NASCAR’s history in Nashville

By Zack Albert | Thursday, June 23, 2022

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The 2021 season marked the first time Cup Series cars raced at Nashville Superspeedway, continuing to build on NASCAR's strong ties to Nashville, Tennessee. Before all three national series hit the track this weekend, take a look back and learn some important history.

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NASCAR official Pat Purcell, right, shakes hands with Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway promoter Benny Goodman as colleague Bill Donoho looks on. The three met in February 1958 to make details final about NASCAR's arrival to the half-mile venue.

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The field of hardtops and convertibles sits in the fairgrounds track's infield on Aug. 10, 1958 before the first Grand National (now Cup Series) event held there.

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NASCAR Hall of Famer Joe Weatherly celebrates his victory in the Nashville 200, the Cup Series' debut race at the Music City venue. Weatherly took command from pole-starter Rex White and led the final 82 laps.

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The field assembles in front of the fairgrounds' frontstretch grandstand before the start of the August 1959 event. Rex White started from the pole position alongside eventual winner Joe Lee Johnson.

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Bobby Allison triumphantly holds a guitar as he stands with team owner Junior Johnson and mechanic Herb Nab, left, in the fairgrounds' Victory Lane after winning the Nashville 420 in 1972.

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Richard Petty has his own day in the sun in the Music City USA 420 on May 11, 1974. NASCAR's "King" was also like royalty at the Nashville fairgrounds track, where he topped the all-time list with nine career victories.

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The Nashville racing scene was also a proving ground for Columbia, Tennessee's Sterling Marlin, seen here racing his No. 40 entry against Richard Petty in 1980. Marlin's ride for the day sported a country music flair with sponsorship by Waylon Jennings.

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Darrell Waltrip was no slouch at Nashville's fairgrounds, either. The driver who claims roots in Franklin, Tennessee, won there eight times, including this 1982 triumph.

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The Cup Series field lines up for a restart at the Nashville Fairgrounds, with its rollercoaster visible outside the track's grounds.

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NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt was a two-time winner at the Nashville Fairgrounds' .596-mile oval, first in 1980 and then again with this victory in the 1983 season.

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Geoffrey Bodine claimed the final Cup Series victory at the Nashville fairgrounds, leading 327 of the 420 laps on July 14, 1984. The triumph was just the second of his career but also marked win No. 2 for new team owner Rick Hendrick.

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NASCAR racing continued with nine Busch (now Xfinity) Series races from 1984-2000 and later the Gander RV & Outdoors (now Camping World) Truck Series from 1996-2000. But Nashville also played a role as host to NASCAR's weekly racing series awards banquet, including this coronation of national champion Max Prestwood in 1990.

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Led by polesitter Casey Atwood, the field heads to Turn 1 at the fairgrounds track (by then called Nashville Speedway USA) for the last Xfinity Series start there. Randy LaJoie started 28th and led the final 76 laps to score his lone win at the Tennessee venue.

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Current Cup Series stars Denny Hamlin, right, and Clint Bowyer lead the start of one of two 2006 Xfinity Series events at the Nashville Superspeedway. The 1.33-mile concrete layout hosted the series 21 times from 2001-11.

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A treat for Nashville Superspeedway winners was the presentation of a Sam Bass-designed guitar in Victory Lane. Here, Bass hands Kevin Harvick an original for one of his two Xfinity Series triumphs at the Tennessee track.

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Carl Edwards strummed a sweet tune in 2006 at Nashville Superspeedway's Victory Lane. Edwards was a regular visitor, notching a series-best five Nashville wins in Xfinity Series competition and tacking on one Camping World Truck Series win.

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Brad Keselowski tried his hand at a winning guitar lick in 2008 as he scored his first NASCAR national series victory at the 1.33-mile track. He led 33 of 225 laps in the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

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The Camping World Truck Series was also a frequent visitor to Nashville Superspeedway during its previous tenure, running 13 races from 2001-11.

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NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. was among the Camping World Truck Series regulars to savor a Nashville win, celebrating here with crew chief Rick Ren in 2009 on the way to his fourth and final series championship.

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Austin Dillon became the Camping World Truck Series tour's final winner during the first Nashville Superspeedway stint, rolling from the pole position and into Victory Lane in 2011 -- the same year he claimed his lone Truck Series title.

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Nashville also made room for plenty of fan-friendly events during its association with the superspeedway, hosting an offseason Sprint Sound and Speed Fan Festival at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium for several years. Here, Dale Earnhardt Jr. signs autographs at the fifth-annual edition in 2010.

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Fan interaction for the stock-car faithful came back in a big way in December 2019 as NASCAR's annual Champion's Week celebration shifted to Nashville. The festivities came complete with burnouts by the postseason field on the city's famous Broadway entertainment district.

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The event was a special celebration for two-time champ Kyle Busch, who basked in the city's history by taking in the Ryman Auditorium with the Cup Series championship trophy.

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Kyle Busch's accomplishment was feted Nashville-style as the NASCAR Awards gala soaked in the spotlight at the Music City Center.

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The Cup Series made its debut at Nashville Superspeedway June 20, 2021. Kyle Larson won in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. The track also hosted the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.

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