The NASCAR Cup Series opens the second half of its regular season Saturday with the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, and Denny Hamlin will start from the pole after qualifying was canceled May 30. That changed the lineup before a single lap was turned in time trials.
For fans searching what time is the nascar race today, the immediate answer is that the race is set for May 31 at Nashville, with national coverage on Amazon Prime Video. HBO MAX will also offer in-car cameras for each driver, giving viewers a different way to follow the field once the green flag drops.
The pole matters because Nashville arrives with the playoff picture already under pressure. Ryan Preece was in 16th after his Texas penalty stood following appeal, Austin Cindric was 17th and Joey Logano was 18th heading into the weekend, leaving three Ford drivers separated by 29 points and sitting right on the Chase cutline. Hamlin’s front-row position gives him the cleanest starting spot in a race where track position was assigned without the usual qualifying run.
That is the part that gives Nashville its edge today. Qualifying was wiped out on May 30, so the field was lined up by procedure instead of speed, a shift that can alter how teams approach the opening laps and the first pit cycle. For drivers on the cutline, every spot matters more when there is no chance to make it back with one flying lap.
The race now becomes the first real test of the new half of the season and the clearest checkpoint yet for the Ford trio trying to hold position. Hamlin starts with the advantage, but Preece, Cindric and Logano need a clean run more than a flashy one, because Nashville does not leave much room to recover once the field sorts itself out.
