NBC Sports will highlight two NASCAR Cup Series champions and their teams during the second stage of Sunday's Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway (3:30 p.m. ET on NBC).
Members of the NBC Sports broadcast crew will "be embedded" with the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team and the No. 6 RFK Racing team during stage 2 of the Cup race. Pit reporters will provide an in-depth look at how the two teams help Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski succeed throughout the season.
There should be interviews with Alan Gustafson and Matt McCall, the respective crew chiefs for the teams. The pit crew members should also spend time in front of the camera while trying to detail how they gain positions during pit stops.
The stage 2 embed is a new addition to the NBC Sports broadcast this season, which began with the race weekend at Iowa Speedway. It has provided the company with a way to further take fans behind the scenes of race day.
The Peacock's pit reporters spent the first weekend with Christopher Bell and Corey LaJoie. Marty Snider then spent part of last weekend's race with the No. 22 Team Penske group. He spoke to Joey Logano's crew chief Paul Wolfe and explained the roles played by the competition director, lead engineer, car chief, and strategist.
Snider spending time on the No. 22 pit box was not the only part of the stage 2 embed. The NBC Sports broadcast crew also had a camera on spotter Coleman Pressley and a live feed of his audio channel. This way, the fans could listen to Pressley guide Logano through restarts
One interesting detail provided by Snider during his embed session was that the No. 22 team had a document filled with comments from all of the drivers in the 36-car field. This helped the team figure out the trends of the day, such as how the track was changing with each lap.
These former Cup champions have significantly different historical performances in the Cup races at Nashville Superspeedway.
Keselowski's first two starts at Nashville resulted in finishes outside the top 20. He finished both races but was not on the lead lap. Last season, he led two laps and crossed the line 11th.
NASCAR officials disqualified Elliott after the 2021 Cup Series race at Nashville due to too many loose lug nuts. He returned to the track the following season and won. Elliott then finished fourth in last season's Cup race at Nashville.