They say records are meant to be broken, and that’s exactly what happened at Nashville Superspeedway ahead of the 2025 Cracker Barrel 400. The Next-Gen car truly lived up to its reputation at the 1.33-mile oval, which has quite a unique configuration compared to other tracks. Thanks to a concrete surface, drivers struggle for grip at the ‘Music City’ venue, but that might also explain the lightning-fast speed drivers experienced during qualifying, which broke the track record a staggering four times!

However, amidst Toyota’s dominance at Nashville Superspeedway, one man stood taller than others. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe dethroned Denny Hamlin to snatch the pole ahead of Sunday’s race. Could this second consecutive pole start propel him to enter Victory Lane for the first time this season?

The battle for the pole was electric at Nashville Superspeedway

Chase Briscoe has shown great consistency in the Cup Series so far. While the No. 19 Toyota driver doesn’t have a win to his name, he has finished inside the top-5 five times already, including the last two races at Kansas and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Clearly, momentum is on his side going into Nashville, and if his qualifying result is anything to go by, the Indiana native means business at the Cracker Barrel 400. However, his journey to the pole was littered with stunning performances by his peers first.

Drivers didn’t hold back putting the pedal to the metal going into Sunday’s Cup race. 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace took the provisional pole during qualifying, setting a new track record at 29.526 seconds by running at a top speed of 162.162 mph. It was a promising performance by the No. 23 Toyota driver, who hasn’t ended up on pole in any of the opening 13 races so far. However, his joy was short-lived, as RFK Racing’s #17 Chris Buescher went on to break the record not long after, setting a lap time of 29.443 seconds. Surely, that would be it, right?

That’s probably what the #17 thought as well, believing he had done enough to start in front of the pack at Nashville Superspeedway. But that’s when Denny Hamlin stepped in. Eager to redeem himself after missing out on Victory Lane at the Coke 600, the veteran racer became the first driver to top 164 mph in qualifying at Nashville Superspeedway to take provisional pole.

But the Music City track had one more twist up its sleeve. Fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe ended up having the last laugh at the intermediate venue, knocking Hamlin off his perch by setting a new lap record of 29.125 seconds by running at 164.395 miles per hour. The 30-year-old drove like a man possessed at Nashville Superspeedway and will now start from the pole at the Cracker Barrel 400 on Sunday.

The rest of the qualifying grid included Coca-Cola 600 runner-up William Byron starting in third with a 29.307 qualifying lap. Byron heartbreakingly lost the crown jewel race last week after leading 283 laps and sweeping all three stages, only to be passed by Ross Chastain with 10 laps to go. Another driver who was good at Charlotte, Tyler Reddick, will start in P4 at Nashville. Reddick was among the top 10 at Charlotte for most of the race, but a pit road penalty followed by slamming the wall in the final stage ruined the evening for the 23XI driver.

So far, it appears that those who performed well in Charlotte are taking their form to Nashville, and last week’s winner, Chastain, also achieved a rare top-5 qualifying effort. Will Music City see familiar faces running at the top? Well, last week’s 3rd-place finisher Chase Briscoe would certainly hope so, as he’s buzzing after his pole effort.

Chase Briscoe goes back-to-back

Chase Briscoe couldn’t have asked for more. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver truly pushed his No. 19 Toyota to the limit at Nashville Superspeedway and will now lead the field to green in the Cup race. Despite some promising results in the season so far, the No. 19 Toyota driver seems to have turned a corner in the last few weeks after achieving pole position at the Coca-Cola 600 as well. With momentum on his side, could he potentially go on to break his 23-race winless streak? Time will tell.

Only five one-hundredths of a second separated him from Denny Hamlin during qualifying. Revealing what proved to be the difference maker, Briscoe joked afterward, “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.”

It’s one thing to show speed, but to maintain it across 300 laps? That’s a whole different challenge altogether. But Briscoe is keeping his expectations high, going on to say, “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.” In a sport that is often defined by the finest of margins, getting every advantage takes a driver one step closer to Victory Lane. Do you think Chase Briscoe could secure a triumph at the Cracker Barrel 400? Let us know in the comments!