NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE (June 23, 2023) – Richard Childress Racing is refreshed and ready to head to Music City after the weekend off. From road course racing through the vineyards to the superspeedway in Nashville, the Cup and Xfinity Series programs are ready to take on the 1.333-mile concrete track. This will be the third time both series visit the track since its revival was complete in June of 2021 and the first race to kick off the NBC broadcast window for the second half of the season.
Nashville Superspeedway is the longest concrete track on the circuit with 14-degrees of banking on the D-shaped oval. This will mark four of six superspeedways on the 2023 NASCAR circuit. Out of those three superspeedways, RCR has won one quarter of the Xfinity and Cup Series races this year. Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, has one of those three wins under RCR’s belt on superspeedways and is looking forward to taking on Nashville Superspeedway.
“The biggest things that you need to be fast at Nashville are good brakes, good stopping power, being able to get to the bottom of the track, turn the center of the corner, throttle up and exit out of the corner without being too tight or too loose. Being able to have a good car that can roll the bottom has been really good for me at Nashville over the years,” said Busch.
This weekend is extra special for the No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet as the partner runs its patriotic scheme for the first time this year. Pre-orders for this diecast can be made here (hyperlink). The No. 8 Alsco, Lenovo and 3CHI diecasts will be for sale on the Richard Childress Racing merchandise hauler this weekend in the fan zone.
The No. 8 isn’t the only Chevrolet running a new paint scheme this weekend. Austin Dillon and Huk are bringing back the No. 3 Huk Chevrolet, also known as the BASSCAR. This will be Huk’s first of two primaries this season and the second time the BASSCAR makes way on the track. If it looks familiar, that’s because it originally made its debut in Richmond last year. Dillon’s last two finishes at Nashville Superspeedway barely missed the top-10 category, ending in 12th in 2021 and 14th in 2022. This time, it all starts with qualifying results[LS1] .
“My expectations are to qualify in the top 10, have a great run, try and win the race in the No. 3 Huk Chevrolet, be aggressive with pit strategy when we can, and take home one of those guitars.”
Dillon has one guitar already from Nashville Superspeedway. In 2011, Dillon won at the track in the Camping World Truck Series in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet.
Driver of the No. 21 Bennett Transportation and Logistics Chevrolet, Austin Hill, is hoping to clinch his fourth win of the season, which would bring his total superspeedway wins to three this year. Hill placed top-ten last year at Nashville Speedway and is looking forward to the opportunity to improve.
“We qualified fourth last year and I didn’t feel like I had a good lap going, so that was a positive when looking back. Our race last year wasn’t memorable until I watched it again in preparation for this weekend’s race.
This will be Sheldon Creed’s, driver of the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, second time racing at Nashville Speedway. With six top-10’s and two of those being top-five this season, Creed’s ready now more than ever to take home the checkered flag.
“The off week was a good reset for our team, but now it’s time to make a push for the playoffs and make sure our No. 2 Richard Childress Racing group has a shot at the championship,” said Creed.
Catch all the action this weekend starting with Xfinity and Cup Series practice on Friday, June 23, on USA Network. Saturday’s Xfinity Series race begins at 3:30 p.m. on USA, followed by Sunday’s Cup Series race at 7:00 p.m. on NBC.
