Chase Rice named honorary pace car driver for Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway

Exciting news for the Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. Country music star Chase Rice has been named the honorary pace car driver. The former NASCAR pit crew member who won two championships on Jimmie Johnson’s crew has changed careers, but he’s still got racing in his blood.

A former rear tire changer, Chase Rice knows his way around a NASCAR garage. We will see if he picked up any driving tips from Seven-Time as he takes the wheel of the pace car ahead of the Cracker Barrel 400 this Sunday.

Rice made a very successful career pivot from racing to music. He is known all over the country, and his songs have racked up billions of streams online.

Guitars and race cars is the theme of the NASCAR weekend in Nashville. Chase Rice embodies that perhaps better than anyone. This is a fitting choice all around, and the folks at Nashville Superspeedway and Cracker Barrel should be applauded for making this choice.

This NASCAR weekend is going to be packed with action. Tonight, the Truck Series takes to the track. We are getting three straight night races with the Xfinity and Cup Series following on Saturday and Sunday.

The nighttime starts should help fans be more comfortable this year at Nashville Superspeedway. It can get hot in Music City! Having the race about a month earlier than in 2024 is also going to help everyone at the track stay a little bit cooler. However, we could be dealing with rain and weather issues.

Chase Rice is going to get the NASCAR race on Sunday revved up and ready to go! Let’s see if we can avoid the bad weather.

Chase Rice bringing the guitars, NASCAR bringing the cars

Having fun is what NASCAR is all about and with Chase Rice at the track, it is going to be fun. The main concern this weekend is going to be rain. Truck Series qualifying has been canceled and practice remains a question-mark after a pop-up shower came down as the two sessions were about to begin.

The weather puts Corey Heim on the pole. He is by far the best driver in the Truck Series this year. However, he will have Kyle Busch in the field to deal with. Then again, Heim got the best of Busch when they went up against each other last week at Charlotte. He would have beaten him at North Wilkesboro, too, if not for Layne Riggs’ failed attempt at a pass.

In fact, Heim got the best of Busch when the two raced each other in the Cup Series this year at Kansas. Heim is looking to add another win over the field and the winningest driver all-time in the Truck Series. Then he will turn his attention to Sunday and the Cup Series race which he will once again be competing in.

Just another additional storyline to look at – will Corey Heim beat Kyle Busch twice this weekend in Music City? That would be quite the accomplishment for the young driver.