Start of NASCAR Cup race in Nashville delayed by passing rain showers

UPDATE: After a one-hour delay, engines were fired at 8:25pm EST, and the green flag finally flew at 8:40pm EST. Live coverage of the NASCAR Cup race at Nashville can be found on Prime Video.

Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville was supposed to get underway at 7:20pm EST, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Storms moved into the area, and the race could not get started on time. Thankfully, barring any additional storms forming, there appears to be a clearing behind this system that will allow for all 400 miles and 300 laps to be completed tonight.

Last weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 ended 27 laps short of the finish due to rain, and Daniel Suarez claimed a surprise victory for the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team.

Rain has already impacted the Nashville weekend, forcing the cancellation of Cup Series qualifying on Saturday. Because of that, the starting lineup was set by the metric.

Denny Hamlin will start from pole position, sharing the front row with championship leader Tyler Reddick.

Coke 600 winner Suarez will start third, Christopher Bell fourth, Kyle Larson fifth, Ty Gibbs sixth, Ryan Blaney seventh, William Byron eighth, Joey Logano ninth, and Shane van Gisbergen tenth.

CLICK HERE for the complete starting lineup ahead the 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville.

NASCAR did hold pre-race ceremonies at the track amid raindrops and windy conditions. Drivers were told to stay near their cars while they waited for the weather to pass.

A competition caution was announced for Lap 35 in Stage 1, as all of the rubber has been washed off the track.

Air titans were deployed around 7:45pm EST, and began drying the concrete 1.33-mile oval. Engines were fired at 8:25pm, and the green flag finally flew at 8:40pm — 80 minutes after the scheduled start time.

Earlier in the weekend, Layne Riggs passed Rajah Caruth on the final lap to win the Nashville Truck race, while Justin Allgaier out-dueled Brent Crews to win the Nashville O’Reilly race.

Kyle Busch tribute with the No. 8 atop the Nashville scoring pylon