Shane van Gisbergen and Trackhouse Racing teammate Connor Zilisch.
Rain precluded competitors from qualifying, although practice will go ahead as planned at 7:40am AEST.
The rain-out means Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin will start from pole position thanks to the qualifying metric.
Fellow Toyota Camry driver Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing will start alongside Hamlin in second.
The top 10 is completed by Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Joey Logano, and van Gisbergen.
Speaking before qualifying was rained out, van Gisbergen said he was optimistic that performances like those at Charlotte could be repeated.
“Yeah, firstly qualifying, obviously you’re trying to get better. You need pure performance, but I struggle with that,” van Gisbergen explained.
“I’ve come from a world where, in qualifying, you have two or three sets of tyres. You can kind of build up and get better as you go.
“Here, you practice and you have a lot of fall off at the end of practice. And then, you’ve got to go qualify and you have one corner, basically, to feel what you’ve got and you’ve got to rip a lap that’s two or three seconds quicker than what you’ve finished on.
“It’s just that switch, I’m not quite there at getting it or judging what grip I’m going to have yet. That will come with time and I feel like I’m certainly getting closer.
“But yeah, if you can place yourself in that front-half, you get out of that dogfight. Everyone’s just fighting for everything they can get at the back.
“I think that’s where the good guys show their difference. When you see them drop back, they’re so much better at getting through traffic, whereas I seem to find myself stuck there.
“I’ve got to work on my maneuverability, I guess, and work on getting through traffic better.”
Speaking on the Trackhouse Racing’s recent uptick in performance, van Gisbergen said there has been a noticeable shift in the team’s approach.
“I think we’ve had a little reset or a change in philosophy in some areas of our car,” said van Gisbergen.
“We started decent on our side, but the other guys have really battled. Now, I think there’s more glimpses of pure performance, which is good, and we really needed that.
“So yeah, we’ve kind of battled a bit. It’s good to flip things around and hopefully that continues because it’s been difficult, all three of us, having our struggles at different times.”
The NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway gets underway at 9:00am AEST on Monday, June 1.
Starting grid: NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400, Nashville Superspeedway
Pos
Num
Driver
Team
1
11
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
2
45
Tyler Reddick
23XI Racing
3
7
Daniel Suarez
Spire Motorsports
4
20
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
5
5
Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports
6
54
Ty Gibbs
Joe Gibbs Racing
7
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
8
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
9
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
10
97
Shane Van Gisbergen
Trackhouse Racing
11
38
Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports
12
6
Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing
13
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Club
14
71
Michael McDowell
Spire Motorsports
15
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Hyak Motorsports
16
16
AJ Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
17
77
Carson Hocevar
Spire Motorsports
18
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
19
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
20
41
Cole Custer
Haas Factory Team
21
34
Todd Gilliland
Front Row Motorsports
22
17
Chris Buescher
RFK Racing
23
35
Riley Herbst
23XI Racing
24
67
Corey Heim(i)
23XI Racing
25
33
Austin Hill(i)
Richard Childress Racing
26
4
Noah Gragson
Front Row Motorsports
27
42
John Hunter Nemechek
Legacy Motor Club
28
60
Ryan Preece
RFK Racing
29
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
30
10
Ty Dillon
Kaulig Racing
31
19
Chase Briscoe
Joe Gibbs Racing
32
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
33
21
Josh Berry
Wood Brothers Racing
34
51
Cody Ware
Rick Ware Racing
35
1
Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing
36
2
Austin Cindric
Team Penske
37
66
Chad Finchum(i)
Garage 66
38
88
Connor Zilisch #
Trackhouse Racing
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