable incidents, including a pivotal caution in Stage 2 when Hocevar made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr, sending the latter into the wall and ending his day after just 110 laps. The final stage ran green for over 100 laps, allowing Ryan Blaney to take the commanding position.

Hocevar’s runner-up finish matched his career-best finish, marking a strong rebound for his team, considering his recent struggles in the Cup Series.

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What Joey Logano said after Ryan Blaney’s Nashville sealed playoff berths for all three Team Penske cars

Joey Logano expressed pride and satisfaction after Ryan Blaney’s victory at Nashville Superspeedway, which marked a significant milestone for Team Penske. With Blaney’s win, all three of Penske’s full-time Cup Series drivers—Logano, Blaney, and Austin Cindric—have secured their spots in the 2025 NASCAR playoffs, along with affiliate Wood Brothers Racing’s Josh Berry.

"The 12's been fast all year, so he deserves a win or so. I'm proud of Team Penske at this point. To have four solid cars out of that shop, including the 21 (Josh Berry), that's pretty dang impressive. So, I'm proud of everybody and the effort to have four strong teams like that, it's really hard to do," Joey Logano said to Peter Strata.

Joey Logano highlighted the achievement by Ryan Blaney, emphasizing how difficult it is to have four strong teams performing at such a high level, and credited the entire organization for their collective effort and speed throughout the season.