Top 5 explosive drivers from the 2025 NASCAR Nashville Cup race

The 14th race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, saw Ryan Blaney earn his first victory in Team Penske's No. 12 Ford at the 1.33-mile track in Tennessee. But runner-up Carson Hovecar also grabbed the spotlight for his aggressive driving style and the incident with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. that ended the latter's race.

Here are five drivers that stood out for their explosive performance on the track.

#5 William Byron

NASCAR Cup points leader William Byron added 48 points after a fifth-place finish at Nashville. He is also 48 points ahead of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson.

Starting from third position, Byron continued to run inside the top five and lost the Stage 2 win by over two seconds to Blaney. He earned his first top-five finish at Nashville after 2021.

#4 Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin started Sunday's NASCAR Cup race in the front row beside pole sitter and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe. The 44-year-old, who was prepared to miss the race as his fiancée was expecting their third child any day, delivered a strong performance and finished third.

Hamlin led the second-highest number of laps, 79, despite facing issues with his helmet.

#3 Bubba Wallace

23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace finished sixth at Nashville. He needed a good finish after three consecutive DNFs and qualified in 12th place. However, a speeding penalty on the first stop of the race cost him a lap. The No. 23 Toyota driver later climbed through the field by the end of Stage 2 and landed 18th. Wallace entered Nashville with three straight DNFs but managed to secure a top-10 spot in the NASCAR point standings.

This was Wallace's best finish after two straight third-place results at Homestead and Martinsville.

#2 Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney started the race in 15th and clinched his first win of the season after avoiding on-track incidents. The Team Penske driver's rocky start to the year saw many DNFs but last Sunday (June 1), he managed to get ahead of the traffic with Hamlin and Hocevar within three seconds during Lap 270.

Blaney ultimately led 139 laps, won the second stage by 2.5 seconds over William Byron and took the lead with 32 laps to claim in 14th career win.

#1 Carson Hocevar

Carson Hocevar's performance was both impressive and controversial. His No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet surged from 26th to finish second to match his career-best result.

However, he drove hard on lap 106 into Turn 3 and caused a collision that sent Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spinning and crashing into the wall. The Hyak Motorsports driver could not finish the race and ended up in 39th place.

The 22-year-old's driving also saw some criticism from NASCAR fans online.