Battle of Broadway 150 sets target on more NASCAR Cup drivers

Race officials hope to attract more NASCAR Cup drivers to the Rackley Roofing Battle of Broadway 150 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway a year after Ross Chastain and Josh Berry competed in the event last June.

The second annual race is May 29 at the historic 0.596-mile track. Like last year, it is scheduled for the same week as the NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway. The Cup race was moved this year to June 1.

With so many Cup drivers in town, the idea is to try to convince some of those drivers to compete in the Battle of Broadway 150, which did not have a title sponsor in its inaugural year.

Cup drivers Ross Chastain and Josh Berry participated in the race in 2024. Chastain told The Tennessean recently he hopes to return this year and Berry, who is from Hendersonville, said last year he plans to continue to run in the race.

Meanwhile, race promoter and Track Enterprise CEO Bob Sargent, will be at the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16, recruiting Cup drivers for the Battle of the Boulevard.

“We got a little bit of a late start last year, but we thought that the race and the excitement was good and we were happy to have the two Cup drivers there,” Sargent said. “We’re working on getting some more to come this year. Getting on these guys’ schedule was tricky last year and we feel that getting the word out earlier this year will be the key to getting more to come. I’m going to be in Daytona talking to a lot of drivers.”

The race has more stability, Sargent said, with Rackley Roofing on board as a title sponsor. That could also mean the chances are greater for Chastain to return.

Chastain drives for the Rackley W.A.R. team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series along with the super late model and pro late model series. He drove the No. 1 Tootsie’s Chevrolet prepared by Rackley W.A.R. in the Battle of Broadway 150 last year.

Chastain drives for Trackhouse Racing in the Cup Series and with the team having offices in Nashville it provides added incentive for him to want to race in the Battle of Broadway 150.

Chastain and Berry, who moved from Stewart-Haas Racing to Wood Brothers Racing for the 2025 season, got into a heated battle toward the end of the Battle of Broadway 150 last year.

The two drivers were in the top eight throughout the race before finding themselves trading paint with (Berry) in fourth and (Chastain) fifth with 16 laps to go.

Berry passed Chastain on Lap 135 and took the lead in the race after the final restart. But the restart was canceled after a spinout in the back of the pack and Berry never made it back to the front.

“That was definitely a race between the two of us,” Chastain said after the race. “I wanted to beat the hometown boy for sure.”

Chastain finished fourth and Berry was fifth.

Trey Craig of Louisville, Kentucky, won the race and the victory felt extra special with Chastain and Berry in the field.

“The fact that with 10 to go I’ve got Ross Chastain and Josh Berry behind me; I mean that’s awesome,” Craig said. “That doesn’t happy everyday. Those Cup guys don’t want to come get outrun by us.”

Will Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson be in Battle of Broadway?

Another Cup driver who may be interested in competing in the Battle of Broadway 150 is Chase Elliott, who raced at the Nashville Fairgrounds early in his career, won an SRX Series race there in 2022, and has supported NASCAR’s return to the track.

Daniel Suárez, also a member of Trackhouse Racing, is also a possibility along with Kyle Busch, who raced in the CRA Budweiser 150 at the Fairgrounds in 2009 the year after he smashed a trophy guitar at Nashville Superspeedway. Kyle Larson, who often competes in races between Cup events, is also a possibility.

Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway 2025 schedule

The 2025 Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway season begins on April 5 with the opening night of local racing. There will be five classes including pro late models, limited late models, pure stock, front runners, legends and Bandolero.

The rest of the schedule includes: