NASCAR: Saturday Nashville Notebook

by racedaysaeditor | Posted on Saturday, May 30th, 2026

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Busch’s legacy continues to shine through tributes at Nashville Superspeedway

LEBANON, Tenn. – The impact and memory of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was present at Nashville Superspeedway this week. His Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet’s No. 8 sat atop the infield scoring pylon and is painted into the grass near the start-finish line for Sunday’s Cracker Barrel 400 (7 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Last week’s Coca-Cola 600 race winner Daniel Suarez spoke with the media Saturday about how much his victory meant in light of his close friend Busch’s sudden passing at the age of 41 only days earlier. It was a memorable win for multiple reasons and allowed Suarez the chance to honor his friend.

“To be able to win it in a week that, as we all know, was very, very difficult, honoring my dear friend Kyle (Busch), that he meant so much to me, it was super, super special,” said Suarez, who earned his first victory in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet after moving to the team this season.

His mood and tribute were reflective of the entire NASCAR garage across all three national series this week at Nashville.

In another example of paying tribute, two-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson spoke proudly and lovingly of the way his two children – daughter Audrey and son Owen – have responded to the loss of Busch. Owen, a friend of Busch’s son and fellow 11-year old, Brexton, walked over during the pre-race remembrance ceremony last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway and spontaneously offered Brexton a hug as he stood alongside his grieving mom, Busch’s wife Samantha.

Larson’s eight-year-old daughter Aubrey replicated Busch’s famous “victory bow” to the grandstands after winning a dirt track race in Nebraska on Wednesday.

“It’s great them being as young as they are they recognize everything that had happened the and the hurt the Busch family was going through but also what the community was doing to rally around that family,’’ Larson shared Saturday.

“That was all Audrey’s idea to do the bow. … It was just her and I and on the way to the track, she said, ‘hey dad, if I win, I think I should do the bow.’ And I thought that was awesome. So, when she won the next night, she did it and it was pretty awesome.

“And going back to Owen being there with his buddy Brexton on pit road was not something I was expecting him to do, so when he did that, it made me feel really good. And to see the emotion on his face, it made me proud.”

Reddick’s massive championship lead

Tyler Reddick smiled and conceded he’s in a good place championship-wise with a huge 122-point advantage over second place – his 23XI Racing team co-owner and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. He’s earned a season-best five wins in the opening 13 races, including the Daytona 500 trophy and his 10 top 10 finishes is also a series best.

Reddick acknowledged the points-advantage is welcome, but his team must continue to push forward and not get too comfortable.

“It’s way better than being down a hundred something points to first,” said Reddick, who drives the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. “It’s a great spot to be in. Naturally, our confidence is in a really good place. Outside of that, when things go a little bit wrong, I don’t feel like our hair is on fire or we’re freaking out. The times we’ve had days go wrong we’ve still managed to have strong wins and win a couple of them.

“Just think our mindset is in a good place to manage it well. Yes, we want to win races, but we’ve done a really good job of, if it’s not going to be a win on that night, knock on wood, we’ve had a top 15 in every race this year. We’ve just done a really good job of having a high floor and that’s allowed us to hold the gap.”

SVG getting comfortable and moving forward

Although he’s a world-renowned road course champion with multiple Australian Supercars Series titles and has an amazing run of seven road course victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen has also raised his oval track stock car game this season and consistently been ranked among the championship eligible top 16 in the standings.

The driver of the No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet already has half the number of his career-best top five and top 10 season totals through only a third of the 2026 schedule. That includes not only a dominating win at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course but career-best efforts at seven of the opening 13 races of the season – highlighted by seven oval showings.

The result of all this is a 14th place mark in the Cup Series championship standings heading into Sunday’s Nashville Superspeedway 400-miler. Not only is the uptick in results encouraging, but van Gisbergen says there is even a change he’s detected in the competitive impact of those he’s racing around.

“I think it’s always just time and always learning stuff,” van Gisbergen said of his oval evolution. “Even last week, just learning stuff throughout the race and learning the flow of the race better. And then the further up front you are, the better people race you, as well, so that’s always nice.

“It’s a real dogfight in the back, so getting away from that is a nice break. I think it really shows the importance of qualifying, getting up front, making no mistakes, and you can stay out there all day.”

“The racing is always good,’’ he added. “I love the series and love racing everyone in it. Certainly, the good guys in this series and the level they’re at is pretty impressive to see how they’re just always up there every week, so I’m trying to emulate that a bit.”

LEBANON, TENNESSEE – MAY 30: NASCAR Cup Series driver and co-owner of 23XI Racing, Denny Hamlin (L) announces Corey Heim (R) to join 23XI Racing full-time for the 2027 Cup Series season during a press conference at Nashville Superspeedway on May 30, 2026 in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Heim’s time has come

After sealing the none-too-surprising deal weeks ago, 2025 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion Corey Heim was finally able to join his new team owner Denny Hamlin in formally announcing that he will compete for 23XI Racing fulltime next season driving the No. 35 Toyota.

The 23-year-old Georgia native has made nine sporadic starts over the last three seasons for the NASCAR Cup Series championship-leading organization including this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.

Hamlin said starts like Sunday’s are intentional in providing Heim an opportunity to get laps at a variety of tracks without the pressure of competing for the title yet. Heim’s best finish in 11 Cup Series starts was sixth place at the half-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last year. He has competed four times this year in the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota with a best showing of 15th at Kansas.

Sunday marks his third start at Nashville, where his previous best work is a 29th in his debut for 23XI Racing in 2024. The team has given him the green flag to shrug off pressure and instead just learn. And Heim is appreciative of the opportunities in advance of his first fulltime season, calling 2026 a “notebook year.”

“Don’t be afraid to take these bigger risks and figure out how to do the hard things and make mistakes this year so next year you can be prepared for things like that and learn lessons,’’ Heim said of his outlook.

“Not that I’m trying to go out and find the limit and knock the wall down every week. But that will help me feel more confident that I can take these bigger risks and figure it out. A lot of guys, I feel like, in their first couple years whether its Cup, O’Reilly or trucks, they find out how to push the limit by finding the limit and I feel like this is a year I can do that – but also be able to hit some race tracks I have more experience at to help me do that.”

Hamlin was all smiles introducing Heim as his newest hire. Clearly, he has high expectations.

“This is a decision we made and feel very optimistic about what Corey can bring to the team,” Hamlin said. “It took a lot of patience [to get the deal done] and he was very patient with us, but he’ll get the payoff in the long run.

“I think when I was his age I was still running like limited late models. … he’s far ahead of where I was at, at this point. It’s wild. I’ve been in the cup series pretty much since he was born.

“It’s going to be fun next year sharing the racetrack with him on a fulltime basis.’’